Connect your domain to Square Online
About connecting your domain to your Square Online website
Whether you have a custom domain name registered at Square or with a third party, you can connect it to your Square Online site so anyone searching the domain in a web browser can view your website.
For third-party domains, you can connect your domain to your Square Online website and leave the domain hosting and billing with your current host, or you can completely transfer the domain hosting and billing to Square.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encrypts the data that goes from a user’s device to your Square Online site and back, making the data exchange secure. SSL is especially important for online stores because users expect their information to be secure while shopping with you.
If your domain is hosted at Square, SSL is enabled by default for you the first time you publish your website. Occasionally, it may take up to 24-48 hours before the SSL certificate is configured.
Before you begin
You can register a new domain or connect a domain to Square from your Square Dashboard. If using a third-party domain, have your domain hosting account available.
When manually connecting your domain to your Square Online website, DNS changes can take 24-48 hours to propagate, so it may take time for your site to start working.
If you want to use a custom subdomain with Square Online (like ‘store.mybusiness.com’), you can create an additional A record for the subdomain and point it to the provided IP address following the same steps above. Learn more about how to use a custom subdomain with Square Online.
Register a new domain
You can purchase and register a brand new domain name with Square from your Square Dashboard.
Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Online > Domains.
Select Connect domain.
Select Find a custom domain and enter the domain name you want in the search box to start the purchase process.
Connect your third-party domain
To connect a custom domain you purchased elsewhere to your Square Online site:
Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Online > Domains.
Select Connect domain.
Type in your domain name under Use a domain I own elsewhere, and select Verify.
Proceed below depending on your domain host.
- Select Connect to automatically connect your domain to your site.
- Select Continue to sign in to your domain host account and follow the prompts in the modal until you finish. Once logged in, the domain connection process will take care of itself automatically within 24 hours. SSL should also be enabled after this time period.
If you aren’t able to connect automatically, select Connect manually and follow those steps in the next section.
For all other domains:
- Select Connect manually to view the information you need to update DNS with your domain host.
- Sign in to your domain host account in a separate tab or window, and change your DNS settings to the values listed in the Set up your domain pop-up window. You’ll see values under Type, Name, and Points to. The ‘Points to’ values are specific to your website. Be sure to use the values listed in these fields to also make sure SSL is automatically enabled for your site after DNS propagation. Without the correct values, you won’t have SSL.
- When finished making the changes in your domain host account, go back to the Set up your domain pop-up window and select Verify changes.
Square doesn’t use TTL values. Whatever your host defaults to should work, so you can leave your TTL values unchanged.
If you’re not comfortable making the DNS changes on your own, your domain host should be able to help. Let them know you’ve built your site with Square and you need them to update the DNS settings for you. Share the details from the Set up your domain pop-up window with them to get started.
Connect your Square-hosted domain
You connect a custom domain you purchased from Square to your Square Online site in your Square Dashboard.
Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Online > Domains.
For the domain you want to connect to your site, select Manage > Manage domain.
Select Edit site destination under Destination.
Choose the Connect to one of my current sites option.
Select Save when finished.
Publish your site to see your changes live.
Forward additional domains to your primary domain
Once you have your primary domain connected to your site, you can forward additional domains to it. If the domain you want to forward is hosted outside of Square, reach out to your current domain host with any forwarding questions.
You can forward a domain in Square Online from your Square Dashboard.
Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Online > Domains.
For the domain you want to forward, select Manage > Manage domain.
Select Edit site destination under Destination.
Choose the Forward to a URL option and type in your primary domain.
Select Save when finished and repeat the process for any other domains you want to forward.
Disconnect your domain
You can disconnect a custom domain from your Square Online site from your Square Dashboard.
Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Online > Domains.
Under the domain you’d like to disconnect, select Manage > Manage domain.
Under Destination, select Edit site destination.
Choose the Disconnect from my current site option.
Select Save when finished.
You can also disconnect a custom domain from your site by replacing it with the free Square subdomain instead.