How To Fix Redirect and 403 Forbidden Errors on Blogger
Writer: Exponect.com Team
Redirect errors and 403 Forbidden messages on Blogger
can silently destroy your traffic. Many bloggers think their site is live
because www.domain.com
works, but
their root domain (exponect.com) is actually broken.
If you are facing:
403 Forbidden errors
Redirect errors in Search Console
Traffic suddenly dropping to zero
Indexing problems
This guide will show you why these errors happen on
Blogger and how to fix them easily.
The Hidden Trap: Why My Blog Traffic Dropped to Zero
For four years, I struggled with a silent technical
mistake that no one properly explained. My blog once reached 300 clicks in 7
days — and then suddenly dropped to zero.
Why?
Because I followed common advice:
“Just add 2 CNAME records. The 4 A-Records are
optional.”
This advice is incomplete.
When you connect a custom domain to Blogger, many
tutorials tell you the four A-Records are optional. Some even claim adding them
may break your site.
This is incorrect.
Why Redirect and 403 Errors Happen on Blogger
The main reason is improper DNS setup, especially missing the 4 A-Records.
1. Function of 2 CNAMEs in Blogger
The two CNAME records only connect:
www.exponect.com
They do NOT properly connect:
exponect.com
(root / naked domain)
2. Role of 4 A-Records in Blogger
The 4 A-Records connect your root domain to Google’s
Blogger servers.
Official Blogger IPs:
216.239.32.21
216.239.34.21
216.239.36.21
216.239.38.21
Think of it like electricity:
2 CNAMEs = wiring inside the house
4 A-Records = electricity connection to the main power
Without electricity, the house exists — but nothing
works.
Without A-Records, your root domain is a dead wire.
What Happens If You Don’t Add the 4 A-Records?
If you skip them, you create a broken structure for
search engines and users.
1. Root Domain Won’t Open
www.exponect.com
may work
exponect.com (without www) will show:
“This site can’t be reached”
DNS error
Hosting parking page
Many users type domain.com directly.
That traffic is completely lost.
2. Redirect to www Fails
In Blogger settings, when you enable:
Redirect exponect.com → www.exponect.com
Google expects the root domain (@) to point to those 4
IPs.
If A-Records are missing, the redirect cannot work
properly.
Result:
Visitors typing domain.com never reach your blog.
3. 403 Forbidden Error
A 403 Forbidden error happens when the server refuses
access due to misconfiguration.
On Blogger, this usually occurs when:
DNS is incomplete
Root domain is not properly mapped
Google’s servers cannot verify the connection
Google Search Console may show:
Redirect Error
Fetch Failed
Forbidden (403)
Source:
What is
403 ERROR? - Google Chrome Community
https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/147521409/what-is-403-error?hl=en
Accessed February 10, 2026
4. Indexing & SEO Problems
Missing A-Records can cause:
Lost non-www traffic
Broken backlinks pointing to domain.com
Weak canonical consistency
Split SEO signals
Fewer indexed URLs
Google prefers ONE consistent version of your site.
If:
www works
root domain is broken
Google sees inconsistency.
This weakens indexing and rankings.
5. The “Silent Death of Website” Effect
4 A-Records is a silent killer for death of blog or
website on blogger platform. I also faced many problems. Whenever I checked on Google
I found that my blog is not live in Google AI overview.
Sometimes:
Your images appear in Google Image search
But your articles are not indexed on Search engine
like Google.
Why?
Because Google sees unstable root connection.
Eventually, it may reduce crawling frequency.
Traffic slowly disappears.
How To Fix: Add These 4 A-Records
Go to your domain registrar:
Hostinger
GoDaddy
Namecheap
etc.
Open DNS Settings.
Add 4 A-Records:
Type Name Value
A @ 216.239.32.21
A @ 216.239.34.21
A @ 216.239.36.21
A @ 216.239.38.21
Set TTL to:
300 or 1400 according to domain registrar
Think of TTL like a refresh timer:
TTL 300 → Internet refreshes every 5 minutes
TTL 14400 → Internet refreshes every 4 hours
TTL means Time To Live in DNS settings.
Then in Blogger:
Go to Settings and Enable redirect exponect.com to
www.exponect.com
Wait for DNS propagation (may take up to 24 hours).
Why Blogger Uses 4 IPs
These are Google’s official Blogger server cluster
IPs.
4 A-Records provide:
Redundancy (backup servers)
Load balancing
Reliability
Faster response
Stable routing to Google infrastructure
Using them ensures:
Both exponect.com and www.exponect.com
will work
work properly
Redirect functions correctly
Google indexing is consistent
Official Reference:
Set up a
custom domain - Blogger Help
https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/1233387
Accessed February 10, 2026
Blogger vs WordPress 4 A-Records Requirements:
For Blogger, the 4 A-Records are essential.
These are not optional. So, you should not skip these
to add in DNS setting of domain registrar.
For WordPress, this is usually NOT required.
Why?
WordPress hosting providers automatically manage:
Root domain
www version
Redirects
Server routing
Missing A-Records does not normally break WordPress
sites because hosting manages it.
This issue is mainly specific to Blogger custom
domains.
Will Adding 4 A-Records Boost SEO?
No — they do not magically increase rankings.
But NOT adding them can:
Waste traffic from non-www users
Cause redirect errors
Trigger 403 errors
Create indexing inconsistency
Split backlink authority
They protect your foundation.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Quit Blogging Because of Blogger
Technical Issue
If your traffic dropped suddenly,
If Search Console shows redirect errors,
If yourdomain.com does not open —
You are not the problem.
Your DNS configuration might be incomplete.
Fix your 4 A-Records.
Claim your root domain.
Stabilize your indexing.
Then keep writing.
Technical foundation first.
Content growth second.
Also Read:
Why Your Blog is Invisible: Fix Technical Setup & Indexing