I have removed the custom address for A Yorkshire Memoir and reverted to the original taskerdunham.blogspot.com (instead of taskerdunham.com). If reading this, you are in the right place.
This is to prevent the blog from becoming inaccessible when the subscription to the custom domain expires. It still has over a year to run, but I have made the change early because custom domains are often bought by others for illicit use.
Thanks.
Technical and Other Considerations (for anyone considering doing it themselves)
Removing the custom address turned out to be easier than anticipated. I thought I would be wrestling with the technicalities of canonical names (cnames) and the like, but that was not the case.
All I had to do was:
1) Delete the custom domain name in the blog settings. The blogspot.com version of the address worked straight away. The taskerdunham.com address began to be shown as unknown.
2) I created a completely new blog called "A Yorkshire Memoir - holding page" saying what I was doing, and also a note in the title that the address had changed.
3) Then, on the new Holding Page blog, I simply added www.taskerdunham.com as the custom domain. Surprisingly, that URL immediately began to redirect to the Holding Page. It did not require any change to the cnames on the domain provider's site. It did, however, take a few minutes before the https version of the address became active after I switched it on.
The outcome is that access to taskerdunham.blogspot.com now links straight to the blog, and access to taskerdunham.com links to the holding site. I will leave it like that for now as a reminder to those who use that route to change their links.
Please let me know of any problems.
Internal links within the blog - The blog archive, list of popular posts, etc. changed automatically. Links in blog posts that reference other posts still work correctly so long as they point to a taskerdunham.blogspot.com address, but if they point to taskerdunham.com a message appears saying either that the post does not exist or that the site cannot be accessed at all. It depends on how http/https and www are specified in the link. Fortunately, I have always used the blogspot version within the blog, so don't have to change them.
External links - Where others' blog posts or websites have included a link to one of my blog posts, these links now point to the holding site, i.e. taskerdunham.com, with a page not found message. The same happens with sidebar links on other Blogger blogs until they are updated.
Google, Bing, and other search indexes - Initially, the results from searches remained unchanged, i.e. they referenced the custom address. Clicking these links led to the holding site, i.e. taskerdunham.com, with a page not found message. I assume the search indexes will automatically update in due course. (there may be more to add)
The new one was already the one I'm following. So no problem here.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteYep, appearing in my reading list as per normal.
ReplyDeleteIt may depend on the method used to add to the reading list, e.g. clicking the Follow button v adding the address manually.
DeleteWith the assistance of my bloodhound Sherlock, I was able to track you down to a pebble-dashed council house in a village south of Huddersfield. The curtains were open and you were slouched in an armchair watching "Peppa Pig" on the telly.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to alter your address in my sidebar. Thanks for the alert.
It was actually Talk TV. Peppa Pig is too demanding.
DeleteI found you okay.. Jean in Winnipeg
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI am here too.
ReplyDeleteAll seems well. Will do a new post tomorrow to see how it goes.
DeleteYou won't believe it but you are the only person in my link list. I accidentally scrapped the WHOLE LIST of links. I shall build it up one by one, patience is a virtue....
ReplyDeleteSorry if it was my fault because you were trying to change it. But to be the only one in the list - fame at last.
DeleteChrome forbade me to come to this address so had to use Edge (them's the choices on my machine).
ReplyDeleteStrange. I don't understand why, but thanks for being persistent.
DeleteWell, this post popped up in my blog reader, no problem.
ReplyDeleteThanks. As said above, it may depend on how it was added to the Reader.
DeleteHere I am. I just edited your address on my blog reading list, and there you are!
ReplyDeleteThank you. New posts should now show too. Will do one tomorrow to test.
DeleteThe technicalities go over my head, I'm afraid. But this post (on blogspot.com) popped up in my blog reader too. (May have been there since way back in the past, perhaps?)
ReplyDeleteNo, it was posted on 25th. The tech. is there for anyone who might was want to make the same change.
DeleteThe transition was seamless for me. By the way, I left a late comment on the warping post. I could have said much more as my grandfather was a steam engineer and worked on the drainage of the fens in the 1920s and more but I didn't share it. It was too much for a comment. We have a photo of it too although it is not in my possession.
ReplyDeleteI've replied. It would be interesting to read your thoughts. A blog post?
DeleteI can read your blog Tasker.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI got here through the holding page, but then updated the link in my blog list and it works fine!
ReplyDeleteThank you. New posts here should now show up correctly.
DeleteMy reading list brought up the new taskerdunham address just fine.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the the reading lists have handled it without problems. There is still a lot of traffic on the Holding page, which suggests that not everything may have gone so smoothly.
DeleteLike for some others here, your post showed up on my reading list as usual.
ReplyDeleteThank you. The next post will show whether it is working properly.
DeleteNo change here:-)
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Thank you.
DeleteMy brain nearly had a meltdown reading that - I am so hopelessly inept at tech stuff that it was all I could do to set up the blog in the first place (and that was 12+ years ago before life changes turned my brain to permanent fog). Anyway - you still show up in the read list so all I have to do now is read... (make time to read)
ReplyDeleteThank you TM. I wrote it partly to note gown for myself how I'd done it, and also for anyone else wishing to do it.
Delete