How can I get an abandoned WordPress blog name?
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I now own a specific domain name and want to create a premium account for a WordPress blog by the same name. However, that name is taken but it has NO posts or activity since it was created in 2010. Is there a way to either contact the “owner” and get that name, or can the name be reassigned to me since it appears to be abandoned?
I’m new to WordPress, but will be using it as a principal site while I am serving with the Peace Corps in Namibia, and probably in other locations following that two year assignment.
I know I can assign the domain name to my blog regardless of the blog name, but would prefer to be consistent with the same blog site name, if possible.
Thanks – as soon as I have an answer I will create a blog site, go premium, and start populating it. I already have publicity cards printed with the domain name printed and they are being distributed, so I need to get this going as soon as possible.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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WordPress.COM is the top level domain here. All WordPress.COM blogs are on .wordpress.com sub-domains. And, it does not matter what the underlying .wordpress.com sub-domain URL is when you are domain mapping.
See here for details of all 3 plans http://store.wordpress.com/bundles/ offered by WordPress.com.
Premium bundle details http://store.wordpress.com/plans/premium/
Business bundle details http://store.wordpress.com/plans/business/Note that each upgrade bundle applies to a single blog only and is for a single year only when it is due to be renewed.
There is no expiration date on .wordpress.com blogs unused, reserved or otherwise. If you can make contact on your own with the owner of an unused blog via a contact form or commenting, then providing the are agreeable there is a means of a consenting blog owner to transfer the blog to another username account. http://en.support.wordpress.com/moving-a-blog/#transferring-your-blog-to-another-user-or-account
In the case that there is no contact information Staff will not breach the privacy policy and provide you with an email address.
If you are not successful, you can register another blog with a similar name. http://en.support.wordpress.com/register-a-blog/
Or you can register a domain via a domain mapping upgrade and it will not matter what the underlying .wordpress.com address is.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/register-domain/What domain mapping does its create a seamless transfer between the underlying .wordpress.com blog URLs to the domain URLs no matter where they are on the internet. Visitors who click the underlying .wordpress.com blog URLs will be seamlessly redirected to the exact same content under the domain URLs.
If you would like to use a domain URL that you already own on the blog hosted by WordPress.com you will first need to register a .wordpress.com blog, purchase an upgrade for it, and set up domain mapping.
Please read Domains: Important Notes Before Upgrading http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/
All that changes when you are domain mapping is the URL and nothing else. The content stays exactly where it is. Payment methods are found at http://en.support.wordpress.com/payment/
In order to map to a domain one must have an underlying .wordpress.com subdomain blog to map from, and the domain name you desire must be available for purchase, or you must already own the domain URL.
You must be logged in as Admin http://en.support.wordpress.com/user-roles/#administrator under the exact same username account that registered the blog to access the blog’s dashboard at > Store > My Upgrades to purchase upgrades for the blog.
See here
See here if you do not own a domain http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/See here for mapping an existing domain that you already own http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/map-existing-domain/
WordPress.com does not accept domain transfers but mapping an existing domain is possible. Domain mapping of an existing domain URL that you already own and purchased elsewhere is not done free of charge. You will have to renew the domain name purchase where you made it and the domain mapping purchase here every year. Mapping an existing domain costs $13. annually.if you already have a website you don’t want to affect, and you want to add a blog to it under a subdomain (for example, blog.yourgroovydomain.com) see here http://support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/map-subdomain/
After you do the primary blog set up it can take between 24 – 72 hours for domain name propagation to take place throughout the internet. You can view the DNS changes here > http://www.whatsmydns.net/ What’s important during that stage is to be patient.
If you succeed at purchasing the domain mapping upgrade it will be reflected at these two spots:
Dashboard > Store > My Upgrades
http://en.support.wordpress.com/my-upgrades/Dashboard > Store > Billing History
http://en.support.wordpress.com/billing-history/Your payment methods are here https://en.support.wordpress.com/payment/
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Basically, it’s up to you to turn detective and try to contact that blogger. Staff will not act as intermediaries or supply contact details. You can try leaving a comment and seeing if they reply.
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Thanks to both of you. I suspected as much, but it seemed worthwhile to check. Although I was clear on the general process, I especially appreciate timethief’s detailed information, and raincoaster’s suggestion to just leave a post and see what happens. I’m not optimistic! :)
I appreciate your replies.
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Just a follow up: I put a note on the blog site, the owner answered right away, and graciously helped to overcome a few technical obstacles with WordPress Support. I now “own” the web site.
Thank you for your initial response. It was very helpful.
Best regards,
Andy
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