Google Domains

Managed hosting with SSL and global delivery gets your site online fast, but going live under your own brand means pointing a custom domain at it. Your registrar still holds the domain and the DNS records that route traffic.

Google Domains is now Squarespace Domains, and connecting it takes three DNS records in the Squarespace dashboard. No transfer, no nameserver changes, no downtime for your existing email.

How to integrate Google Domains with Webflow

What is Google Domains? Google Domains is a domain registrar and DNS management platform now operated by Squarespace as Squarespace Domains. Squarespace completed the acquisition of Google Domains assets on September 7, 2023, and the last domain migrated by July 10, 2024. It registers domains and manages DNS records. It also includes WHOIS privacy, free SSL via Let's Encrypt, email forwarding, and domain forwarding at no extra cost.

Use Google Domains and Webflow together when you want to keep an existing domain registration while hosting your site on Webflow. Add DNS records that route visitors to your site without transferring the domain or touching nameservers. This preserves your registrar relationship and avoids transfer downtime, which is why most sites use the DNS method.

You have two ways to integrate Google Domains with Webflow:

• Manual DNS record entry points your domain at your site by adding A, CNAME, and TXT records in the Squarespace domains dashboard.
• The Webflow Data API reads connected custom domains and triggers publishes from your own server-side code.

Most implementations use the DNS method alone since Squarespace Domains has no public API for DNS management.

Connect your domain with DNS records

The standard way to connect Google Domains is to add three DNS records in the Squarespace domains dashboard. You keep the domain registered at Squarespace and keep its default nameservers. This method works for portfolios and business sites. It also works for full live-site migrations. You need a paid Site plan to add a custom domain, since the Free plan does not support custom domains.

Add these DNS records:

• A record with name @ and value 198.202.211.1
• CNAME record with name www and value cdn.webflow.com
• TXT record with name _webflow and value one-time-verification= followed by the value from your site settings

To set up the integration:

1. Go to Site settings > Publishing > Production and click Add a custom domain. Choose Manually add domain, enter your domain, and click Add domain. Copy the DNS values shown.
2. Log into your Squarespace domains dashboard, click the domain name, then click DNS in the side panel.
3. Add the A, CNAME, and TXT records listed above, using the exact values from your site settings.
4. Back in the Designer, click Make default next to your preferred domain, then click Verify domain.
5. Once you see the verified confirmation, click Publish > Publish to selected domains.

After you publish, SSL provisions automatically through Let's Encrypt and Google Trust Services once DNS propagates. Propagation can take up to 48 hours, and up to 72 hours in some geolocations. For full steps, see manually connecting a custom domain.

Handle the root domain correctly

Squarespace doesn't allow a CNAME record at the root using the @ name field. Use an A record pointing to 198.202.211.1 for the root — Squarespace also supports ALIAS records as a CNAME-equivalent at the root.

To set the root domain as your default:

1. Confirm the root domain uses an A record at 198.202.211.1, not a CNAME.
2. Click Make default next to the root domain in Site settings > Publishing > Production.
3. Configure CNAME flattening or an ANAME record if your setup requires it.

Using the www subdomain as default is the simpler path. Read the guide on setting the root domain as default before choosing the root.

Update legacy DNS records

Legacy DNS values stop working after January 13, 2026. Publishing to custom domains is blocked until you update them. If your A record points to 75.2.70.75 or 99.83.190.102, or your CNAME points to proxy-ssl.webflow.com, replace those values now.

To update legacy records:

1. In your Squarespace DNS panel, find any A record set to 75.2.70.75 or 99.83.190.102.
2. Change the A record value to 198.202.211.1.
3. Find any CNAME set to proxy-ssl.webflow.com and change it to cdn.webflow.com.

See the guide on manually migrating your DNS records for the full deprecation details.

Build with the Webflow Data API

Google Domains doesn't expose public APIs for DNS management or domain registration and transfer tasks, so you can't automate the DNS step. You can use the Data API to manage connected-domain state and publishing. This path fits developers who want to read domain state or trigger publishes from their own backend. It requires server-side development and an API token.

Use these endpoints:

• List custom domains at GET /v2/sites/{site_id}/custom_domains returns domains already connected to a site
• Publish a site at POST /v2/sites/{site_id}/publish publishes the site or pages to domains
• Webhooks send a site_publish event to your endpoint when a publish completes

You still need to add custom domains manually through the Designer first, since neither side exposes an API for DNS record creation.

Publish after a DNS cutover

You can script a publish once DNS propagates during a live-site migration. This pairs a manual DNS change with an automated publish trigger from your deployment pipeline.

To implement this:

1. Add and verify your custom domain through the Designer, then add the DNS records in Squarespace.
2. Call GET /v2/sites/{site_id}/custom_domains to confirm the domain is connected.
3. Call POST /v2/sites/{site_id}/publish with the custom domain IDs to publish.

Lower your DNS TTL to 30 seconds before a live cutover for faster propagation, then publish once records resolve.

What can you build with the Google Domains Webflow integration?

Integrating Squarespace Domains (formerly Google Domains) lets you launch a branded site at your own domain without transferring registration or writing DNS automation.

• Portfolio at a custom domain: Host case study pages and a contact form at your registered domain, with the www subdomain as the default and SSL provisioned automatically.
• Business website with email intact: Publish service pages and booking forms while keeping email forwarding and MX records on Squarespace Domains untouched.
• Live site migration: Move an existing site over while keeping the Google Domains registration. Use a low TTL cutover to minimize downtime.
• Multi-domain hosting: Centralize several registrations in Squarespace Domains and point each one at a separate site through its own A and CNAME records.

If you need more control over publishing after a DNS cutover, the API integration path covers those cases with full flexibility.