If you have purchased a domain from another host or a domain registration company but would like to transfer that domain to Squarespace, that is usually not a problem. When you make a domain transfer, you’re able to manage domain settings and billing from just one Squarespace account.
This guide will quickly provide you with an overview of the domain eligibility of transferring a domain. Some domains cannot be transferred or require special conditions to make it happen.
What Accounts can you Transfer a Domain to?
To start with, you’re able to transfer a domain that you’ve registered else to a trial site, a paid site or the Squarespace account, even if you don’t have a site yet. Starting your domain transfer is an easy process that can be done with just a few clicks.
There are some things that you must make sure of before you start the process. The first thing is that you haven’t made a change to your domain contract recently. When you make a change to your domain contract, it can sometimes lock the domain for two months or 60 days. Therefore, check with the domain registry company if they’ve put a lock on the domain.
If you’re transferring your domain and the Top Level Domain (how the domain ends) has .ca, .co.uk, .com.au, .de, or .uk, then there are special requirements and exceptions that you need to review.
How Long does it take?
Domain transfer speeds can take anything from one day to closer to two weeks. It all depends on the company that currently manages your domain for you. You can often ask the current company with the domain how long it will take for your domain to be transferred.
Pricing and Billing
Transferring the domain to your Squarespace account does cost money. It can cost anything from $20 to $70 and this is based on the top-level domain. When you are completing the transfer you will also have to pay for one year’s domain registration.
From here there is no extra fee for the transfer. When you do make the transfer, you will keep the time remaining on the current deal you had on the domain and have an additional year that you pay for with Squarespace. So, if you’ve got 9 months left on the domain, you will have 21 months left on the account. There are some times when you might be eligible for a free year’s worth of registration. The domain will include the free WHOIS Privacy and SSL.
Ineligible Domains
There are some domains that cannot be transferred to Squarespace. For instance, you can’t transfer Registry Premium Domains. Nor can you transfer domains that have nine or more years remaining on their current registration. Subdomains can also not be transferred, you would need to transfer all the domains. You’re also not able to transfer domains that include the words Squarespace or sqsp.
Final Word: Is my Domain Eligible to Transfer to Squarespace?
There are many domains that are eligible to be transferred to Squarespace. You just need to check that you don’t meet certain aspects that are rarely found by small businesses.
