How to Setup a Custom Domain on WordPress.com

You’ve built a strong blog on WordPress.com and now you want to have a more personalized domain name, rather than a subdomain? YourAwesomeBlog.Me sounds much better than YourAwesomeBlog.wordpress.com, right? But can you – and how – make that change? Well, because .ME is one of the domain extensions available through the WordPress.com platform, you can do just that, and never leave the WordPress.com admin dashboard.

Another scenario – you’re just starting with your blogging and you don’t want to get bugged by your hosting provider. You’ll decide to leave all the back end to WordPress.com and their servers, but you still want your domain name, that you’ve already registered. The solution to this problem is called domain mapping and we will show you how to do it!

The First Scenario

The first step is easy. Just go to your WordPress.com Domains page, and if prompted choose the blog you wish to add the domain to (if there is only one blog on your account this step will be skipped automatically). Now just click on the blue Add domain button and enter your domain name with a .ME extension 🙂

[su_box title=”.ME is one of the domain extensions available through the WordPress.com platform!” box_color=”#ffffff” class=”trap small right”][/su_box]If the domain is available it will show up in the search box and you will need to click on the blue Upgrade button (or the Select button if you have no blogs), and pick a plan that is right for you.

Now you need to fill in all the information required for the domain registration and make a payment when you do. You will probably want to make your new domain a primary domain. To learn how, scroll to the end of the article.

The Second Scenario

Getting a domain name through WordPress.com was pretty easy and straight-forward, right! Now we’ll focus on mapping a domain name you already own. If you own several domains, you can map all of them to a single blog as well, but, you’ll have to choose one to be your primary domain name. When a user enters one of your domain names associated with the blog, he will be redirected to it, however, the URL in their browser will change to your primary domain name.

Let’s Map!

Before going into domain mapping, you’ll have to understand that you’ll be required to change your domain’s name servers. You do remember how DNS system works, don’t you? The process itself is pretty easy, however, make sure you have your domain name provider on stand-by to help you if you get stuck.

This process will play out on two sides, WordPress.com and your registrar. The first thing you need to do is select your site on the WP Domains page, and choose the “Add Domain ” option. Then look for a white “Upgrade” button beside the “Already own a domain” text. When you click on it, enter a .ME domain you like and “Add” it to your blog. Now you only need to complete the checkout process for the domain mapping from the WordPress.com side.

Now from the registrar side, you’ll have to login into your domain name control panel and find domain name server controls. If you can’t find them or you’re not sure what you’re looking for, ask your registrar for some support.

Then you will need to change the name servers of the domain to:

• ns1.wordpress.com
• ns2.wordpress.com
• ns3.wordpress.com

Your registrar may be willing to do this for you. Now you should just wait for the DNS propagation to finish so your new .ME domain becomes active, and optionally make this a primary domain as described above.

Word of warning about e-mails!

If you already have some e-mail accounts on your domain name you will have to do some additional steps described here to make everything work.

Make your new .ME a primary domain name

The last step is to update your domain so it becomes a primary domain used for your site. To do this, select the domain you wish to be your primary domain and just click on the “Make Primary” button on your Domains page.

That is it, after verifying your email address (if you’ve bought your .ME domain with WordPress.com ) and possibly waiting for DNS changes to propagate you will see your site on your new .ME domain!

Now you will have a unique, easy to remember home for your blog or site. This will surely help you get more readers and make your site stand out! If you’re interested in more advantages that .ME could give to your blog, why not check out our top five reasons for choosing .ME. Happy blogging!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2012. A lot has changed in the world of WordPress since then, so we decided to update the post accordingly.