In order to switch your host, you have to change your domain’s name servers. Simply put, these name servers tell browsers where they can find your website. When you’re working on a deadline as I was last night, you need things to switch quickly so you can make sure the new site is ready to go as soon as possible. The problem is, the changes you make aren’t necessarily instant. It can take up to 24 hours for your site to redirect and the results aren’t the same for everyone. Someone in Utah might see the new site while someone in New York is still getting served the old one.

Last night, as I was in a hurry to restore the database and get Blog Design Guy up to speed before anyone noticed, I got served the old site.

In the past, I’ve waited up to 4 hours for the right site to show up. I couldn’t wait that long last night, so here’s what I did to get the new site loading almost instantly.

Google Public DNS

When you sign up with an Internet Service Provider, they usually assign the domain name servers you use automatically. That means when you type http://blogdesignguy.com into your browser, your browser asks those servers to look it up. If those servers don’t know the site’s new location, tough luck. You’re stuck getting the old one.

What I learned last night, though, is that you can actually assign your own domain name servers. And if there’s any domain name server that should be up-to-date, it’s Google’s.

I set my domain name servers to Google’s Public DNS. As soon as I did, I began receiving the new site instantly which made it a lot easier for me to get Blog Design Guy back in working order.

Here’s how you do it:

Setting it up on a Mac

I use a Mac so these are the instructions I followed, as lifted from Google’s support page:

1. From the Apple menu, click System Preferences, then click Network.
2. If the lock icon in the lower left-hand corner of the window is locked, click the icon to make changes, and when prompted to authenticate, enter your password.
3. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
   • To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, select Built-In Ethernet, and click Advanced.
   • To change the settings for a wireless connection, select Airport, and click Advanced.
4. Select the DNS tab.
5. Click + to replace any listed addresses with, or add, the Google IP addresses at the top of the list:
   • For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4.
   • For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844
6. Click Apply and OK.

Setting it up on Windows

1. Go the Control Panel.
2. Click Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, and click Change adapter settings.
3. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
   • To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and click Properties.
   • To change the settings for a wireless connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and click Properties.

   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

4. Select the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and then click Properties.
5. Click Advanced and select the DNS tab. If there are any DNS server IP addresses listed there, write them down for future reference, and remove them from this window.
6. Click OK.
7. Select Use the following DNS server addresses. If there are any IP addresses listed in the Preferred DNS server or Alternate DNS server, write them down for future reference.
8. Replace those addresses with the IP addresses of the Google DNS servers:
   • For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4.
   • For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844
9. Restart the connection you selected in step 3.

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My blog is hosted on TypePad, but it seems like everyone is using WordPress these days. Should I switch to WordPress? If so, how do I go about doing that without losing the design and content of my site?

- Positively Present

It’s being reported that WordPress is now used by 14% of all websites on the internet. It is by far the most popular content management system on the web. There are thousands of plugins and premium themes available for it and millions of users to help you out if you hit a road block.

But is it right for you?

I absolutely love WordPress. It’s a wonderful product, but my advice to you is this: Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken. Have you already made TypePad a part of your workflow? If so, think about how much time and effort it will take to relearn how to use your own website. And then, even after learning how to use the new system, it will take many weeks to many months to return to the same level of productivity you had with the former system.

The only reason you should switch from TypePad to WordPress is if you are outgrowing TypePad. Are there features it sorely lacks? Is the system in general hindering the work you do? Are there limitations to how you can use it? If so, switch to WordPress (or any other better-suited CMS).

If you do choose to switch, it’s a pretty simple process content-wise. You can easily export your TypePad content and then import it into a self-hosted WordPress installation. Check out TypePad’s official documentation if you need help.

The design will probably be a bit more difficult, only because you’ll probably have to rebuild it. But with WordPress it’s simple. You can hire a pro to do it (like me, wink wink) or you can buy a kick ass theme like Headway. Headway will let you drag and drop your design. You don’t have to know HTML/CSS/PHP or any other exotic technical languages. You just use a mouse, drop down menus, color selectors, etc.

Either way, you’ll be up and running in no time.

As always, if you have a question or need free help with any aspect of your blog, contact me via this form!Similar Posts:

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I want to give some life and colour to my blog and make it a well designed blog. I do not know how to proceed. Please help me.

- Surendranath Menon, thejus.blogspot.com

The first thing I have to say is that, in my experience as a designer, the simplest and quickest way to give life and color to your blog is to use WordPress. Why? Simply because WordPress is a bigger platform than Blogger or any other competitor. There are more designers actively creating awesome themes for WordPress than for any other blogging system.

For non-designers, this means a massive collection of high quality free and paid themes to choose from with new ones being released every day. For those who want to choose a theme and forget about it, WordPress includes a huge directory of free themes built into its administration panel.

For those do-it-yourself blog design types, there’s an awesome premium theme called Headway that lets you design your site as easily as you might lay out a word document. It comes with a Visual Editor that lets you drag, drop, pick and choose your design and the possibilities are endless. Headway simplifies my development process and allows me to focus on the details of the design rather than “making it work.” That’s why I use Headway on Blog Design Guy and every other site I own.

If you’re not able or interested in learning how to use a theme framework like Headway, but you want a great looking custom design, you should consider hiring a professional designer to create a custom theme for you. I offer custom blog design services to anyone in this category.

If you’re dead set on using Blogger, then the Template Designer is the way to go. To learn more about how to use the Template Designer, check out this Google help page. It should tell you everything you need to know.

If you need free professional help with any aspect of your blog, from the design to content creation to monetization, contact Blog Design Guy using the Free Help page.Similar Posts:

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I am trying to set up a WordPress self-hosted blog, and I’m having a little trouble.  I think I need a geek’s advice to help unjumble all the tech jargon.  I’m using Blogger right now, and it is slowly driving me insane, so I was wondering what is the quickest way to set up a self-host?

Stacey Hume

Congratulations on taking the initiative to switch away from Blogger! I’ve never found Blogger to be nearly as useful as WordPress and I think you’ll agree with me once you make the switch.

Switching to a self-hosted WordPress installation is actually way easier than you think. I can go into all the technical details, but you don’t need to bother with that. The quickest, easiest way to get yourself on a self-hosted WordPress installation is to simply sign up for a hosting account.

Most major web hosts offer one-click installations of WordPress (and other open source apps). So if you sign up for GoDaddy, Dreamhost, BlueHost, WebFaction or plenty of other services, you’ll be able to install WordPress without ever having to look behind the scenes. It will just work.

The process for doing this on each host differs slightly, so it’s best to just choose a host and then to look up their particular documentation for WordPress.

If you need *free* professional help with any aspect of your blog, get in touch with Blog Design Guy through the Free Help form.

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My blog is super basic… that I like. I just don’t think there is an easy way to find archived files. I know zero about blog design.

- Shaena Crespo, SheLaughsBlog

Thanks for your question, Shaena!

For those who don’t know much about blog design (or design in general), a basic theme is a really great way to start. It’s hard to screw up basic. In your case, Shaena, I see you’re using WordPress.com as your host and Twenty Eleven as your theme. (Click here to check out Shaena’s blog)

You’re right, browsing through your archive looks like it would be tedious. I would either have to click on the category dropdown menu in the sidebar, or click on a tag or category listed after a post:

Even if a reader would bother to check out your archive, there’s not much of a chance they’ll stick around. All they will get is a reverse chronological list of your posts. When people visit your blog, they want to see the best of the best. They don’t want to have to find it.

Normally I might suggest that you create a custom archive page, use Headway to create custom sneeze pages or install some plugin. However, using WordPress.com makes that pretty much impossible. Plugins and themes like Headway aren’t available to WordPress.com bloggers, only WordPress.org bloggers. I don’t know if you can do custom coding on WordPress.com, but if you can it probably costs extra.

In the future, you might want to look into moving away from WordPress.com onto a self-hosted WordPress.org so that you aren’t limited in the ways you can use your blog.

But, right now you have a problem. How can you help your readers browse your archive using the Twenty Eleven theme on WordPress.com?

If you head to Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress dashboard, you’ll actually find some really helpful options. You’ll see Archive at the top (which you’re currently using as a dropdown menu in your sidebar.) The easiest and quickest way to improve your archive for your readers is to drag the “Top Posts & Pages” widget to the main sidebar.

Now when people visit your blog, they’ll have easy access to the most popular content, the best of the best. You also might want to play around with the Top Rated, Calendar, Category Cloud and Tag Cloud widgets. While I don’t think any of these are the ideal solution for your blog, they are easy to implement and they work well on WordPress.com.

Do you have a question about your blog that you need answered? Get free help by clicking here.

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