Domain name for a blog?

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Nancyjj

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#153527 30-Sep-2014 08:03

hi, I have my blog, that is http://jeanmckinstry.blogspot.co.nz
or All Points of The Compass

I see that domain names will change soon to be without the "co" Is it worth the cost to have my own domain, thinking that this is not a commercial site, I do not sell on it, and it is just for private use? My own feeling is to leave my blog name as it is, does anyone have an idea on this? Thanks. Nancy

Nancyjj

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#1143995 30-Sep-2014 09:32

Hi Nancy,
If you're happy with your blogger account it does seem registering (and paying for) your own domain would be an unnecessary hassle.
The good thing about hosted blog accounts is avoiding all that stuff!

freitasm

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#1144018 30-Sep-2014 09:58

It depends... First the .nz is not a mandatory replacement for .co.nz but a shorter version.

Second, what is your objective with your blog? Do you want to make it a personal branding? If yes then sure get a domain and point the blog to that. If not, just a hobby, then don't worry and keep using the free blogspot domain.

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#1144053 30-Sep-2014 10:33

The other advantage of a domain is domain email (actually I think this is the main advantage of a personal domain).

You can setup your own email addresses and get away from ISP email such as joethebuilder@xtra.co.nz. This means you are free to swap ISP's without having to swap email addresses or worse still continue paying an ISP to keep your email address.

There are free email hosting options probably the best is zoho. If you want paid options then google apps or outlook.com are good options.

Cheers, Matt.

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gzt

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#1144279 30-Sep-2014 14:52

If you are happy with the blogspot host there is no reason to get a domain name. The advantage of having your own domain name is that you can change your host anytime but your domain name stays the same.

mattwnz

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#1144288 30-Sep-2014 15:03

gzt: If you are happy with the blogspot host there is no reason to get a domain name. The advantage of having your own domain name is that you can change your host anytime but your domain name stays the same.

That is a pretty good reason to get one, as it allows you to change blogging platform, and not be locked in. With google, they can drop services at the drop of a hat, or start charging, so with anything like that, you don't want to get locked in. The small price of a domain can prevent both blogging and email lock in.

gzt

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#1144373 30-Sep-2014 16:36

To be fair it is never at the drop of a hat. There is always plenty of notice and time to change.

As for charging - If any charges are applied in future it never affects existing users.

I have apps services that I signed up for way back when they were free - new signups are now charged for those same services - but still free for me several years after charging was introduced.

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#1144413 30-Sep-2014 17:23

I'm a fan of buying domain names. They are pretty cheap really, and I have bought several over the years for projects or hobby ideas. My personal domain was from a country I was not familiar with :) and it still only cost 125€ for 5 years, not big bucks. Then you can use whatever blog platform you like and can also have a nice email address with your own domain. You could probably get jeanmckinstry.nz or even mckinstry.nz.

Cheers
Joseph

mattwnz

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#1144427 30-Sep-2014 17:48

gzt: To be fair it is never at the drop of a hat. There is always plenty of notice and time to change.

As for charging - If any charges are applied in future it never affects existing users.

I have apps services that I signed up for way back when they were free - new signups are now charged for those same services - but still free for me several years after charging was introduced.

Don't know about that. I found out that they had discontinued their outlook calendar sync plugin without any notification a month or so ago. I since found out that they did email some people about it, but had said that existing users would not be affected, and if you were a new user and wanted it you would have to pay. But it has since stopped working for me and I was an original user.