Nerdizen
Redirect Old to New Domain with HTTPS without Web Hosting for Free (with Cloudflare)

Redirect Old to New Domain with HTTPS without Web Hosting for Free (with Cloudflare)

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Got a new domain name for our website and want to redirect the old domain to the new one, but we don't have web hosting for the SSL/HTTPS? Easy, we can use the free service Cloudflare provided.

Nerdizen.xyz — Redirecting domain is of course can be done easily on our domain's registrar platform from the provided tools there e.g., the DNS settings.

But what if we want to also redirect the SSL/HTTPS version of our website, but we don't have way to setup it because we don't have a web hosting? Cloudflare is the solution!

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If we park our domain on Cloudflare, it provides the SSL encryption to secure the connection using the HTTPS protocol, so redirecting HTTPS is working without a hassle.

Moreover, Cloudflare is generous enough, even the free plan is great and SSL/HTTPS connection is available on their free plan.

Steps redirecting a domain to another one with SSL/HTTPS on Cloudflare

Changing nameservers, parking old domain to Cloudflare and enabling the HTTPS connection

  1. Log in to the Cloudflare's dashboard and add our domain/website.
  2. When selecting the plan, choose suit us. Of course here I will be using the Free plan. 😋
    Image for step 2
  3. It will ask to change the nameservers to the one Cloudflare's provided.
  4. Go to our original domain's registrar, for example here I am using Namecheap, and set the custom nameservers to the one Cloudflare provides, example for me:

    - kami.ns.cloudflare.com
    - paul.ns.cloudflare.com

    Image for step 3 & 4, 1 Image for step 3 & 4, 2
  5. Wait. Nameserver changes often won't take instantly and can take up to 48 hours. We can check back every 30 minutes and refresh the Cloudflare domain/website page to see if the status is changed to "Active".
  6. After the status is changed to "Active", delete unused DNS records. Click the "DNS" menu on the sidebar, it will take us to the "Records" sub menu.
  7. Scroll down and delete all records with "A" or "CNAME" Type column that has Name column of our domain's root or www. Click "Edit" on the Action column of the record, then click "Delete" button on the bottom.
    Image for step 7
  8. Next enabling the HTTPS connection, click the "SSL/TLS" menu on the sidebar, and set the mode to "Flexible".
    Image for step 8
  9. Back to the DNS menu, we'll add Cloudflare's DNS records to our domain. Click "Add record", then add two new A records:

    a.) Type: A | Name: @ | IPv4 adress: 192.0.2.1 | Proxy status: enabled.
    b.) Type: A | Name: www | IPv4 adress: 192.0.2.1 | Proxy status: enabled.

    Click "Save" on the button to save the each new records.
    Image for step 9, 1 Image for step 9, 2

Redirect naked/root domain

  1. Expand the "Rules" menu on the sidebar by clicking the arrow icon → "Redirect Rules" → Click "Create rule" button.
  2. On the "Rule name" input, create a descriptive name, e.g., Redirect to www.mynewdomain.com.
  3. Scroll down to the "When incoming requests match..." section and fill the fields, example:

    a.) Field: Hostname
    b.) Operator: equals
    c.) Value: mycurrentdomain.com
  4. Scroll down to "Then..." section and fill the fields:

    a.) Type: Dynamic
    b.) Expression: concat("https://mynewdomain.com", http.request.uri.path)
    c.) Status code: 301
    d.) Tick the "Preserve query string".
  5. Click "Deploy" button on the bottom right.
    Image for step 1 to 5

Redirect www version and other subdomain

  1. Go to "Redirect Rules" sub menu under the "Rules" menu on the sidebar (still on the same menu from the previous steps).
  2. Scroll down to "Bulk Redirects" section and click "create a bulk redirect list".
    Image for step 2
  3. On the Name input, type desired name, it can only contain letters and underscores, e.g., www_currentdomain_com_to_newdomain_com, click "Next".

    Image for step 3
  4. On the "Add URLs to redirect" section, click "Or, manually add URL redirects", it will pops out the record fields and fill it, example:

    a.) Source URL: www.currentdomain.com
    b.) Target URL: www.newdomain.com
    c.) Status: 301
  5. Click the "Edit parameters" to show additional settings and tick it all:

    - Preserve query strings
    - Include subdomains
    - Subpath matching
    - Preserve path suffix

    Image for step 4 & 5
  6. Click "Next" on the bottom, → "Next" again on the Review and edit URL redirects, → "Continue to Redirect Rules".
  7. Give a descriptive name on the Rule name input, e.g., www.currentdomain.com to newdomain.com, click "Save and Deploy".
    Image for step 7

That's conclude our tutorial how to redirect our old domain with its HTTPS version to new domain without web hosting using Cloudflare, for free.

Don't forget to test the redirection using a new private window to bypass browser's cache or use fresh browser that haven't visited our old domain before.

Redirect Old Domain to New Domain with SSL/HTTPS without Web Host, Free with Cloudflare video on YouTube
Installing Ubuntu Linux OS, Dual Boot with Windows on PC

Installing Ubuntu Linux OS, Dual Boot with Windows on PC

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Ubuntu, one of if not the most popular Linux distro (OS) on earth, There are many Linux distros derived from Ubuntu, and I have tried some of them.

Nerdizen.xyz — Funny I never tried the Ubuntu itself, remembering how I installed quite a few Ubuntu based distros and flavours (Ubuntu official spin-off distros). But now finally I am installed it on my laptop.

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Steps Installing Ubuntu and Dual Booting it with Windows

Requirements:

  • Backup, duh!
  • Bootable media creation tool. Here I am using Ventoy.

My environments:

Steps:

  1. Prepare two new empty partitions:

    a: A ≥ 32 GB partition, to host the Ubuntu OS files is recommended.
    b: (Optional) Another partition with the same or twice of our PC RAM size. It will be used for a swap partition (to help better multitasking, especially if we have small RAM).

    For example we can easily make it using Windows' Disk Management ("Shrink Volume" feature).
  2. Download the Ubuntu Desktop iso at the official website and turn it into a bootable media, for example using Ventoy.
  3. Disconnect any external storage drives. This is to prevent formatting/erasing wrong storage or partition when installing the Ubuntu OS later.
  4. Boot our PC into the created bootable media. In short, go to our PC BIOS settings and boot from the Ubuntu bootable media we had created before. For example on Dynabook R734/K laptop, you can view it below (click to expand).
Booting to a bootable media on Toshiba Dynabook R734/K laptop
  • Access the Boot Menu (BIOS menu) on Dynabook R734/K by restarting the laptop and repeatedly pressing F12 until the boot menu/BIOS menu appears.
  • If the Ubuntu installation/bootable media (e.g., USB storage stick) is not plugged in, do so now to make it appears in the BIOS boot Menu.
  • In the Boot Menu, select the installation/bootable media (e.g. USB drive) to boot into it directly. Alternatively, adjust the boot order to prioritize the installation/bootable media for automatic booting. Follow these steps:
    1. Choose Enter Setup from the Boot Menu main menu.Image for step 4.1
    2. In the side menu, select Advanced, scroll down, and choose Change Boot Order.Image for step 4.2
    3. Set the USB drive (or your relevant storage) where the Ubuntu bootable media is located to the top of the Boot Priority Options and click OK.Image for step 4.3
    4. Select Exit → Exit Saving Changes from the side menu.Image for step 4.4
  • In the Ventoy boot main menu, consider switching to GRUB2 Mode for increased compatibility in booting Linux images by pressing Ctrl+R. Then, browse and select the Ubuntu iso and press Enter to initiate the Ubuntu OS live media boot process.
  1. Allright, now we're booting into blacked  Ubuntu GRUB menu 😬, select "Try or Install Ubuntu."
  2. After booting into the Ubuntu live desktop, we can "Try Ubuntu" first or directly "Install Ubuntu". If we try it first, we can double click the "Install Ubuntu…" shortcut on the desktop to install it later.
    Image for step 6
  3. Now we're swithing to the installer windows. First, select languange and keyboards, click "Continue" at the bottom to proceed.
  4. On the Wireless window, we can connect to a network so it will update the system while installing it later simultaneously. Here I am choosing "I don't want to connect…", click "Continue" at the bottom.
  5. Next we are being presented with the "Updates and other software window". We can choose a Minimal install, or Normal install with full fledged desktop apps like browser and office  preinstalled (Normal is recommended for beginner). Below it, recommended to check the "Install third-party software for graphics and Wi-Fi hardware and additional media format". Click "Continue" at the bottom to proceed.
    Image for step 9
  6. On the Installation type window, we choose "Something else" because we had prepared the partition beforehand.
    Image for step 10
  7. Select the partition where the Ubuntu OS files will be installed to, then right click it → "Change…". On the "Use as" selection, choose "Ext 4 journaling file system". Tick the "Format the partition" checkbox. On the "Mount point" selection, choose "/". Click "OK".
    Image for step 11 - 1
    Image for step 11 - 2
  8. (Optional) Select a partition for a swap partition, right click on it → "Change…". On the "Use as" selection, choose "swap area". Click "OK".
    Image for step 12
  9. Next on the bottom, "Device for boot loader installation", typically we choose our PC's main disk (/dev/sda).
  10. After everything is done, click the "Install Now" button on the bottom right → "Continue".
    Image for step 14
  11. Next, choose our time zone. Type our country's capital, → "Continue".
  12. Lastly, create our user's credentials. Most importantly the username and passwords as it will be used to login to our freshly Ubuntu OS → "Continue", wait until the installation done.
  13. After the Installation Complete, restart our PC. The next time we reboot, the GRUB menu should be showed, allow us to select to boot into Ubuntu or Windows (or other OS if any).

Ubuntu Linux OS quick reviews on my Toshiba Dynabook R734/K

Ubuntu 22.04.1 desktop and quick settings
Ubuntu 22.04.1 app drawer
Ubuntu 22.04.1 settings appearance

I mentioned earlier how I actually installed Ubuntu later than other Linux distros, the reason is the system requirements it stated.

On the official website, Ubuntu stated that it needs dual-core processor and 4 GB RAM. It is just right the amount of power my old Toshiba Dynabook R734/K laptop had.

I was afraid it would lagging or things like that, because my system is barely met the requirements. But surprisingly, it runs quite well.

On that old laptop of mine, everything was smooth. Browsing using Firefox, coding using Codium (VS Code fork), watching movies using VLC, etc.

Overall, it's such a pleasant experience to use Ubuntu on my Dynabook R734/K. And, I love the user interface too, it's quite refreshing and so practical.

Installing Ubuntu Linux, Dual Boot with Windows on Dynabook R734/K Laptop video on YouTube
Installing Ubuntu Unity Linux OS, Dual Boot with Windows on PC

Installing Ubuntu Unity Linux OS, Dual Boot with Windows on PC

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Ubuntu Unity is one of official flavours of the most popular Linux OS (distro) for PC, the Ubuntu Desktop. What makes it stands out? It's the desktop user interface called Unity desktop.

Nerdizen.xyz — When I tried it on my Toshiba Dynabook R734/K laptop, I really love the Unity desktop.

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Unity Desktop is actually the older version of Gnome desktop (if I'm recall it correctly), the one was official Ubuntu desktop. But as newer releases of Ubuntu came, the desktop slowly changed to the way it is now.

So, the community tried to maintain and also modernize the best of Unity desktop and rolled it on a Linux distro called Ubuntu Unity.

Steps dual booting Ubuntu Unity and Windows on PC

Requirements:

  • Backup!
  • Bootable media creation tool, for exampe Ventoy or Rufus.

My environments:

Steps:

  1. Download the Ubuntu Unity OS iso on the official website and make it a bootable media, for example here I am using Ventoy.
  2. Prepare two new partitions on our PC's hard drive. For example we can use the Windows' Disk Management (Shrink volume…):

    a: A ≥ 32 GB partition to host the Ubuntu Unity OS files.
    b: (Optional) A partition with same or twice size of our PC's RAM for the swap area. It is to help our PC in multitasking, recommended especially if we have small RAM.
  3. Disconnect any external storages. This is to prevent formatting/erasing wrong storage or partition when installing the Ubuntu Unity OS later.
  4. Boot our PC into the Ubuntu Unity bootable media we had created. In short, boot our PC into the BIOS settings, then select to boot from the bootable media. For example on Dynabook R734/K you can follow it below (click to expand):
Booting to a bootable media on Toshiba Dynabook R734/K laptop
  • Access the Boot Menu (BIOS menu) on Dynabook R734/K by restarting the laptop and repeatedly pressing F12 until the boot menu/BIOS menu appears.
  • If the Ubuntu Unity installation/bootable media (e.g., USB storage stick) is not plugged in, do so now to make it appears in the BIOS boot Menu.
  • In the Boot Menu, select the installation/bootable media (e.g. USB drive) to boot into it directly. Alternatively, adjust the boot order to prioritize the installation/bootable media for automatic booting. Follow these steps:
    1. Choose Enter Setup from the Boot Menu main menu.Image for step 4.1
    2. In the side menu, select Advanced, scroll down, and choose Change Boot Order.Image for step 4.2
    3. Set the USB drive (or your relevant storage) where the Ubuntu Unity bootable media is located to the top of the Boot Priority Options and click OK.Image for step 4.3
    4. Select Exit → Exit Saving Changes from the side menu.Image for step 4.4
  • In the Ventoy boot main menu, consider switching to GRUB2 Mode for increased compatibility in booting Linux images by pressing Ctrl+R. Then, browse and select the Ubuntu Unity iso and press Enter to initiate the Ubuntu Unity OS live media boot process.
  1. Now we're booting to the Ubuntu Unity black GRUB boot menu, select the "Ubuntu Unity" to boot to the live CD.
  2. After booting to the desktop, we can look around first without installing anything. After we're ready, double click the "Install Ubuntu Unity" shortcut on the desktop.
  3. Now the installation wizard window will appear. First, select language and keyboard layout, click "Continue" at the bottom to proceed.
    Image for step 7
  4. Wireless window. If we connect to a network we can installing the Ubuntu Unity while updating it simultaneously later. Here I am choosing "I don't want to connect…", I want to update later after it had been installed.
    Image for step 8
  5. Updates and other software window. We can choose between "Normal installation" with full fledged apps like Office, or "Minimal installation". On the bottom, recommended to check "Install third-party software for graphic…". Click "Continue" at the bottom to proceed.
    Image for step 9
  6. Installation type window. Because we've prepared the partitions beforehand, choose "Something else".
    Image for step 10
  7. Next we will set the partition. First select the partition where Ubuntu Unity OS files will be installed to, right click on it → "Change…". On the "Use as" selection, select "Ext4 journaling file system". On the "Mount point" selection, choose "/". Tick the "Format the partition", → Click "OK".
    Image for step 11
  8. (Optional) Still on the partition settings window. Next, choose a partition to use as swap area, right click on it → "Change…". On the "Use as" selection, choose "swap area" (tick the "Format the partition" checkbox if it's clickable), → Click "OK".
    Image for step 12
  9. On the "Device for boot loader installation" selection, make sure it's selected to our PC's main hard drive (typically it's /dev/sda).
  10. Click the "Install Now" button on the bottom to begin installing the Ubuntu Unity OS files.
  11. Select time zone, type our country's capital, it should show suggestions → "Continue".
  12. "Who are you?" window. Lastly, fill our user's credentials, especially username and password since it will be used to login to our freshly installed Ubuntu Unity OS later.
  13. After the installation done, restart our PC. The next time we boot our PC, the GRUB bootloader menu should be presented, allowing us to choose to boot between the Ubuntu Unity or existed Windows (or whatever OS installed).

Ubuntu Unity Linux OS quick review

Ubuntu Unity desktop
Ubuntu Unity fulscreen app unified title bar

My environment:

There are some features differentiate the Unity desktop to the currently Gnome desktop, noticeably the HUD interface.

The Unity HUD is an easy way to reach everything we need or search in one simple, fast user interface.

But what I really love the most from Unity desktop is the title bar merge with windows and menu buttons on the system panel.

When we maximed an app, instead creating a title bar with window buttons, the title bar and window buttons will be merged into the system panel.

So on a maximized app, the system bar will show the window's title on the left by default. But when we're hovering the mouse on it, the window's buttons and menu bar will showing.

I really love the feature, it's so nice to save spaces on smaller screen like my Dynabook R734/K laptop.

Installing Ubuntu Unity & Dual Boot with Windows on Dynabook R734/K Laptop video on YouTube
Setting Up Namecheap's Domain on Blogger Blogspot

Setting Up Namecheap's Domain on Blogger Blogspot

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Bought a domain name from Namecheap and want to use it on our Google's Blogger/Blogspot? Easy peasy, let's do it!

Nerdizen.xyz — Namecheap is one of most popular domain registrar in the world. I think if Namecheap is the right place especially if this is our first time buying a domain name, because they have great customer service too.

What I liked from Namecheap is how they keep the prices transparent, and we also get forever free Privacy Guard, something that usually an additional paid add-on!

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Image by PublicDomainPictures@Pixabay

I'm personally had using Namecheap for years, of course for my websites hosted on Blogger/Blogspot too.

So on this post, we'll share how to set the domain name we bought from Namecheap to our Google's Blogger/Blogspot website/blog.

Steps to park domain name from Namecheap to Google's Blogger/Blogspot

  1. Go to our Blogger/Blogspot dashboard, then click the "Settings" menu on the sidebar.
  2. Scroll down to the "Publishing" section, then click on the "Custom domain".
    Image for step 2
  3. Enter our custom domain. Not that Blogger/Blogspot does not allow root domain, so we must use www at least, e.g.: www.example.com, then click "Save".
  4. It should show error message along with the CNAME configuration we must set on our domain's Namecheap DNS settings (the following below is just an example):
    a.) Name: www (or it could be blog, for example if we chose blog.example.com), Destination: ghs.google.com.
    b.) Name: hqfdlz7tgovl, Destination: gv-krpkyub3emdmrk.dv.googlehosted.com).
    Image for step 4
  5. Open the Namecheap dashboard, and click "Manage" on our domain.
    Image for step 5
  6. Click "Advanced DNS" tab.
    Image for step 6
  7. Click "ADD NEW RECORD" button two times, so it will pops out two new rows of DNS setting inputs.
    Image for step 7
  8. On the "Type" column selection, select both to "CNAME Record".
  9. Fill respective "Host" and "Value" input with the configuration we got earlier. Example for me, it will be just like on step no. 4, "Name" to "Host", and "Destination" to "Value":
    a.) First row: "Host" = www, "Value" = ghs.google.com.
    b.) Second row: "Host" = hqfdlz7tgovl, "Value" = gv-krpkyub3emdmrk.dv.googlehosted.com.
  10. Click "SAVE ALL CHANGES" button.
    On the "TTL" selections, left it to "Automatic".
    Image for step 9
  11. Back to our Blogger's custom domain window, try to click "SAVE" now, and our custom domain should be succesfully parked as our blog's new address now. Note that it may take up to 24 hours until the DNS changes starts propagated, so keep checking back each 30 minutes and try again.

(Optional) Redirecting root/naked custom domain to our blog

This optional step will make sure if we visit the root/naked version of our custom domain, it will be redirected to our blog's main address parked on the Blogger/Blogspot, for example on my blog if we try to access nerdizen.xyz, it will be redirected to www.nerdizen.xyz.

This is great because www.nerdizen.xyz is my main blog, we don't want visitors think they are visiting a wrong address. And, it's also good for SEO to canonicalize our main address. Okay, so for this, we will add additional configurations on the Namecheap's DNS settings of our domain.

Steps:

  1. Back to our Namecheap domain's "Advanced DNS" tab (step 5 above).
  2. If we found another record with "A Record" type, delete it (click on the trash icon on the right).
  3. Click "ADD NEW RECORD" four times to add new rows of new DNS settings for our domain.
  4. On the "Type" column selections, left it to "A Record" on all of them.
  5. On the "Host" column selections, fill it with @ on all of them.
  6. Then on the "Value" column input, we will fill it with the Google's IPs from the guide page at the Google support page, respectively are:
    - 216.239.32.21
    - 216.239.34.21
    - 216.239.36.21
    - 216.239.38.21
  7. On the "TTL" column selection, left it to "Automatic".
  8. Click "SAVE ALL CHANGES".
    Image for step 6
  9. Now on the Blogger "Redirect domain" setting, activate the switch.
    Image for step 9

Enabling Blogger/Blogspot secure connection (HTTPS)

Enabling our website/blog to use secure connection or HTTPS is the standard today. So, it's recommended to use the free HTTPS feature provided by the Blogger. A free SSL (HTTPS certificate) from Google with one click process. 😉

Steps:

  1. Go to our Blogger's Settings dashboard, and scroll down to "HTTPS" section.
  2. On the "HTTPS availability", activate the switch. After this, the HTTPS for our custom domain will be processed, it may take hours before our custom domain can be accessed with https://, so keep checking it regularly every 30 minutes.
  3. After the "Status" is changed to "Available", try to access our custom domain with the https://.
    Image for step 3
  4. If we click the icon usually placed on the left of our browser's address bar, we can check the HTTPS's certificate info, and it should be from Google Trust Services.
    Image for step 4
  5. (Recommended) Activate the switch of "HTTP redirect", so that visitors who accessing our blog without HTTPS (http://) will be redirected to HTTPS so they always using a secure connection. This is also good for SEO to canonicalize our domain address.

Setup Domain from Namecheap to Blogger/Blogspot video on YouTube

That's all of our post on how to set domain name we bought from Namecheap to Google's Blogger/Blogspot, along with its additional settings. It's purely based on my experience when we were setting the domain name of this site, www.nerdizen.xyz.

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