Squarespace Domain Forwarding (Formerly Google Domains) — What Changed and How to Fix It

TL;DR: Google Domains forwarding worked well — but now your domain is at Squarespace, and things may have changed. If your HTTPS forwarding broke or you want guaranteed reliability: point your DNS at Domain-Forward.com (free plan). Takes 5 minutes to set up.

In 2023, Google announced it was selling its domain registrar business to Squarespace. Between late 2023 and mid 2024, millions of Google Domains accounts were migrated. If you had domain forwarding set up on Google Domains, your configuration was supposed to migrate seamlessly.

For many users, it did. For others, things broke. HTTPS stopped working. Forwarding rules disappeared. The familiar Google Domains interface was replaced with Squarespace’s domain management — which works differently.

If you’re here because your domain forwarding stopped working after the migration, or because Squarespace’s forwarding doesn’t meet your needs, you’re in the right place.

What Changed: Google Domains vs. Squarespace

Google Domains offered straightforward domain forwarding with these features:

• HTTPS support (SSL certificates for forwarded domains)
• 301 and 302 redirect types
• Path forwarding
• Subdomain forwarding
• Email forwarding

Squarespace inherited these domains but runs different infrastructure. Here’s what users have reported since the migration:

HTTPS reliability issues

Some forwarded domains lost their SSL certificates during migration. If Squarespace didn’t re-provision the certificate, visitors see security warnings when accessing the domain via HTTPS.

Interface confusion

Squarespace’s domain management panel is designed primarily for domains connected to Squarespace websites. If you’re only using the domain for forwarding (no Squarespace site), the interface can be confusing and some options may not appear.

Feature differences

Squarespace’s forwarding configurations may differ from what Google Domains offered. Path forwarding behavior, subdomain handling, and advanced options may not work identically.

The “connected to a site” problem

Squarespace heavily encourages connecting domains to a Squarespace site. If you just want to forward to an external URL without a Squarespace site, you’re using the platform against its primary design intent.

How Squarespace Domain Forwarding Works (Current)

If you want to try Squarespace’s built-in forwarding:

Step 1: Log in to Squarespace

Access your account at squarespace.com and navigate to Domains.

Step 2: Select your domain

Find the domain you want to forward in your domain list.

Step 3: Configure forwarding

Look for forwarding or URL redirect options in the domain settings. Enter your destination URL and choose the redirect type.

Step 4: Save and wait

Save your configuration and wait for DNS propagation. Test with both HTTP and HTTPS.

The issue: If HTTPS doesn’t work, or if the interface doesn’t offer the options you need, Squarespace’s built-in forwarding isn’t sufficient. You need an external forwarding service.

The Fix: Domain-Forward.com — Registrar-Independent Forwarding

Domain-Forward.com works independently of your registrar. It doesn’t matter if you’re on Squarespace, the old Google Domains, or anywhere else:

• Guaranteed HTTPS — SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt, auto-provisioned and renewed
• HTTPS forwarding always works — no registrar dependency
• 301 permanent redirects — proper SEO value transfer
• Analytics — see who’s clicking
• Path forwarding — preserve URL paths across redirects
• Both www and non-www handled
• Free plan — up to 5 domains

Step 1: Disable existing Squarespace forwarding

If you have forwarding configured in Squarespace, remove it. The existing configuration creates DNS records that will conflict with the new setup.

Step 2: Create your free account

Sign up at Domain-Forward.com — no credit card required.

Step 3: Add your redirect

Click “Add Redirect” and configure:

• Source domain: yourdomain.com (add both root and www)
• Destination URL: Where you want visitors to go
• Redirect type: 301 (permanent is recommended for most cases)

Step 4: Update DNS at Squarespace

In Squarespace’s domain management panel, go to DNS settings and update:

Delete any conflicting records — especially A records pointing to Squarespace’s forwarding infrastructure or the old Google Domains forwarding IPs.

Your email stays working. MX records for Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or any email service remain untouched.

Step 5: Wait for DNS propagation

DNS propagation takes 1-4 hours (up to 48 in rare cases). Domain-Forward.com provisions your SSL certificate automatically once propagation completes.

Step 6: Test everything

Visit both http://yourdomain.com and https://yourdomain.com. Both should redirect correctly. Use our redirect tester tool to verify.

Squarespace Forwarding vs Domain-Forward.com

If You’re Considering Transferring Away from Squarespace

Many former Google Domains users are transferring their domains to other registrars (Cloudflare, Porkbun, Namecheap). If you’re planning a transfer:

1. Set up Domain-Forward.com first — get your forwarding working independently of the registrar
2. Then transfer — your forwarding keeps working because it’s DNS-based, not registrar-dependent
3. Update DNS records at the new registrar — same A record and CNAME, just in a different control panel

This order means you never have downtime during the transfer.

Stop Wrestling With Your Registrar’s Forwarding

Registrar forwarding is a nice-to-have feature, but it shouldn’t be your only option. When Google sold to Squarespace, thousands of users learned this the hard way — their forwarding broke because it was tied to a specific registrar’s infrastructure.

Domain-Forward.com is registrar-independent. Your domain stays at Squarespace (or wherever you move it). Your forwarding keeps working regardless. Setup takes 5 minutes — and you get HTTPS, analytics, and path forwarding that actually work.

Your email stays working — only A and CNAME records change, never MX. Check our URL forwarding basics if you want to understand how redirects work under the hood, or see how Squarespace compares in our Cloudflare Registrar comparison.