.Blog Domains By WordPress Available On The 21st Of November Starting At $30

New .blog domain names (like myname.blog) will be available for anyone to register on November 21. .Blog domains are owned and managed by the popular blog software platform WordPress.

You can now apply to get a .blog domain by going to get.blog and apply to pre-register the domain you want.

The pre-registration form and process seems a bit off as a few domains that are know to be reserved by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) show up as available to pre-register. These are names that shouldn’t and can’t be registered by anyone, including the .Blog registry run by WordPress. This should be fixed soon to avoid further problems and potential costly refunds.

How to apply for your .blog name

Landrush early applications start at $250 USD, and will be open until November 9th. (landrush officially starts on the 2nd of November so there is no real benefit to pre-register early)

Landrush is the best way to secure your own .blog domain ahead of the November 21st general availability launch.

Sunrise applications started yesterday. Only registered trademark owners can apply for .blog domains associated with their brands during the “Sunrise” period. Sunrise closes on the 17th of October.

After the launch, any .blog domain that isn’t taken will be available at get.blog, starting at the standard yearly price of $30. Higher-value names determined by the registry will have (much) higher premium registration and renewal prices.

Meet Dave.blog, Design.blog & Matt.blog

Here are 3 pioneer websites that WordPress and .blog have launched on new .blog domain names:

• Dave.blog: Dave.blog is the new site from pioneering software developer and writer Dave Winer, one of the founders of the blogging movement.
• Design.blog: .Blog and WordPress are proud to launch this new site, co-led by WordPress.com’s design team and featuring stories by and about people who love to create. Follow the site for contributions from people like Alice Rawsthorn, Cassidy Blackwell, Jessica Helfand, and John Maeda, the new Global Head of Computational Design and Inclusion.
• Matt.blog: Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automatic that owns WordPress and .Blog, runs his personal blog “MATT ON NOT-WORDPRESS – Stuff and things.” on this domain name.