Here’s why I decided to change bibiaie.com, even as it was gaining popularity. I’m not someone who typically comments or posts online, and I have no intention of harming other businesses, especially knowing how challenging it is to build a company. However, I owe it to my subscribers, partners, and potential investors to clarify why I made the decision to switch from bibiaie.com to bibia.world.
In July 2024, while waiting for the school schedules in the Philippines, I attended the Google Startup School: Gen AI. There, I learned that AI could be the key to growing my website, bibiaie.com. I had previously struggled to gain subscribers with my AR content, but after shifting my focus to Gen AI, things started to change. By September and October, Squarespace noticed the surge in traffic and locked me out of my account.
I faced significant challenges trying to regain access to my domain. I initiated a domain transfer to Bluehost, but the domain was locked. I reached out to Squarespace to have it unlocked, only to be asked to submit my government I.D. and bank statement. All I needed was a password reset link sent to my registered email, as I already knew my password and had access to my email. After a week, I still couldn't access my account, and bibiaie.com was inactive. Bluehost support told me that domain transfers typically take 7 days, but it was already the 8th day, and the issue lay in the DNS records needing to be pointed to Bluehost’s server. As someone who has been building websites since 1998 and worked with various site builders, this was an easy fix for me. However, when I logged into Squarespace.com, I found there was no way to update the DNS records to point to the Bluehost server. Even with the correct information, the Squarespace interface kept giving an error. Their support team sent me a video, but at the end, it stated that Squarespace doesn’t support DNS transfers—so who is supposed to handle this? Bluehost support clarified that Squarespace just needed to approve the transfer, but they refused to do so. Fortunately, I am part of the Google Cloud Innovation Program. I reached out to Google Cloud and cc'd Squarespace, and within an hour, they responded, even reimbursing my payment, despite it being against their policy.
After 15 days, the Bibiaie.com domain was updated in Bluehost. I thought everything was on track and I began rebuilding my website on Bluehost. But when I was about to publish, the template kept being overwritten, and this happened twice. I reached out to Bluehost, and the support team informed me that he couldn't locate my database. He said the domain was still not pointing to their server. I checked the Whois.com records and saw that bibiaie.com was still pointing to Squarespace, and registered under a different name, even though at the Bluehost dashboard it showed that the domain is registered under my name. Initially, I thought it just hadn't been updated yet, so I canceled bibiaie.com domain privacy. I wanted my information to be visible. Bluehost refunded the domain privacy fee on October 30, 2024, and even though Whois.com updates within 24 hours, the change has still not appeared until now. I asked Bluehost three times and received no clear answer or resolution. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes between Squarespace and Bluehost, and I don't have the time to investigate right now. The domain is currently locked for 60 days due to ICANN policy, and to be safe, I decided to change bibiaie.com to Bibia.World. Thank you!
