Domain mapping still doesn't work properly

Ready, set... Still no go.

Activating domain mapping so that the addresses of both my blogs and my photo albums display as www.nevon.net/[name of blog or album] still doesn't produce the desired result.

I've followed all the instructions as per TypePad's domain mapping configuration guide, from changing the required DNS settings at my host, GoDaddy, to setting things up at the TypePad end and then activating the mapping. I've had correspondence during the past week with GoDaddy's support team and with TypePad support. Everything should be fine.

But it still doesn't work properly.

As the screenshot on the left shows (click for larger view), the mapping looks like it works, but the appearance of the blog is a complete mess. It looks as though the stylesheet isn't being applied. I activated domain mapping a few days ago on my main blog with the same result. Rather than risk another mess on my main blog, I decided to try it just on this blog in case it didn't work. And it didn't.

According to the TypePad help pages, this situation re the stylesheet not taking occurs when the stylesheet is not found because the domain isn't ready to be set as active.

Yet both TypePad and GoDaddy say it should work correctly by now - I did all the initial setup a week ago, plenty of time for DNS records everywhere to be updated. Both say they can see my blogs if they type in the new domain address.

The thing is, though, I would expect that anyway because I had set up domain forwarding some weeks ago. So if you type www.nevon.net/experimental/, for instance, you will get to this blog.

I wonder whether disabling domain forwarding at the GoDaddy end might make any difference (GoDaddy support say it shouldn't).

Anyway, back to both supports for more help. If anyone else has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate hearing them!

Edit: Curious. If you click the link above, to this blog, what you get is the main blog. Why would that be? Something in the DNS? Yep, back to support...

Edit 27-Feb: More curious. That link now works properly, but the URL in the browser address bar shows two forward slashes together, as in "http://nevon.typepad.com//experimental/".

What's changed? Well, at the suggestion of TypePad support yesterday, I disabled domain masking (which was enabled) at GoDaddy. Other than that, nothing else.

Comments

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Neville
Wondered if you've had any luck with your Domain Mapping, because I am having exactly the same problems with a new site I'm working on. Any pointers greatly appreciated.
Regards
Craig

[Neville Hobson]

Craig, success eventually. The reason it didn't work was wholly my fault! Explained here -

http://www.nevon.net/experimental/2005/03/domain_mapping_.html