How to Connect a Domain to your Squarespace Website
You’ve put in the hard yards building your shiny new website. You customised colors, fonts, searched high and low through stock photos, added in your copy, connected your buttons, links, and forms, and you’re thrilled with the results 👏
Now, it’s time for the finishing touches so that you can finally hit publish and share your brand new site with the world, and that includes getting rid of that pesky unprofesh URL assigned to your site by default (we’re looking at you "racoon-coconut-123.squarespace.com" 🦝👀 ).
Don’t worry, if the very mention of “URL” or “domain” sends your head spinning, we’ve put together this handy post specifically to break it all down for you.
We'll walk you through exactly what a domain is (no fancy lingo included), where to purchase one (plus how to get the best deal 😉), and most importantly how to connect your domain to your Squarespace site to help you finish your DIY website journey in one successful round-off 💪
Ready? Let's dive in!
What is a domain?
Most simply put, your domain is your website’s address on the internet (eg. www.yournamehere.com). It’s where your website “lives” and how other people can find it via a recognisable name. Your domain is unique to your website and you will see it (or some variation of it) in your browser at the top of every website page that you visit.
For example, our domain is www.bigcatcreative.com.
What is a URL?
A URL is practically synonymous to a domain, though takes it one step further by providing the exact address of different pages within your website.
Each page on your site will have a unique URL containing your domain name, as well as a ‘/‘ followed by a unique page name or identifier so that anyone can easily navigate to any given page.
For example, if you were to visit our blog, the unique URL would be www.bigcatcreative.com/blog, while if you were to visit our template shop, the URL would be www.bigcatcreative.com/templates.
Built-in domain vs. Custom domain
When you create a new website, it will automatically be assigned a unique built-in domain. While a built-in domain is free and can be customized to some extent, it always ends in .squarespace.com, making it a less professional option than a custom domain which you can choose and generally comprises just your business name.
For a more professional-looking website, we always recommend investing in a custom domain.
Built-in domain
Every Squarespace site automatically comes with an auto-generated built-in domain (see "racoon-coconut-123.squarespace.com" mentioned above 😂).
While this random string of words and numbers is unique to your website, it is often on the whacky side and difficult to remember, making it not-so-ideal to share with others.
Luckily, the first section of this free built-in domain can easily be customized, making it a very handy option if you’re not quite ready to commit to a paid custom domain for your site just yet!
Note! Regardless of whether you add a custom domain to your Squarespace site, you will still see your original built-in domain name in your browser when editing your site. Don't worry, it's only for your eyes though!
How to change your built-in domain namE
In your Squarespace website sidebar, go to Settings > Domains. Here, you will see a list of all the domains associated to your site, including your built-in domain.
Click on your built-in domain name, and customize the Site ID field to change it.
Remember to click Save in the top right corner once you’re done! This is now the domain of your site.
Note! It is important to remember that your site’s built-in domain will always end in .squarespace.com which maybe isn’t the professional image you want to be showcasing for your new biz and why a custom domain is by far the more professional choice👇
Custom domain
A custom domain name, free from the .squarespace.com suffix, typically includes your personal or business name, followed by .com, and that’s it! It’s custom to your business and far more professional to share with the world.
Where to buy a custom domain
Now you might be wondering, where do I get one of those??
Well, you can actually buy a domain directly through Squarespace! And the best part is that you can get the first year of your custom domain for FREE when your purchase an annual Squarespace subscription for your site 🎉
Past that first free year, a Squarespace domain will generally set you back around $20 - $40 per year, although some high-demand names can get up to $70 per year or more! If this is the case for the domain name that you are interested in or you can't find the exact domain that you want on Squarespace (some domains like .co.nz aren't supported by Squarespace for example), we recommend thinking of an alternative or checking on third-party platforms like GoDaddyor Namecheap.
While these third-party domain providers are typically more affordable than Squarespace domains, a massive advantage of buying your domain directly on Squarespace is having everything in the same place and being able to connect it seamlessly to your site.
How to connect your custom domain to your Squarespace site
If you haven’t purchased a domain yet
Purchasing a domain on Squarespace
In your Squarespace site sidebar, go to Settings > Domains.
Click on Get a domain and search for the custom domain name you would like for your website to check availability and cost. If the exact domain you searched is unavailable, Squarespace will recommend some close alternatives.
Once you've found your dream domain, click on it to select it, then click the Checkout button in the top right to complete your domain registration.
Your new domain will automatically be added to your new site 🎉
Purchasing a domain on another platform
If Squarespace doesn't have the exact domain that you want for your new site, or if it's looking a little expensive, there are tons of third-party sites out there where you can purchase a domain:
It's a good idea to shop around and compare, then once you've purchased your domain, follow the steps below for if you purchased your domain through a third-party to connect it to your site!
If you already own a domain
If you purchased your domain through Squarespace
In your Squarespace account dashboard, go to the Domains panel.
Click on the domain that you would like to connect to your new Squarespace site.
In the pop-up window, click Manage Domain Settings.
Then, click Move Domain in the top right corner.
In the pop-up, select the thumbnail of the website that you would like to move your domain to, follow the prompts, and voila! Your domain should connect to your new site within 24 - 72 hours 👩💻✨
If you do not see your new website in the list or see a message stating that there are no eligible sites to move your domain to, make sure that you have purchased a Squarespace subscription for your new site first, or check the full eligibility criteria for moving your domain here.
If you purchased your domain through a third-party (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Wordpress, etc.)
If you purchased your domain somewhere other than Squarespace, don’t worry, connecting your domain to your new site isn’t too hard and Squarespace has platform specific instructions that you can find here.
In your Squarespace site sidebar, go to Settings > Domains and click on Use a Domain I own.
Enter the name of the domain that you would like to connect.
Here, you will be given the option to either Transfer or Connect your Domain:
Transfer Domain
Transferring your domain refers to moving your domain from the third-party provider from which you purchased to Squarespace, meaning that you will be able to manage all of your domain settings and billing directly from your Squarespace account.
Advantages of transferring your domain to Squarespace:
You will be able to manage both your website and domain in the same place, making your business more streamlined.
Connecting a Squarespace domain to your website is a much easier process than connecting an external domain.
It will be much easier to move your domain to another Squarespace site in the future if you need to.
Disadvantages of transferring your domain to Squarespace:
The process of transferring your domain can be quite tricky. You will need to unlock your domain and make sure that it is eligible to be transferred which is not possible for all domains.
You will not be able to transfer a domain if you've had it registered for under 60 days.
If your domain is not supported by Squarespace (for example if it ends in .co.nz) you won't be able to transfer it over.
Squarespace domains are typically more expensive and your domain renewal fee may likely increase.
👉 Read more about the process of transferring your domain to Squarespace here.
Connect Domain
As opposed to transferring your domain to be managed within Squarespace, simply connecting your domain means that your domain will be connected to your Squarespace site but still be managed by the third-party provider from which you purchased it from.
Advantages of connecting your domain rather than transferring it:
In most instances, connecting your third-party domain to your site is actually an easier process than transferring it and then connecting it.
Keeping your domain with a third-party provider is usually cheaper.
You will still be able to connect a domain to your Squarespace site even if it is not supported or eligible to be transferred (though you do need to have full access to the domain's DNS settings!).
Disadvantages of connecting your domain rather than transferring it:
You will need to manage your domain on another platform outside of Squarespace which can be time-consuming figuring out how to use.
Third-party domain providers do not always have the same level of customer support available as Squarespace if you do get stuck.
You will need to configure your domain's DNS settings yourself.
If you decide to go ahead with connecting your third-party domain rather than transferring it to Squarespace first, follow the instructions below:
Click Connect Domain.
In the drop-down menu, find your domain provider or click Other if it’s not in the list. Click Connect Domain to continue.
Next, you will be able to see the DNS Settings panel which contains important information that you will need to copy and paste into your domain provider account in order to connect your domain to your new site.
Keep this tab open in your browser, and in a new tab log into your domain provider account.
Once you’ve logged in, locate where you can manage your domain’s DNS settings and update the records to what you can see in the DNS Settings panel open in your Squarespace tab.
First, create a CNAME record pointing to verify.squarespace.com with the code of numbers appearing under the first column as the host name (eg.8ltjx4p7s59jy734bnsg).
Then, add a second CNAME record pointing to ext-cust.squarespace.com with ‘www‘ as the host name.
Next, add the four A records pointing to each 'Required Data' number that you can see in the DNS Settings panel, with ‘@‘ as the host name.
Now wait for your domain to connect! This may take up to 72 hours.
If you do get stuck, we recommend getting in touch with your domain provider’s support team for extra assistance.
Once your domain connection is complete, congratulations, you're ready to set your new website live! 🥂
Publish your website
It's important to remember that adding your domain to your site doesn't mean that your site will go live automatically! To publish your new site, purchase a Squarespace subscription, then go to Settings > Website > Site Availability and set your site to Public.
Now pop the bubbly, congrats! 🍾
Want more Squarespace tips to kick your website up a notch? Check out the posts below 👇
5 awesome features you can add to ANY Squarespace website to give your business a boost!
How to customize your Squarespace footer and what to include in the design
How to backup your Squarespace website
How to add Parallax in Squarespace 7.1 (and other fun background animations!)
How to add a chatbox to your Squarespace site for FREE
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