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Quick Tutorial: Get your domain name setup with iWeb 09, MobileMe, and GoDaddy

Documentation on setting up your personal domain name can be scarce. This tutorial is a simple way to do it using MobileMe, GoDaddy, and iWeb 09.

Joe Aimonetti MacFixIt Editor
Joe is a seasoned Mac veteran with years of experience on the platform. He reports on Macs, iPods, iPhones and anything else Apple sells. He even has worked in Apple retail stores. He's also a creative professional who knows how to use a Mac to get the job done.
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Joe Aimonetti
2 min read

Documentation on setting up your personal domain name can be scarce. This tutorial is a simple way to do it using MobileMe, GoDaddy and iWeb 09 on Mac OS X 10.6.2. So, get a site started in iWeb and meet me after the break for the rest!

This tutorial is taking the website publishing process from the point where you have completed (or at least semi-completed) a site designed in iWeb. I am also assuming you have MobileMe for publishing your site. If you do not have MobileMe, you can purchase a year of hosting (and other great Web services) for $99 from Apple. You should also purchase your domain name. Purchasing your domain name with GoDaddy makes this process very easy.

To have your domain name (from GoDaddy) directed to your website (hosted on MobileMe), follow these simple directions:

  1. First, set your MobileMe account to be linked to your personalized domain name. Open iWeb and from the iWeb menu bar, select File > Set Up Personal Domain on MobileMe.
  2. Enter your domain name information on me.com. Select the Account Preferences icon (the gear) and select Personal Domain from the list on the left.
  3. Once your domain name is entered in me.com, log in to your GoDaddy account.
  4. Select "My Account" from the tabs at the top of the page.
  5. Select your domain name from the "Products" list. Next, select "More Settings".
  6. Click the "Manage" link for "Total DNS/MX". This will allow your domain to send people to your MobileMe space to access your site.
  7. Click the edit icon on the far right of the "www" entry in the "CNAMES (Aliases)" list.
  8. Change the entry to "web.me.com" and save. This change could take up to an hour to become effective.
  9. As it stands, people that enter "http://www.yourdomain.com" will go to your MobileMe/iWeb-created site. However, people that enter "http://yourdomain.com" will not. To change this:
    1. From your GoDaddy account overview page, select your domain name.
    2. Click the "Forwarding" button.
    3. In the Forwarding window, type in "http://www.yourdomain.com". It should default as "Forward Only". Click OK and your site will now be accessible with or without the "www" prefix.
  10. Now you can click the Publish button in iWeb and your site will be live on "http://yourdomain.com".

This is just one way of many to get your site published to a personalized domain. But, of all the solutions running around out there, I have found that this is easiest. Do you have an iWeb publishing solution? Let us know in the comments!

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