Some of my favourite problem reports, in
Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue
, are about inconsistent blog online status.
Particularly when I see the latter symptom, I know exactly where to start.
The "registrar says" is a frequent indicator of the problem. I'm not naming names, but the initial "G" (and not "Google") is very frequently involved, in this case.
So, I start with a Dig log, for the domain . And 99% of the time, that's all that is needed.
Bogus DNS addresses are a very commonly seen diagnosis, in so many of these cases . For 99.99% of the blogs, published to a custom domain, there is simply no effective substitute for the "Asymmetrical DNS" setup , provided long ago.
So you call the registrar - and they tell you that it has to be Blogger, because they have no problem accessing it. But the registrar is part of the problem .
The righteous address setup.
The domain root uses 4 x "A" addresses, accessed in a round robin sequence . And the published URL uses a single "CNAME", resolved using a complex name server array . With both domain root and "www" alias properly addressed, your blog has much better chance of being consistently and reliably accessed.
One possibly righteous address setup.
One Blogger Engineer recommended a modified version of the asymmetrical DNS setup , to be used by 1&1 customers. Only time will tell if this setup is reliable. I have seen several 1&1 customers, this year, suggesting that this is not long term reliable.
Some spurious address setups.
Spurious address setups are unlimited, in variety . Here are a random 3 examples, from recent forum history.
Error when adding domain
https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/WvW2yZaS-FI/discussion
Blogger appears to be detecting this setup as a problem - and throws a bX code, to indicate a problem.
Mobile Redirection Failure
https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/rAJgN8pYdPw/discussion
This blog is online - and visible, using broadband - but no domain root redirection, for mobile browsing. "50.63.202.10" is not a Blogger / Google name server, and won't provide reliable redirection.
Can't publish my blog
https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/ibGqKLWXhO8/discussion
This blog published - but ownership verification did not provide the required second "CNAME".
The bottom line.
There simply is no substitute for righteous DNS addressing, for custom domain publishing. Publishing to a custom domain is not a productive activity, if you cannot follow instructions .
The ability to publish a #Blogger blog to a non BlogSpot URL has been provided, for almost 10 years. Some blog owners still cannot setup the domains properly - and remain oblivious, when a problem arises.
Learn why there is one effective DNS address setup, for custom domain publishing.
If you want a reliable custom domain, this is the address choice.
It was fine yesterday. Why is it down, now?and
I see the blog, just fine! Why are some of my readers complaining?and
I can access it, using my phone! Why is Blogger down, on my home computer?and
The registrar tells me everything is OK!Whenever I see the latter report, I know exactly where to start.
Particularly when I see the latter symptom, I know exactly where to start.
The registrar tells me everything is OK!
The "registrar says" is a frequent indicator of the problem. I'm not naming names, but the initial "G" (and not "Google") is very frequently involved, in this case.
So, I start with a Dig log, for the domain . And 99% of the time, that's all that is needed.
Bogus DNS addresses are a very commonly seen diagnosis, in so many of these cases . For 99.99% of the blogs, published to a custom domain, there is simply no effective substitute for the "Asymmetrical DNS" setup , provided long ago.
- Maybe the blog will be up for you, and some would be readers - but others will be seeing the "404".
- Maybe it was fine, yesterday - and today it is suggesting spam and viruses.
- It will only work, for some people, some of the time. That is the only constant.
So you call the registrar - and they tell you that it has to be Blogger, because they have no problem accessing it. But the registrar is part of the problem .
The righteous address setup.
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
www.mydomain.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
The domain root uses 4 x "A" addresses, accessed in a round robin sequence . And the published URL uses a single "CNAME", resolved using a complex name server array . With both domain root and "www" alias properly addressed, your blog has much better chance of being consistently and reliably accessed.
One possibly righteous address setup.
One Blogger Engineer recommended a modified version of the asymmetrical DNS setup , to be used by 1&1 customers. Only time will tell if this setup is reliable. I have seen several 1&1 customers, this year, suggesting that this is not long term reliable.
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
www.mydomain.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
Some spurious address setups.
Spurious address setups are unlimited, in variety . Here are a random 3 examples, from recent forum history.
Error when adding domain
https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/WvW2yZaS-FI/discussion
When i am trying to adding the domain it shows the error
Whoops, that's an error! (bX-6g9yx1)
socialsfriend.com. 600 IN A 184.168.221.33
www.socialsfriend.com. 3600 IN CNAME socialsfriend.com.
Blogger appears to be detecting this setup as a problem - and throws a bX code, to indicate a problem.
Mobile Redirection Failure
https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/rAJgN8pYdPw/discussion
When I am on mobile on google chrome (only browser I tested).
chartlearning.com does not redirect to www.chartlearning.com on mobile.
chartlearning.com. 600 IN A 50.63.202.10
www.chartlearning.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
This blog is online - and visible, using broadband - but no domain root redirection, for mobile browsing. "50.63.202.10" is not a Blogger / Google name server, and won't provide reliable redirection.
Can't publish my blog
https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/ibGqKLWXhO8/discussion
When I entered the "eac-leadership-consulting.com" domain in 3rd-party domain settings, I did not receive an error. I did not see the 2 CNAME records.
eac-leadership-consulting.com. 600 IN A 50.63.202.50
www.eac-leadership-consulting.com. 3600 IN CNAME eac-leadership-consulting.com.
This blog published - but ownership verification did not provide the required second "CNAME".
The bottom line.
There simply is no substitute for righteous DNS addressing, for custom domain publishing. Publishing to a custom domain is not a productive activity, if you cannot follow instructions .
The ability to publish a #Blogger blog to a non BlogSpot URL has been provided, for almost 10 years. Some blog owners still cannot setup the domains properly - and remain oblivious, when a problem arises.
Learn why there is one effective DNS address setup, for custom domain publishing.
If you want a reliable custom domain, this is the address choice.
