Connecting vs. Transferring a Domain: Using an Existing Domain with Your Squarespace Website

Recently I wrote a blog about how to take your Squarespace website live and get your new domain name (and hopefully take advantage of the free offer).

But what if you already have a domain name?

Maybe you’re switching to Squarespace from another platform. Or maybe you bought your domain name before you even decided on a platform to make sure you had the best one for your business.

So how do you use it with your Squarespace website?

With Squarespace you have two options. You can connect your domain or you can transfer it.

So what’s the difference and which one is best for you? I’m here to give you some details so you can decide.

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Transferring a Domain to Your Squarespace Website

Transferring your domain means that you move your domain to Squarespace so that both your web hosting and your domain hosting is with Squarespace instead of a 3rd party.

This my preferred method because I think it’s so much easier to have everything hosted in one place. It’s one thing less to think about.

Related Post: Web Hosting vs. Domain Hosting

Transfer Requirements

In order to be transferred a domain needs to:

• Have a TLD (top level domain – for example .com .ca .org) that is supported by Squarespace. See supported TLD list.

• Be registered at the current hosting provider for at least 60 days.

• BE active!

In addition, you can’t have more than 9 or more years left on your domain hosting contract. It also can’t be a subdomain or a domain that includes “squarespace" or "sqsp".

How to Transfer Your Domain to Squarespace

Squarespace provides a way for you to transfer your domain from any provider, but it also provides a few more specific guides for some of the bigger domain hosting companies such as GoDaddy, Bluehost & Yahoo.

To transfer your domain:

Step 1: Unlock your Domain

Check with your provider for instructions.

Step 2: Get the Authorization Code

It may also be called EPP code or Authorization Key. It may take a couple of days for your current provider to send to you, so you may want to start early.

Step 3: Start the Transfer

1. From the Home Menu click Settings

2. Click Domains & Emails > Domains > Use a Domain I Own

3. Enter the full name in the Enter Domain field then click the arrow

4. Paste the authorization code in to the Authorization Code field

5. Click Save and Continue

Step 4: Review and confirm the registration details

Step 5: Enter or review your payment information

Step 6: Review your order

At this point you will see the pricing for your domain.

You may be eligible for the free domain offer for the first year of your Squarespace web hosting. If not, you’ll need to pay for 1 year of domain hosting when you transfer.

You will need to review the pricing (it will show as free if you are eligible), the terms and your domain expiration date. If everything is okay click Confirm and Purchase.

You will see a message saying you’ve started the transfer. Click Done to go back to the domains panel.

Step 7: Transfer

The transfer can take up to 15 days to process. Once it’s done you’ll receive a message from Squarespace and the domain will have a green label in the domain settings (Settings > Domains & Emails > Domains).

You can check the progress of your transfer by clicking on your domain name, then clicking Refresh Status.

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Connecting a Domain to Your Squarespace Website

Connecting your domain means that you are keeping your domain hosting with your 3rd party provider, but using it on your Squarespace website. So you’ll keep paying your current provider for your domain. It’s also called domain mapping.

I’ve connected domains for a few of my clients. Some wanted to stay with their current provider due to the price of the domain or because they had other services with the provider, such as email. In other cases their domains couldn’t be transferred so we connected instead.

There are only two main issues with connecting your site rather than transferring.

1. You have to keep track of your website expenses and expiry dates with 2 different companies.

2. Squarespace won’t be able to help you with any issues that come up with your domain or DNS settings.

3. You need to be comfortable making changes to the DNS settings.

How to Connect Your Domain to Squarespace

Currently, connecting to Squarespace mainly uses a process called DNS connect where you add information into your current provider’s DNS settings (Domain Name Settings).

They have recently added a new process called Nameserver Connect which is more of a guided process, but it’s currently only available with a few providers. See the provider specific guides for more information.

DNS connect has 3 steps:

Step 1: Starting the Connection in Squarespace

1. From the Home Menu click Settings

2. Click Domains & Emails > Domains > Use a Domain I Own

3. Enter the full name in the Enter Domain field then click the arrow

4. Click Connect Domain

Step 2: Log into Your Domain Host & Add Records

See details & guides.

Step 3: Wait for the connection to complete

It can take up to 72 hours for the connection to complete.

So now you know the difference between connecting and transferring your domain to Squarespace.