Connect Your Domain to Square Online
Note: Using a custom domain name requires an upgrade on your Square Online site.
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Whether you have a custom domain name registered here at Square or with a third party, you may connect it to Square Online so that anyone searching the domain in a web browser can view your site.
Note: When it comes to third-party domains, you can either simply connect them to your site with Square, and leave the hosting and billing with the third party, or, you can completely transfer the domain hosting and billing to Square. Another way to think of the difference is that connecting third-party domains leaves the website and domain in two completely different accounts. For example, your website could be hosted at Square, but your domain could be hosted elsewhere. Transferring, on the other hand, means that your website and domain are in the same account. In this case, Square could host both your website and the domain.
| Prefer managing your website and third-party domain together? Try transferring your domain. |
Connect Your Third-Party Domain
To connect a custom domain you purchased elsewhere to your Square Online site:
From your Square Online Overview page, go to Website > Domains.
Select Connect domain.
Under Use a domain I own elsewhere, type in your domain name and select Verify.
Proceed below according to who hosts your domain.
Automated domain connection
If you have a domain with a well-known third party host like Godaddy or Google, you can automatically connect that domain with our integrated connection feature using these steps:
Selecting Verify in step #3 in the first section above will show you a button that says Connect with..., and selecting it will prompt you to log in to your third-party domain host account.
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.
Publish your site from the Square Online site editor to see your changes live.
Here are some popular domain hosts that are supported by this feature:
GoDaddy
Google
1and1.com
If you completed the automated domain connection, you don’t need to follow steps for the manual domain connection. You can stop here.
Manual domain connection
For all other hosts, you can manually connect your domain using these steps:
Selecting Verify in step #3 in the first section above will show you a button that says Connect, and selecting it will show you the information you need to update DNS with your domain host.
Log 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’. Note: The ‘Points to’ value is an IP address which is specific to your website. Be sure to use the IP address listed in these fields to also make sure SSL is automatically enabled for your site after DNS propagation. Without the correct IP address, 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.
Publish your site from the Square Online site editor to see your changes live.
If you’re not comfortable making the DNS changes using the steps above, the 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.
Here are a few things you need to know before manually connecting your domain to your Square Online site:
- DNS changes can take 24-48 hours to propagate, so it may take time for your site to start working.
- Square doesn’t use TTL values. Whatever your host defaults to should work (i.e. you can leave your TTL values unchanged).
- If you want to use a custom subdomain with Square Online (e.g. “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.
Connect Your Square-Hosted Domain
To connect a custom domain you purchased from Square to your Square Online site:
From your Square Online Overview page, go to Website > Domains.
Under the domain you want to connect to your site, select Manage > Manage domain.
Under Destination, select Edit site destination.
Choose the Connect to one of my current sites option.
Select Save when finished.
Publish your site from the Square Online site editor to see your changes live.
Disconnect Your Domain
To disconnect a custom domain from your Square Online site:
From your Square Online Overview page, go to Website > 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. Learn more about how to use a free subdomain with Square Online.