How to: Redirect a Google Website to Google Blog

There are a LOT of people out there who aren’t able to figure this out, and I was one of them for a few hours tonight. Since I figured out the fix, I thought I’d share it here in the techni-section of the blog.

Problem: I want my Google-purchased web site to point to my blog.

(Not to be confused with “I want my blog to point to my web site.”) that’s an entirely  different problem.

Solution: Create a CNAME record in your Google DNS settings.

if you can’t find your DNS settings then unfortunately I can’t help you, quite simply because that’s more effort than I want to expend on this informational post. Assuming you know what DNS is and you purchased a domain through Google, you can at least Google the answer and find the appropriate place to go to do that.

Once you’re there, assuming you are editing your Google based DNS through Enom, it’s very simple.

Click on the image below to it full sized if you need clarification of the instructions I’m about to give you.

I wanted two redirects to point my Google web site to my Google blog, but didn’t want to have to lose ALL my website functionality because i might want to take advantage of some of the other things Google sites offer in the future.

• 
  Login to your DNS management within Google Apps by going to Domain Settings, then clicking Domain Names on the sub toolbar beneath the main toobar, then click the link for Advanced DNS Settings. This page will also show you your Enom username and password so write that down. You’ll need it on the following page as soon as you click the link.
• Once  you have logged into Enom, scroll down to where it says Host Records. On the bottom of this section, click on Edit.
• On the bottom of the screen now you will see an Add New option. Click this to add a new row to your CNAME settings.
• I added two rows to my domain name. I wanted to redirect the main site http://caffieneworkshop.com and also http://blog.caffieneworkshop.com to the google blog. To do this, simply enter the CNAME (the part before the domain name in your browser’s address field) in the first field. I chose “blog”. Be sure you choose the Record Type “URL Redirect” on the right side menu. Then type your blogger web address in the middle field. Leave out the http://. All you need is the nameofyourblog.blogspot.com
• When you’re done, press save.
• Test this by typing the new address in a new browser window. The effect should be immediate.

I spent two hours trying to figure this out and then it just clicked in my head what to do. I hope someone out there finds this useful. If it needs clarification, please let me know and I’ll work to make sure it’s easy to understand.

If you find this article helpful, please be kind enough to leave a comment or share the URL with others.

Thanks!

Coffee Guy