redirecting domain name to wordpress.com
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I don’t know how to make the transfer of a url/domain name that i’ve bought from a Canalblog to WordPress.com blog. no migration of content needed, only the url to be redirected to my wordpress blog. Canablog has given me the transfer code but i have no clue how to do the transfer, where to put it in.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there,
WordPress.com can’t accept incoming domain transfers, so there isn’t a way to transfer your domain’s registration directly to WordPress.com.
However, you can use your domain (registered elsewhere) with your WordPress.com site by following our guide to Map an Existing Domain. You can start that process on the Domains page.
Please let me know if I can do anything more to help with that. :)
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great thanks Rachel,
i’m really sorry but i don’t understand the difference between an incoming domain transfer and using a domain registered elsewhere with already exists. the domain name i’ve bought is http://www.enquetedusens.be. i’d alerady tried mapping an existing domain and it will only accept a new domain name such as .net, but it’s not an existing one, it’d be a new one. or does “existing” mean still available? -
Hi there,
An “existing” domain means a domain that you registered somewhere else (so the domain already exists and you already own it). To map a domain like that to your WordPress.com site, you will keep it registered where it is but change the domain’s settings to point it to WordPress.com. That’s different from transferring the domain’s registration to WordPress.com, because a mapped domain will still be registered in the same place where you bought it.
To map your domain name enquetedusens.be to WordPress.com, you can start on the Domains page. On that page, click the button “Map an Existing Domain.” On the next screen, in the text area, enter your domain name enquetedusens.be and click the “Go” button to start mapping it to your site.
Please let me know if you have any trouble with those steps. :)
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You’re amazing. thank you very much.
that’s what i’ve tried and the answer is every time i’ve tried that a problem has occurred. it won’t take it… http://www.enquetedusens.be/ -
Can you copy and paste the exact error you receive there? That will help me investigate this for you. (Please be sure you enter just enquetedusens.be, without the “www” at the beginning, when you fill out that form.)
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sure.
as my wordpress is in French i first need to change language.
i’ve entered enquetedusens.be and it says (in french) taht it’s already registered). i’m switching to ENglish and i copy paste the exact answer it displays. -
You can give me the error message exactly as it’s written in French and I can sort it out. :)
But can you also make sure you’re choosing the “Map an Existing Domain” option (“Mapper un domaine existant” in French)? Here’s a direct link to the domain mapping page:
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well well! in ENglish it seems to be working now!!
“Congratulations! enquetedusens.be can be mapped to your blog.”
had i known …! :-)
wil the url keep the www though? -
I’m so glad it worked this time!
The URL won’t keep the www — WordPress.com doesn’t support the www subdomain, but we’ll automatically redirect anyone who visits it to the URL without the www.
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Just to get it clear: this way, i’m still paying Canalblog for hosting the domain name, and WordPress to map it, ie to make sure my url http://www.enquetedusens.be points at my blog?
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Yes, that’s right. You will still need to pay Canalblog for the domain name itself (to make sure you own the domain). The domain mapping you purchase here at WordPress.com is to be able to use that URL with your blog here. :)
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first of all great thanks for your help.
so i’ll never have a wordpress.com blog with www? good to know!
thats a issue though, cause then the www… url needs to remain active so as to enable the wordpress one (same without www) to exist as well, whereas i want only my wordpress blog to be active. One cancels the other.
How would you proceed in this case if the transfer is not possible? -
The http://www.enquetedusens.be URL will still work — it will just automatically redirect to the URL http://enquetedusens.be. Any existing links on your site that include the www will automatically redirect to the version of the link with the www. The only major difference will be what visitors see in the address bar when they visit your site.
Please let me know if you have any other concerns about that!
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Great thanks Rachel. it is not ideal as i would prefer to keep the “full” url which looks more professional, but at least if the redirection is automatic that’s a relief and a short-term solution.
Can i dare ask why wordpress.com doesn’t allow the www when other platforms like canalblog do?
great thanks again! -
It’s best for your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) to have your content available only at one version of your domain or the other — so either with the “www” or without it. WordPress.com redirects from one version to the other to make sure that happens, and it was decided early on to redirect to the non-www version of domains.
If you’re curious, you can read more about URL canonicalization to learn why that’s important for search engines. :)
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Hi Rachel, thanks again.
i’ve bought the mapping. only now i don’t know where to change the DNS name servers so that http://www.enquetedusens.be gets redirected to enquetedusens.be and not the opposite, which is the case now…! -
You’ll need to update your domain’s name servers to point the domain to WordPress.com. Otherwise, your domain itself will continue to point to Canalblog, instead. These are the name servers you need:
- NS1.WORDPRESS.COM
- NS2.WORDPRESS.COM
- NS3.WORDPRESS.COM
You’ll need to make that change at Canalblog where you purchased the domain. If you aren’t sure how, please contact Canalblog support and they can help you with the exact steps to make that change on their end.
Please let me know if you have any questions about that. :)
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thanks a lot, i’ve contacted them – waiting for their 2nd reply as the first one informed me i had to do it with WordPress and not them…!
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I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! If there’s anything more I can do to help at this stage, please let me know.
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