Squarespace Is Acquiring Google Domains: What Do You Need to Know?
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Here’s some news if, like me, you have your domain registration with Google: as of June 15, 2023, Squarespace has announced an agreement to acquire Google Domains assets.
If this deal goes through as planned, the domain name you registered with Google will pass across and be managed by Squarespace.
You can read the official announcement in this Squarespace press release, however the main things you need to know are:
When?
The transfer is planned for later in 2023.
What’s happening with the Google domain transfer?
Up to 10 million domain names currently registered with Google will transfer, so that Squarespace becomes the domain name registrar for those domains.
Why is Squarespace acquiring all of these Google domains?
Google apparently intends to wind down their Google Domains business. Squarespace, on the other hand, already offers domain registration to their customers. And they are understandably pleased to have the opportunity of selling Squarespace website services to existing Google Domains customers who either don’t have any website attached to their domain yet, or are unhappy with their current website provider.
The terms upsell and cross sell were mentioned 3 times by the Squarespace executives on the investor relations call that I listened to; website services bring them a higher margin than domain registrations.
How much is Squarespace paying for your Google domain name?
The deal price is $180 million. Squarespace is not stupid: we can infer they predict at least this much future profit from this acquisition!
If your domain registration is with Google, what do you need to do?
We don’t know much yet about how the actual transfer will take place, but the announcement does promise a “seamless transfer of domains", which hopefully means you won’t need to take any action for the mechanics of your domain.
What about future renewal costs?
This is where things get more interesting. Here’s what we know for sure:
The typical annual cost of a .com domain name registered with Google is, and has been for many years, $12
The typical annual cost of buying that same .com domain name through Squarespace is currently $20
Squarespace has stated they will honor your Google domains renewal price for at least 12 months. However, if you’re a current Google domains customer, I believe this means you can expect a price hike in the not too distant future.
If you only own one domain name, then $8 extra per year may not be a big deal. However, if you own 10 domain names, and you take a long-term view of, say, 10 years, then you could potentially end up $800 out of pocket due to this deal.
Worth noting here, on the Squarespace investor call that I listened to, they mentioned the possibility of bundled pricing for customers who get both their domain name and website service through Squarespace. But at this stage, I think we should anticipate you’ll be paying more for your domain in future.
Should you extend the registration length of your domain with Google now?
My bet is that after Squarespace honors your Google renewal price for the first year, they’ll put the price of your domain up.
To lessen the impact of that, if you currently pay for your Google domain every year, you might consider extending your registration. So, you’ll purchase more years now, at the Google price.
Obviously, I can’t promise that the new expiry date of your registration will be honored by Squarespace, but it would be extremely unusual for a domain to transfer without the full length of the registration going with it. Not to mention, this would be a huge reputational blunder for Squarespace.
So, personally, I went into my Google domains account and extended all of my registrations. I bought the full 10 years for domains I am certain I want to own forever, and added a few years for domains that might or might not still serve my business strategy down the road.
How to extend the length of your domain registration with Google
Here’s a quick video, showing you what to do inside your Google domains account:
It’s very quick to do, and although it’s irritating to pay upfront for several extra years for each domain, I’m willing to bet this will save money in the long term.
I’d love to know if you decide to do the same!
What’s my overall opinion of this news?
I’ve been enormously happy as a Google Domains customer. The $12 per year price isn’t the lowest you can get, but I’ve enjoyed the clean, easy interface and full range of advanced settings that I can control. I was initially dismayed to hear of the domain assets being sold.
However… if they have to go anywhere, then I’m pleased that Squarespace is the new owner. As a Squarespace website designer I have a high level of confidence that they will handle the transfer responsibly and with good customer service support.
And if you don’t yet have a website for your domain (or you’re not happy with the one you’ve got), then Squarespace is an excellent choice for your website platform. I’ve included links below to help you evaluate whether Squarespace is the right tool for you.
I’m a Squarespace affiliate and you can save 10% off your first subscription of a website by using the code PAULINE10.
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Great resources if you’re exploring Squarespace for your website:
Yes, you can use your own domain with Squarespace: here’s whether to connect it or transfer it
Examples using Squarespace for your portfolio
And for the essential steps in your website project, regardless of platform, take a look at my free 50 Step Website Checklist.