8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Need help to get my Google Domain pointing to my Google Site.

by ulrichburke
7 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
    • |
Dear Anyone.

Never built a website before in my life. Designed the site from scratch - it's to help disabled people, like me (Asperger's and Cerebral Palsy and Hydrocephalus) find work. Its Sites.Google.Com name works fine, all the pages work fine - oddball but fine!

This is where I might use the wrong terminology because it's a first try. My site's REAL name, I'm pretty sure that's the DOMAIN name - if it's not the same thing, tell me. I know websites have three names, one's a row of numbers, one's the design site name (in my case the sites.google name) and one's the domain name, am I right so far? And domain name points to design site name, and design site name points to row-of-numbers name, am I right on that?

I'm lost in a sea of A names and MX/TXT names and AAAA (however many A's it is!) names and what goes where in Google Domains. Thought I had it right, pretty sure I've messed up, it won't let me change some of the fields. I know about Admin Console but things LOOK right there. And I'm scared to touch anything anywhere else incase I mess things up even worse.

Please, I've worked through YouTube vids. and the best one had a problem - the guy in it had a button to click on I couldn't find anywhere. I was on the same page as him because all the other buttons were the same but the one vital one wasn't there for me. Zero idea why. Could someone help me work out what SHOULD be in each of the b oxes and how I get it there? Please? I've been working on this for 5 days now and just cannot get it right.

Remember, the Sites.Google addy works like a dream. It's the domain name pointing that doesn't! I'm happy to give anyone either name but if I just leave them here, these site bots'll think I'm spammning the site and might boot me.

Anyway, would anyone give me a hand? Right now I just want to see the site coming up, I'll go into SEO and all the rest of it when I can actually type in the site's name and see it appear!

Yours hopefully

Chris. Who's got his picture against the word 'doofus' in the dictionary, so be gentle!
#domain #google #pointing #site
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Remember, the Sites.Google addy works like a dream. It's the domain name pointing that doesn't! I'm happy to give anyone either name but if I just leave them here, these site bots'll think I'm spammning the site and might boot me.
    You seem to be making this much harder than it is. Most hosting companies have a help desk or simple instructions for new site owners to help them point their domain to their own hosting acct. That's where you should go first.

    The site 'addy' can't work like a dream online UNLESS you have correctly pointed the domain to your hosting acct. If it does, you have pointed the domain directly. (No, can't post the link here -against the rules).

    That is the official 'address' of your site. For now, forget any other 'name' - the 'numbers' are the LOCATION where you will 'point' your site....those represent the host you are using and 'point' the site from the domain registrar to the host you are using. If you are using the same company to register and host your domain, you may not have to change anything .

    After you 'repoint' the domain to YOUR hosting acct where YOUR site is uploaded....it can take a little time for google to 'index' your site and make it visible.

    If you are entering numbers and then trying to see the site immediately - it won't work. It used to take a few days to get a new site 'indexed' but often is a few hours now....but if you've been 'playing' with it, might take longer.

    I've just proven once again - the hardest things to explain are the easy tasks.
    Signature
    Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11701051].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ulrichburke
      Dear Kay.

      Wish I could just shove the name of the site down here, but as you say I can't so I'm going to have to use a fake example.

      If I type in sites.google.com/thisismysite.co.uk/thisismysite/home it works.

      If I type in www. (or http or https) thisismysite.co.uk I get 404-PageNotFound.

      I've got no idea why. And just so you love me even more, the key sentence you need to explain to me in words of one syllable cos I'm certain this is where I've messed up is 'After you 'repoint' the domain to YOUR hosting acct where YOUR site is uploaded....' please, what should be in the A name box, what should be in the MX box, what should be in the AAAA box (if I've miscounted the A's, forgive me!) Wish I could post a graphic of that page in Google Domains.

      I've been to their help site. It's got a little video on it. The guy in the video has a box I don't possess. There's a page - again, a graphic would make things a LOT easier - with the names of loads of hosting sites on. On the guy's version in the video, one of those names is Google Sites. On my version, remembering I'm IN Google Domains so presumably IN Google Sites, I don't have a box labeled Google Sites so I can't follow his lead and click on it. I've got zero idea WHY I don't have a box like his, considering it's a video you're supposed to follow. He never explains what to do if you don't have that box. As it's the key box, without it I'm stumped!

      I've been to the Admin Console. My entries LOOK like his entries. I'm not saying they're correct, not at all. I'm just saying they LOOK the same as his entries. That's all I know. I think the 2 probs. are I've got zero idea what SHOULD be in the boxes on the domain page so I'm guessing and going by Googled examples, got no idea if they're correct or not. And the other problem, of course, is the guy in the video having a box I don't.

      Please - when you say 'after you repoint', it's like saying 'after you start up the space rocket'. HOW do you start up the space rocket? - Er - repoint? What do you DO to make that incredible event come to pass (please, 'just enter things in the right places' doesn't count as an answer right now!)

      I do not know what I am doing. Not even close. Not even in the same country, let alone city or ballpark. The help site video is not helping. And I'm not sure if the stuff I Googled bears any relationship to what I need to do.

      Please tell me what I need to do so I can do it and tell you if it works and we can go on from there!

      Yours from the wilderness

      Chris.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11701083].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    Its hard to tell you step by step what to do because there are so many variables in this... meaning the service you go your domain name from is for the most part the same universally but not always.

    It SHOULD be this simple: ( https://www.godaddy.com/help/change-...my-domains-664 )

    you just have to point your domain name to the new website.

    Hope that Helps!
    Signature
    Success is an ACT not an idea
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11701085].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ulrichburke
      Dear Savidge 4.

      Think of it like this. You're in a room full of train drivers. You've just bought your own private train. It's full of goods to be transported, but all you know about driving a train is what you've seen on YouTube videos. So you go up to an expert train driver and ask 'Scuse me, if you've got 10 minutes could you explain to me how to drive my train?"
      "Really? You don't know?"
      "I've never driven a train before - but I've seen lots of YouTube videos about it."
      "Can't you just follow those?"
      Another driver comes up. "Dave," says he to the first train driver "let's make it easy for the fella. All you have to do is point your train to the station and drive it there. What could be simpler? Can't give you all the details because there's different kinds of trains and I'm not in yours. But that's all I do every day."

      I know I just have to drive my domain name to the new website. Where I'm going wrong is handling the controls. Right now, here's what the boxes in my Google Domain area are saying.....

      Host name

      Type
      TTL
      Data
      accessibilitypartners.co.uk TXT 1 hour
      "google-site-verification=ko7PqtHlYSelWtWIiFY7J_2l3CGucSntJjCGq 35na_w"
      https://sites.google.com/.accessibilitypartners.co.uk CNAME 1 hour
      ghs.googlehosted.com.
      Google Workspace
      accessibilitypartners.co.uk/MX, accessibilitypartners.co.uk/SPF and 2 more

      Is that correct so far, somebody? If it isn't, SOME of the fields let you change them, SOME don't. If it's one of the stubborn ones, I'll have to ask you what to do about it cos I've got zero idea!

      All I can say for any of the above fields is I THOUGHT I was doing what a YouTube video or Google search was saying. If I obviously haven't, it's cos I misunderstood.

      Please work with me on this and tell me where I've stuffed up. I can give you all the Whois info. too if that'll help. Or any other info. you lot require. I don't know what I'm doing and I don't want to make things any worse!

      Yours hopefully

      Chris.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11701091].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SARubin
    Hey Chris,

    I just registered a new domain with google about 2 weeks ago, and started building the website last week.

    The site is currently hosted on inmotion servers (that's not a recommendation, it's just where my site happens to be hosted)


    To point the domain in google I first had to disable DNSSEC.
    It's a security protocol that protects your domain from spoofing

    Then, all I did was insert the nameservers in the DNS section. In my case it was...

    ns1. inmotionhosting .com
    ns2. inmotionhosting .com

    You'll need to get your own nameservers from your webhost.

    Finally, I went to the "A" record and inserted the IP address of my hosting account. Similar to this...

    173.123.456.78

    You'll need to get your own IP address from your webhost.


    Also, make sure you click the button (or link) that says "use these settings" (it might say change to these settings, or something similar)

    That's it. It can take a day or two for your domain to propagate the internet and show up. Mine took about 4 hours before the site was live.


    For now, don't worry about "AAAA" or "MX" or "SPF" or any of the other alphabet letters. Those records serve different purposes like email verification from your domain and other security records. But you don't need them to point your domain to your webhost.




    TLDR

    1. disable DNSSEC

    2. insert your webhost nameservers in the DNS section

    3. for the "A" record insert the IP address of your hosting account

    4. click on "use these settings"

    5. wait for the domain to propagate


    That's all I did last week with my google registered domain. Can't imagine it's changed too much since then?

    Hope it works for you...

    All the best,
    Steve
    Signature

    Grow Your Copywriting Skills & Network with Other Copywriting Professionals - Join us at the Copywriters Forum

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11701170].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ulrichburke
    Dear SA Rubin.

    That's the best answer I've had so far and I thank you truly for it.

    My domain and host and everything are Google. I'm Google Central!

    Please, what do I click on, and where do I find it, to get the A NAME numbers? Once I know THAT, I'll be able to do the rest of what you tell me. I cannot find this numerical A NAME anywheres!

    Sorry about this - first time!

    Yours respectfully

    Chris.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11701182].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author SARubin
      Originally Posted by ulrichburke View Post

      Dear SA Rubin.

      That's the best answer I've had so far and I thank you truly for it.

      My domain and host and everything are Google. I'm Google Central!

      Please, what do I click on, and where do I find it, to get the A NAME numbers? Once I know THAT, I'll be able to do the rest of what you tell me. I cannot find this numerical A NAME anywheres!

      Sorry about this - first time!

      Yours respectfully

      Chris.
      OK, I'm not sure if it'll help you or not, because as a habit I don't host my sites with the same company where I buy my domains. So I'm not sure how google handles their internal hosting structure.

      But I can at least tell you where I put my webhost A record, and maybe it'll help you?


      1. Log into google domains
      2. On the left side menu click "DNS"
      3. Near the top of the page make sure you click on "default name servers" (not custom nameservers)
      4. Halfway down, where it says custom records, click on "manage custom records"

      From there you can manage all of the alphabet records for your site. Use the dropdown and select "A" record and you'll see the place for an IP address.


      I just took a screenshot of it but can't seem to load a picture here for you to look at. So I hope these instructions help you find what you're looking for.

      Again, I'm not sure how google handles internal domain directing, but as of right now you know everything I know about it.
      Hope it helps.

      All the best,
      Steve
      Signature

      Grow Your Copywriting Skills & Network with Other Copywriting Professionals - Join us at the Copywriters Forum

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11701188].message }}

Trending Topics