Confusion simply getting up and running with domain mapping

  • Unknown's avatar
    jimwebbatx · Member ·

    I feel I’ve done something really simple and fundamentally wrong but I just can’t figure it out. My instinct is to delete everything and start over but I don’t want to risk losing my $ or the work I’ve done so far. Also I’ve been creating html an java sites through reverse engineering for a long time. I know just enough to get myself into trouble.

    So…here we go.

    Firstly, I have the URL, zilkerfilms.tv

    Not really knowing much about WP, a few days ago I registered (zilkerfilms.wordpress.com) with the $99 Premium package. At the same time I purchased the additional WP “domain mapping” for $13/yr which I assumed I needed to allow me to continue using my current url/host/server (networksolutions.com) and “redirect” the WP url to appear to be zilkerfilms.tv (without the /wordpress). Yes?

    So all I have registered with WP is (zilkerfilms.wordpress.com).

    As a side note, I also installed WP on my host/server by going to the NS site and installing via the WP installation app. I installed the files in a folder on the server named, wordpress (ie, zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress).

    Here’s where the confusing stuff starts for me…

    When I’m in my WP account, I have (2) dashboards and I can build two different WordPress sites under one WP account with the same admin. Almost like a dashboard within a dashboard, or as if one is nested. Perhaps this is due to the domain mapping.

    So one is the “main” dashboard @ (zilkerfilms.wordpress.com) and the other is the dashboard @ (zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress.com) – the dashboard of the “domain mapping” URL, so to speak. They both look different from each other and offer different options.

    And so I’ve been working on both, testing to see what’s what. Although I can build a site through either dashboard, (zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress) is the one that seems to be “working”. Like when I type my URL, zilkerfilms.tv in the browser (or click “show site”) from the dashboard, (zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress) is the ONE site that shows up – not the site built from my main registered WP site. The registered WP site I built (or half built) @ (zilkerfilms.wordpress.com) virtually doesn’t exist outside of the dashboard. Again, I can access it’s dashboard and go through the motions of building the site but its like its not there otherwise.

    Also the dashboard @ (zilkerfilms.wordpress.com) only has the option of “switch site”, and not “show site”. In that way it’s acting like a managing account. And when I click on “switch site”, it in turn “shows” the WP site created at the dashboard @ (zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress.com).

    Anyway, so I figured since the one dashboard works (zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress), I’d focus on that one and figure out the quirks as I got closer to having something I felt like making public. But I soon realized that when I’m accessing that dashboard @ (zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress), I’m actually accessing and manipulating the files on my (host) server, not the WP cloud. And that doesn’t seem right for what I’m trying to do. Its as if the domain mapping feature has overridden the original (main) WP dashboard. Either way it feels like I’ve possibly doubled up on something, making it more complicated than its needs to be and its causing conflicts.

    Sorry for the long post. Helpful advise welcome. Thanks.
    J

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    raincoaster · Member ·

    I registered (zilkerfilms.wordpress.com) with the $99 Premium package. At the same time I purchased the additional WP “domain mapping” for $13/yr which I assumed I needed to allow me to continue using my current url/host/server (networksolutions.com) and “redirect” the WP url to appear to be zilkerfilms.tv (without the /wordpress). Yes?

    No.

    The domain mapping is included in the $99.

    http://zilkerfilms.tv/wordpress will never be hosted at WordPress.com. WP.com can’t handle URLs like that; you can use a subdomain like wordpress.zilkerfilms.tv but not the other.

    If you really want WordPress.COM features, and not WordPress.ORG features, then use your upgrade bundle to map a subdomain as suggested above to your WordPress.com blog.

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