Any story of the website starts with the domain. Domains play crucial role in setting up your brand awareness. It also helps identifying your profile as a service or product provider.

There are several ways you can obtain your domain.  The first option is to get it from the third party and then make a transfer to your Squarespace template account. Another option is to buy your domain directly at Squarespace.

Yes, can do it.

Squarespace is a domain registrar and allows for registration of domains.

If you register domain and Squarespace, it is straightforward process which does not require special actions.

If you want to transfer the domain from another registrar, you would need to undergo certain steps to complete the process.

Domain transfer.

Here is the approximate list of steps and actions you need to follow:

1. Require domain transfer from your existing provider.

• Get your domain unlocked.

• In Squarespace choose an option of transferring the domain from third party.

• Obtain names of DNS servers from Squarespace and change it on your existing domain provider.

• Wait up to 48 hours for DNS servers to be changed.

• Get back to Squarespace and check if the domain was transferred.

Now let’s deep dive into each of the steps to get better understanding of how to assign your domain to  any of your Squarespace templates.

Domain transfer request.

The first step of your domain transfer is to make a request from your existing company that you need a transfer. You do not have to specify that you want to transfer it to Squarespace or somewhere else.

This is very important procedure and usually you will need to use additional method of authorization. All is done to prove that it is the domain owner who wants to transfer the account.

The number of domain theft is skyrocketing. The domain registrars pay ultimate attention to preserve any kind of such attempts.

Thus, you would need to authorize unlock of the domain to make it transferrable to a new registrar. Depending on a period this can take from one day to up to one week. Some registrars are holding the unlock to make sure that account owner is informed.

Once account is unlocked and domain is free to go, you can start second step.

Squarespace templates DNS change.

 DNS stand for domain name servers. They are used to point to which registrar domain is attached. Even if you change registrar without putting appropriate DNS your site would not be working. The good thing is that you can start changing DNS while you are waiting for domain unlock and transfer request from your registrar.

What you need to do is go to Squarespace help and find the DNS of the registrar.

When you get the names of Squarespace DNS, you can go to your existing registrar and change them to the one you got from your new registrar.

Once you changed DNS to Squarespace one, it will take one or two days for the system to be updated.

Make a change in Squarespace account.

Once you did change the DNS and request a transfer of your domain from your old registrar, you can now import your domain to Squarespace.

Keep in mind that import function would be executed only when two steps above would be completed.

 If you change DNS without transferring the domain it would not work even on your previous provider.

If you change registrar and transfer domain to Squarespace without changing DNS it would not work either. Well, the domain would be transferred to Squarespace but it would not work.

Both DNS change and domain transfer request from old registrar should all be completed for the domain to work.

Once all is done you will get your old domain working with your Squarespace template without any issues. 

Now let’s consider situation when you do not have an existing domain and  would want to create it on your own.

Picking up right domain for your Squarespace template.

Creating your own domain is an initial and very important point of your website creation.

At first sight it looks like and easy and nice procedure. However, you still need to remember that there are certain limitation and rules you need to follow to maximize your domain efficiency.

Let’s start with what you register domain for. You have a business that you want to promote.

This business has to be identified by both your customers and search engines. To make it work you would need to make it fit both of the slots.

 What you should do is think about your future customers and how they can find you.

In this case the domain name should contain either your brand name or the name of the product or service you are going offer.

Here is the first dilemma that you are going to have.

If you have your own brand, you can try to create a domain name that reflects your brand name.

This would create brand awareness for the customers and would make it easier to populate your brand online.

However, if your website is new, the hardest thing is to make it discoverable for your customers.

To make it discoverable, you would need to name your domain after product or service you are providing.

Domain name is considered to be one of the most important meta tags for the search engines.

Here comes the tricky point.

If your brand name is similar to the product that you are going to offer you are in luck.

The other thing is when your brand name does not contain the name of products or services you  are offering.

Then, you need to choose what you are going to do?

Create a domain to have your name on it and try to advertise it. Or just name your domain after the name of your product or service so it will be much easier discoverable by your customers and search engines.

Domain name occupation.

Another limitation for domain registration is fierce competition in domain field. Almost every popular name is already registered. Thus, when you are creating a new domain, you are going to stumble that most of the nice sound names are taken long ago.

Every year it is harder and harder to invent a new name for a starting business.

Yes, you can have an individual name of your brand and name your domain after this name. But in this case, you would have to spend more time an effort in promoting it in search engines and among your customers. Especially if your brand name does not sound similar to the products your offer.

The best bet would be to work with your brand name. Make it contain your name and product name at the same time. I know it is hard but would pay off in a long run.  If you would have a name of your domain similar to your product, you have more opportunity to boost your domain in search engines.  At the same time your individual name would reflect your brand.

That all depends on you.

Each company’s choose its own path. Usually, big companies with huge advertising budgets do not care about similarity of their brand name to the name of the products they are selling.

At the same time smaller companies prefer to have their product name embedded into their name to be more easily discoverable by customers. The choice is yours. No matter what you get as a domain name there is a long road to make it popular and recognizable. Squarespace templates and right domain name will give you a boost, but the rest has to be done by you.