I registered andreamorgante.com at Aruba.it website. I’ve been using Aruba as service provider for more than 3 years and I cannot complain, even though there are a lot of things to improve. In the very beginning I used to run my own CMS (Mambo) on a Aruba linux server. It was too time consuming and anyhow the result was not comparable with awesome services like WordPress. So last year I moved to WordPress and I kept andreamorgante.com as a simple redirect to morghi76.wordpress.com. Some time ago this domain mapping thing appeared among the options in the dashboard and immediately thought it sounded just great. The domain mapping would have allowed me to replace the morghi76.wordpress with andreamorgante, making the website links looking as the one I used to run my own CMS. I had to go for it! And I went for it! Here is how I did it:
- I changed the subscription to Aruba.it services to domain registering and DNS managing only, which actually is the cheapest among those they offer
- I tried to change the name servers (NS) from Aruba to WordPress ones but the feature – even if listed – it’s not available from Aruba admin panel. In other words, it’s there, you see it, but you can’t use it. It does not make any sense to me, but it’s the way it goes if you register your domain at Aruba.it. I had then to turn to the helpdesk. They changed the parameters (you’ll find them in wordpress admin page, so I will not post them here) in 12 hours
- I waited that the change propagated in the network. Every DNS-related website says it takes 24/48 hours usually, but you can check if the change took effect checking your domain at DNSstuff or DNScheck
- After 72 hours, I kept getting the error message in WordPress anytime I tried to map the domain. So this time I turned to WordPress helpdesk
- WordPress helpdesk was even faster: they fixed it in few hours. I was finally ready to start the domain mapping procedure
- It really takes few minutes: if your DNS settings are correct and your domain is pointing at wordpress NS you will be asked for 10 credits and after that you’re done!
Extra feature: why not having your domain-related email too? WordPress allows you to use Google Apps service in conjunction with theirs. Anyhow, for the time being only the MX webmail is supported. Few clics and you can setup a number of email accounts for your domain for free. That’s at least what I did
