How to Connect a Domain to Your Squarespace Site (Custom & Built-In)
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Want to connect your Squarespace site to a specific domain? Whether you're changing your custom domain or your built-in domain, luckily, it’s a pretty straightforward process. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the simple steps to do this in Squarespace, so you can make sure your site is presented exactly how you want it to your visitors. Let’s get into it!
Squarespace custom domain vs built-in domain
First, let’s go over the differences between a built-in domain and a custom domain in Squarespace.
A built-in domain is the default URL Squarespace automatically assigns when you create your site. It always ends in .squarespace.com and looks something like squirrel.squarespace.com. This is a temporary web address that allows you to start building and previewing your site, but it’s not typically what you’ll want to use long-term if you’re running a professional website.
A custom domain, on the other hand, is a web address you’ll want visitors to see, like yourdomain.com. This will typically be your business name that you use for branding and sharing with your audience. Once you set up a custom domain, it becomes the public-facing address that visitors see, replacing the built-in domain. If you don’t already have a custom domain, you can easily register one through Squarespace or another domain provider.
How to connect your Squarespace site to a custom domain
There are two main ways to connect your Squarespace site to a custom domain. Purchasing a domain directly from Squarespace or linking a domain from a third-party provider (Godaddy, Bluehost, Google Domains, etc.). Let’s get into both.
Method 1: Purchase a Squarespace domain.
If you don’t have a domain already, Squarespace doubles as a domain provider! Here are the steps to purchasing a domain and connect it to your site:
Navigate to your site’s settings
Click Domains & Email.
Click Domains.
Click Get a Domain.
Enter the domain you want and purchase it through Squarespace if it’s available.
Your domain should be added to your site after the purchase.
Method 2: Link to a domain from a third-party provider.
If you already have a domain from a third-party provider or plan on buying a domain from a third-party provider instead of Squarespace, you can easily add it to your Squarespace site. Here are the steps to do it:
Navigate to your site’s Settings.
Click Domains & Email.
Click Domains.
Click Use a Domain I Own.
Enter your domain.
Click Connect Domain. (Clicking Transfer Your Domain will transfer the domain management to Squarespace, which is a perfectly fine option, but obviously not the way to keep your domain management with the third-party platform! Scroll down to see the pros and cons of each.)
Click Get Started.
Follow the prompts on your screen to link your domain from your third-party provider. If you need further help with this, check out Squarespace’s step-by-step guides for connecting your site to your domain depending on your provider!
After you finish the process, it can take anywhere from a few hours to 72 hours for your domain to go live!
How to change the built-in Squarespace domain
The built-in domain Squarespace gives your site is generally a pretty random selection of words that are hard to remember and are pretty unattractive. And if you plan on sharing it with other people, you may want to change it. Here’s how:
Navigate to your site’s Settings.
Click Domains & Email.
Click Domains.
Under Built-in Domain, click your domain.
Under Site ID, enter your new built-in domain name.
Save your changes.
And that’s it!
Frequently asked questions
Does Google index your built-in domain?
Squarespace indexes your custom domain once you set it as your primary domain. While every Squarespace site starts with a built-in domain, this domain isn't really meant to be displayed to visitors long-term (after all, having a domain with .squarespace.com doesn’t look very professional).
After you connect your custom domain to your site and make the site public, search engines will index the custom domain instead of the built-in one.
However, sometimes built-in domains get indexed by Google before the change (usually unintentionally), so to prevent this if you’re still using your built-in domain and haven’t added a custom domain yet, set a site-wide password until you're ready to add your custom domain.
Should you purchase a domain through Squarespace or a third-party provider?
Deciding whether to buy a domain through Squarespace or a third-party provider really comes down to your needs. If you’re looking for convenience and want everything managed in one place, Squarespace is a solid choice. But if you already have a bunch of domains with a third-party provider, you might prefer to keep everything together for easier management. Or you might make your decision based on which provider offers the best deal.
The good news is you can usually transfer a domain between Squarespace and other providers, so your decision isn’t permanent. That should take a little bit of the pressure off the decision!
Can I add multiple custom domains to my Squarespace site?
Yes, but if your site is connected to multiple custom domains, one will need to be set as your primary domain, which is your website’s main address that people will see when they access it (Squarespace will automatically set the first custom domain you add as the primary domain). The other custom domains will redirect to your primary domain.
What’s the difference between a URL and a domain?
A domain is the address used to identify a website, which consists of a unique name and a top-level domain (.com, .gov, etc.). For example, “example.com” is a domain. A URL is the complete web address that specifies the location of a resource on the site, like https://www.example.com/about.
Want to learn more?
Now you know how to connect a custom or built-in domain to your Squarespace site! But do you need more help? You can learn more about Squarespace, design, copywriting, and more on the blog! Here are some of our favorites!
How to write a blog post: Step-by-step
How to write an email welcome sequence
Using Squarespace as a Linktree alternative
What should be on your website homepage (with examples!)
How to create a dropdown menu in Squarespace
Choosing the right image size for Squarespace
