In this blog post, I will cover how to set-up a Google domain and link it to your Ghost.org account. A domain name is the address of your website that people will input in the browser URL bar to be taken to your website. Having a domain will give your website or blog a more professional look. The domain name also only costs around £10/$14 for the year. So, its definitely something to consider investing in when setting up your website or blog.

There is A LOT of different websites to get your domain from. However, I will only be covering Google domains as this is the only domain site I have experience using.

This blog post will cover:

If you need help with other aspects of Ghost.org/Google Domains, follow my 'how-to' blog post series linked at the bottom of this blog. A new 'how-to' blog post will be released every Thursday.

STEP ONE: Setting up a domain using Google

1. Access domains.google.com

2. Search for your new domain and click 'get it'.

3. You will be able to see if your domain is available. It will also give you a list of endings for your name including '.com, .co.uk, .net' etc. I picked '.com' as it is more universally used.

4. Once you have found the domain name you want, click on the little shopping cart icon, next to the heart icon to add it to cart.

5.  Then, click 'go to cart'. Under registration, you can choose to register the domain for up to 5 years. You can also switch on/off privacy protection or auto-renew at this point. As well as, set up a custom email. Once your happy with your selections, go to check-out and fill out your personal details to buy the domain.

STEP TWO: Linking your Google domain to your Ghost.org account

This is where it gets a bit more complicated.

VERY IMPORTANT: You HAVE to set-up billing on Ghost Pro before linking the domain or the domain will not be activated.

1. Choose Ghost Pro down the left-hand menu.

2. Click the ‘Domain’ tab up the top (next to billing).

3. Under the custom heading, click 'setup'. Take a note of the information in part 2 of this page under the 'create your DNS records' section (as shown in the picture below).

4. Now head over to your Google domain and in the left-hand column, select 'DNS'.

5. Make sure you are on 'default name servers (active)' tab and under resource records, click on 'custom records'.

6. This is where you will input the information from your DNS records. Please do NOT copy this information as your DNS records will be unique to you. The pictures included in this blog are just here as a guide.

Custom record 1: Leave the host name section blank. Input 'A' in the 'type' box. Keep the TTL (time-to-live) at '3600'. In the data section, put the numbers value. In my case, this is '147.234.987.015' but again, this will be unique to you.

Custom record 2: In the host name box, put 'www'. Input 'CNAME' in the 'type' box.  Keep the TTL (time-to-live) at '3600'. In the data section, put your ghost.io name e.g. hello-11.ghost.io.

> Once you have input both these custom records. Click save.

STEP THREE: Activating your domain on your Ghost.org account

1. Go back to your Ghost.org account. Choose Ghost Pro down the left-hand menu.

2. Click the ‘Domain’ tab up the top (next to billing).

3. Under the custom heading, click 'setup'.

4. Under the domain heading, enter the domain name you selected in step 1. Example: 'www.hello-11.com'.

5. Click activate domain. Be patient as this could take time.

>NOTE: your domain will only become activated if you have paid for Ghost Pro.

#1 HOW TO: Set up your Ghost.org account and billing.
Recently, I took the notion of setting up my own travel and lifestyle blog and I was very naïve to think that it would be easy. I like to think I’m pretty savvy with a computer. Well, that was until I started trying to create my own blog/website
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#3 HOW TO: Pick and install your Ghost.org blog theme
TLDR: Go to step 1 for picking and installing your Ghost.org theme. Go to step 2 for activating your theme or changing your theme. If you need help with other aspects of Ghost.org/Google Domains, follow my ‘how-to’ blog post series linked at the bottom of this blog.
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#4 HOW TO: Edit your Ghost.org general publication details and link your social media
How to edit your Ghost general publication details, site metadata (for SEO), link social media accounts and add a Pinterest save button.
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#5 HOW TO: Create the best branding for your Ghost.org site to attract more viewers
Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission for purchases made through links in this post. However, please note I only recommend products I have used, and I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t
24 CountriesKirsty

Hopefully, you should now have a fully functioning Ghost.org website with an attached domain! Please get in touch via the contact form if you have any more questions.