Connecting a domain

Your domain name (like yourbusiness.com) is what visitors type to reach your site. This guide explains how to connect it to Squarespace, whether you already own a domain or need to get one.

The two options

Register a new domain through Squarespace

Buy and manage the domain from within Squarespace
No DNS changes needed at another company
Renews through Squarespace

Connect an existing domain

You keep your domain at your current registrar
Requires changes at the registrar (DNS records or nameservers)
Chykalophia can usually handle this for you

Registering a new domain through Squarespace

Open your domains dashboard at account.squarespace.com/domains. If you're claiming the free first-year domain offered with annual website plans, open your site's Settings > Domains instead.

Click Get a domain.

Search for your desired domain name. Squarespace will show available options and pricing.

Choose your domain and complete the checkout.

Confirm your contact details. Squarespace emails you a verification link within 24 hours. Click it within 15 days, or the domain will be suspended. (If you've verified a Squarespace domain with the same email address before, this may happen automatically.)

Wait for it to go live. Most new domains are ready within an hour, but it can take up to 48 hours. The domain shows a green label in your domains dashboard once it's ready.

Connecting an existing domain (from another registrar)

This process requires two things: telling Squarespace about your domain, and telling your domain registrar to point to Squarespace.

Squarespace offers two ways to connect:

Nameserver Connect

How it works

A guided process where you swap your domain's nameservers for two Squarespace ones. Squarespace's prompts walk you through it.

Recommended for

GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Network Solutions domains.

Avoid it if

Your domain has custom records (such as ones for your email), several subdomains, or DNSSEC turned on, or if it has to use another company's nameservers, such as Cloudflare. It removes all of your domain's CNAME records and some of its A records. Squarespace lets you opt out when you start.

DNS Connect

How it works

You add a set of DNS records at your registrar yourself. Step 2 below covers this method.

Works with

Any registrar that gives you full DNS access.

Step 1: Add the domain in Squarespace

Go to Settings > Domains in your dashboard.

Click Use a Domain I Own.

Enter your domain name (e.g., yourbusiness.com), click the arrow, then click Connect Domain.

Pick your domain provider from the list (or choose Other) and follow the prompts.

Squarespace will show you the DNS records you need to set. Keep this window open. You'll need these values in Step 2.

Step 2: Update DNS records at your registrar

Log in to wherever your domain is registered (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) and update the DNS records with the values Squarespace gave you.

For DNS Connect, Squarespace asks you to add:

Two CNAME records: one with a unique code that proves you own the domain, and one for www
Four A records for the root domain (yourdomain.com)

DNS changes take time

After updating DNS records, it can take 24 to 48 hours for the connection to start working. Your site won't load on the custom domain until then, and error messages in Squarespace's DNS settings during that time are normal.

Four hops, all of them in milliseconds. The resolver is the one that remembers, which is why a record you changed this morning can still be invisible to some visitors this afternoon, until its TTL expires.

Read this as text

When somebody types your domain, their browser does not know where your site is. It asks a DNS resolver, run by their internet provider, or by a service like Cloudflare or Google.

If the resolver does not already know the answer, it asks your domain’s authoritative nameservers, which hold the official records for your domain. They reply with the IP address, for example 185.199.108.153.

The browser then connects straight to that address and your site loads. The nameservers are not involved again.

The resolver keeps that answer for a set period, the TTL. Until it expires, that resolver keeps handing out the old answer without asking your nameservers again, which is the whole reason a DNS change can take minutes for one person and hours for another.

Step 3: Verify in Squarespace

Once DNS has propagated, go back to Settings > Domains in Squarespace. Your domain should show a green Connected label.

Let Chykalophia handle it

Domain connections involve DNS changes that can be tricky. If you're not comfortable doing this, contact us and we'll handle the connection for you. We just need access to your domain registrar account. See Give us access to your domain registrar.

Common questions

What if my domain is at GoDaddy?

GoDaddy is a common registrar. Squarespace recommends Nameserver Connect for most GoDaddy domains: you start in Settings > Domains as above, then replace GoDaddy's nameservers with the two Squarespace gives you. If your domain has custom records (such as email), use DNS Connect instead and add the records in GoDaddy's DNS management area. Squarespace has step-by-step guides for the most popular registrars on their help site.

Can I use my domain and keep my email working?

Yes, but you need to be careful not to accidentally delete your MX records (which handle email) when updating DNS, and to avoid Nameserver Connect if your email relies on custom DNS records. If you're unsure, ask Chykalophia to handle the connection. We'll preserve your email settings.

My domain is connected but the site still shows the Squarespace test URL. Why?

This is usually a DNS propagation delay. Wait up to 48 hours. Also check you're typing your own domain: your built-in address (yoursite.squarespace.com) doesn't redirect to your custom domain. If it still isn't working after 48 hours, check the domain status in Settings > Domains for any error messages and contact Chykalophia.