How to Setup a Domain with Namecheap in blogger Dashboard.

Recently I purchased a domain from NAMECHEAP and I found out that redirecting a domain and pointing it back to a blogger dashboard is really confusing. I embarked on a research and got up with this self explained tutorial on how to point a domain from Namecheap to Blogger. If you buy your own domain from Namecheap, it comes with the following:
• Free WhoisGuard Protection (Free on the first year of subscription)
• Free Url & Email Forwarding
• Featured DNS Services
• Full Domain Control
• Security Features (Registrar Lock, etc.) and so many others. This tutorial is in compliance with Google's requirement of two CNAME records to be added to your domain registrar's DNS setting. In this case, our registrar is Namecheap. So, with a few steps, here's a simple tutorial to guide you through on how to point your domain from Namecheap to Blogger.

HOW TO POINT A DOMAIN FROM NAMECHEAP TO BLOGGER. 

1.   First, log in to your Blogger Account. 
2.  Go to your Blogger Dashboard. Click on Settings. Then click Basic. Under Basic, locate Publishing, then click Add a custom domain. 
3.  Once you click Add a custom domain, locate the Switch to advanced settings nearby. 
4.  Type in the full domain address that you bought from Namecheap. Include the www. In my case, I typed in www.xtraloaded.com . Then, click Save. You will be prompted with an error message that says "We have not been able to verify your authority to the domain. Error 12.". This is perfectly normal as we have not defined your CNAMES in Namecheap yet. Please take note of the Name, Label or Host field and the Destination, Target or Points to field. You may copy and paste it in Notepad for later use.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        FURTHER EXPLANATION: 

•  The first CNAME is www and ghs.google.com. This is the same for everyone.  
•  The second CNAME is the one directly below www and ghs.google.com. These are two alpha-numeric strings (i.e one short and the other is very long with a (dot)com at the end). Be sure to copy these two very carefully and make sure also to include the (dot)com at the end of the second string. Please see this screenshot below for reference. Unlike the first line, these two details are different for every user. 
• Next, let's go to Namecheap.com . Log in to your Namecheap account. On the left side of your screen, you will see Account Information. Click View under Number of domains in your account. 
•  After clicking View, you will be redirected on the main content page of your domain. If you purchased more than one domain, it will all be listed under this page. I purchased one, so in my case, i see one domain listed. Click the one that you would like to modify. In my case, I clicked on xtraloaded.com. 
•  Once you click on your domain, look at the left side of your screen under Host Management. Click on All Host Records. 
•  We will now have to populate the fields with the required details. We need 4 A-Records and 2 CNAME records (we already got the two CNAMES from Step 4). So, let's start. Please be careful in entering the details. To give you an idea sample of the Host Records after you entered all the details. The 4 IP Addresses that you see are from Google's Official Help Page.

 LET'S FILL IT UP ONE LINE AFTER THE OTHER. 

1.  First line: Under Host Name, it already shows @, you can't change that. Under IP Address/URL, remove the domain that's automatically indicated there and change it to 216.239.38.21. Under Record Type, change it to A(Address). Under TTL, type 1800 if it's not already there. 
2.  Second line: Under Host Name, it already shows www, you can't change that too. Under IP Address/URL, remove whatever's there and change it to ghs.google.com (this is the first CNAME we got from Step 4). So, for the Record Type, choose CNAME(Alias) from the drop down option. Under TTL, type 1800 if it's not already indicated. 
3. Third  line: We are now in Sub-Domain Settings. Under Host Name, type in your domain name excluding the www. Under IP Address/URL, type 216.239.32.21. Under Record Type, choose A(Address). Under TTL, type 1800 if it's not already indicated. 
4.  Fourth line: Under Host Name, type in your domain name again excluding the www. Under IP Address/URL, type 216.239.34.21. Under Record Type, choose A(Address). Under TTL, type 1800 if it's not already indicated. 
5.  Fifth line: Under Host Name, type in your domain name again excluding the www. Under IP Address/URL, type 216.239.36.21. Under Record Type, choose A(Address). Under TTL, type 1800 again if it's still not indicated. 
6.  Sixth line: This is where we will need the second CNAME which we got from Step 4. Remember the two alpha-numeric strings? We need those. I suggest, you copy and paste these strings when entering it in the fields so as not to miss any character. First, copy the short alpha-numeric string and paste it under Host Name. Next, under IP Address/URL, copy the long alpha-numeric string and paste it there. Be sure to include all the way until the (dot)com at the end. Under Record Type, choose CNAME(Alias). Under TTL, type 1800 again if it's still not there. So, after entering all these details, you are good to go. Scroll down and look for the Save Changes button. Be sure to save your changes. • Double check your settings, just to be sure. After you click Save Changes. A prompt that says "Host Records Updated Successfully" will appear. 

•  Wait for a minute or two for the changes to be updated. Open a new browser and type in your new domain name including the www. Check what you see on the screen. If you see a 404 Google Error . Don’t worry you are still on right track. We can proceed to the next step. If the 404 Google Error hasn't appeared yet, wait for a few more minutes. Try to refresh your browser until you see it. In my case, it took me just around one minutes before I saw the error. 
•  Once you're done with that, go back to your Blogger dashboard. Then let's re-do Steps 1 to 4. But this time, after you type in your domain (including the www), you should not see the same error you saw at Step 4. The screen will just go back to Basic Settings page again after you click Save. Under Publishing, you will notice that beside Blog Address, your address is now the domain you got from Namecheap, not your Blogger/Blogspot address anymore. 
•  Now, next step is to redirect your naked domain. Naked domain simply means a domain without the www prefix. We need to do this so that when people type your domain, with or without www, they will still be redirected to your site. Under Publishing, click Edit beside your Namecheap domain. 
•  Click the checkbox that says Redirect yourdomain.com to www.yourdomain.com 
•  Check your new web address now. Open a new browser. In my experience, when I typed in my new domain, without the www, the page came out instantly after just around one minute. And also, when I typed in my domain including the www, it did come out instantly. It took just a minute before it got updated. Whenever I try to access www.xtraloaded.com , I kept seeing an error page. If you experience the same, don't panic, that's completely normal. It may take a few minutes, some says it takes some hours, before all systems get updated, before you can access your webpage using your new domain name. Mine took me just a minute. After these, you're finished. Well done! Don’t worry about your traffic, it’s safe and still intact because, when readers search your blog using your Blogspot url, it will redirect them to your new custom domain. 

 My credits goes to joysofawifeandmom