Is a domain name permanently assigned to a website or blog or can i change it?
December 2, 2012 6:12 AM Subscribe
If i assign a domain name to blogspot.com something is it permanent or can i reassign it?
Late at night, i bought a domain name for three years. I literally know nothing about them. Until i can figure out something better, i thought i might assign it to a blog, as i found out how to do that with blogger. But i'm scared - i don't want to assign it permanently to a blog for three years, i want to learn to build an interactive website in that time! Can't i just change what i assign it to when i feel like it? I need to ask this, because all the answers online require me to know, for instance, that a domain name is not an URL (is it? isn't it?) and what a file directory or a server is and other incomprehensible things. (If is for fun, i don't care if nobody else sees it, so 'being brutally punished by Pagerank', whatever that is, i don't care about, as long as i can play with it. I missed the start of term for the website building course at the adult education centre.) Think of me as your gran (i am in age) when explaining. Thanks very very much.
Late at night, i bought a domain name for three years. I literally know nothing about them. Until i can figure out something better, i thought i might assign it to a blog, as i found out how to do that with blogger. But i'm scared - i don't want to assign it permanently to a blog for three years, i want to learn to build an interactive website in that time! Can't i just change what i assign it to when i feel like it? I need to ask this, because all the answers online require me to know, for instance, that a domain name is not an URL (is it? isn't it?) and what a file directory or a server is and other incomprehensible things. (If is for fun, i don't care if nobody else sees it, so 'being brutally punished by Pagerank', whatever that is, i don't care about, as long as i can play with it. I missed the start of term for the website building course at the adult education centre.) Think of me as your gran (i am in age) when explaining. Thanks very very much.
Just want to say that you are awesome. Congrats for taking a big leap like this. Have patience with yourself as you try to unravel the mystery piece by piece, and you'll be rewarded. Maybe folks here can recommend some basic videos to get you started.
posted by barnone at 6:59 AM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by barnone at 6:59 AM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]
Like dayintoday said, nothing to worry about, it's 100% yours and you can change it how you like.
A URL is something like domain.com/blog/blog-post, but can also be just domain.com. The domain name, however, is only the "domain.com" part of the URL.
Good job asking questions. You'll figure it out, piece by piece! That's how I learned a lot of how to make websites too, and people online (and on the green here) are very helpful.
posted by dubadubowbow at 7:12 AM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]
A URL is something like domain.com/blog/blog-post, but can also be just domain.com. The domain name, however, is only the "domain.com" part of the URL.
Good job asking questions. You'll figure it out, piece by piece! That's how I learned a lot of how to make websites too, and people online (and on the green here) are very helpful.
posted by dubadubowbow at 7:12 AM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]
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The only thing to keep in mind when you change where a domain "points," is that sometimes it takes a couple of days to go into effect (to "propagate"). During those couple of days, you may sometimes see your blogspot site and sometimes your new site when you visit your domain name.
To change where your domain points, you'll need to have the information for your domain name handy: where you purchased it (the "registrar"), your username, and your password. You will not need to do anything with blogspot.com, but your new blog or website host will provide you with "nameservers" information that you will enter on your domain name registrar's site.
posted by dayintoday at 6:21 AM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]