Have a question about comicgenesis domain names...

[Mintcondition]

I've noticed that on most comics hosted by comicgenesis, it has ".comicgenesis" in the URL.

But on some, I've noticed that there is no ".comicgenesis".

For instance, http://sparkthecomic.com is hosted on comicgenesis. I thought maybe comicgenesis had a paying service that took off the comicgenesis part of the URL, but he says it's still free for him...

So my question is...how do I do that?

[Lianweijun086]

I always thought that they had to buy the domain and then forward it. If that's not the case, and we CAN do it otherwise, I'd like to know as well!

[Moonshadow]

I'm one of those people without the .comicgenesis in my URL... a couple of years ago I bought the domain and it's forwarded to the site here (though this is apparently suspended). But yes, that's how we do it, we buy the domains and point them at our sites.

[Dr Neo Lao]

Yes. as stated the method was to buy a domain, tell the staff here and they would sort it out.

HOWEVER, using domains like this is no longer supported due to limitations of the CG system. The CG backbone is still running a fairly antiquated system to handle domains and such and as a result, it takes a huge amount of effort by the staff to set up domains (and then the same again to undo it when the comic gets abandoned and the domain lapses or is bought by someone else).

I don't know if domaining will be available again when the new WolfKeen system is rolled out (at some future, unspecified date), but if it does become available then it'll be limited to people who have a decent sized archive (so people who are starting a comic on a whim on the weekend can't just grab a $5 domain and then leave CG to sort it out a year down the track). In theory, when the system is upgraded it'll become much easier to manage domains.

If you are interested in using a specific domain for your comic then I would recommend signing up for a domain and host at the same time and have your comic independently hosted. Just shop around (and read the fine print - especially on who owns the domain in case you want to move to a different host later on) and find a host that offers the features you want for a price you can afford. If you're going to spend $5 on a domain, may as well spend $15 for a year's worth of cheap hosting.

Though you may want to use a free service (like CG) for a few months first to see if making webcomics is really what you want to do.

[Mintcondition]

I've been doing my comic for over 2 years now.