Connect a Squarespace domain (formerly Google Domains)

Did you buy your domain at Squarespace Domains, or does Squarespace Domains manage its DNS? This guide shows, step by step, where to create in Squarespace Domains the records Acatudy asks for. That includes domains bought at Google Domains: they were moved to Squarespace, and the old Google Domains panel is now the Squarespace domains dashboard.

Before you start

• In Acatudy, go to My academy → General → Details & domain, type your address in Your own domain (for example www.brightpathtutoring.com) and click Add domain. A custom domain is included in Basic and Professional (1 domain) and Institutional (3 domains).
• Open How do I link my domain? on that card and keep it at hand: it shows your CNAME target (like brightpath.acatudy.com) and the IP address for a root domain.
• Domains that were registered with Google Domains are now managed in Squarespace's domains dashboard. Squarespace's help says that if the domain uses custom nameservers, the records in its panel no longer apply: check DNS → Domain Nameservers and, if they belong to another company, create the records there.

Step 1. Open your DNS records at Squarespace Domains

1. Open the domains dashboard

   Sign in to Squarespace, open your domains dashboard and click the domain.

2. Open the DNS settings

   Click DNS, then DNS settings. Squarespace may ask for your password or two-factor code: click Continue.

3. Go to Custom Records

   Scroll down to Custom Records. New records are added with Add record; replace the gray placeholder values in the fields.

Step 2. Point www to your academy (CNAME)

Add this record (or edit the existing www record if there is one):

Choose CNAME as the Type, type www in Name (Squarespace adds .yourdomain.com automatically), paste your academy address in Data and click Save. If you see "This name record is already in use", there's another record on www: delete it first (step 3).

Using another subdomain, such as learn? Use it as the name instead of www, and add that same address in Acatudy. With this CNAME no TXT record is needed.

Step 3. Remove records that get in the way

• Squarespace adds a Squarespace Defaults preset that points the domain to a Squarespace site. Its help: in the Squarespace Defaults section, click the red trash can to delete your default records.
• Delete any other A, AAAA or CNAME record on www (or on @ if you serve the root).

Don't touch MX, SPF or DKIM records: they run your email.

Step 4 (optional). The root domain

brightpathtutoring.com (without www) and www.brightpathtutoring.com are one domain: if the root also points to Acatudy, it works on its own, redirects (301) to the address you added keeping the path, shares its HTTPS certificate and doesn't count as an extra domain. So you no longer need to forward the root to www from Squarespace.

Create the A record on the root

If you added a rule for the root in Website → Domain Forwarding Rules, delete it first: it conflicts with the A record. Since www already has the CNAME, the root doesn't need the TXT. Create this record, replacing any existing A record on the root:

Squarespace doesn't allow a CNAME with @ in Name. It offers ALIAS records on @, but the A record (Data = IP Address) is the simplest choice.

Prefer the root as your main address? Add brightpathtutoring.com in Acatudy instead of www, create the same A record and the TXT record (see below). If you also create the CNAME on www, www redirects to the root and the TXT isn't needed.

Step 5. Verify in Acatudy and get HTTPS

1. Wait for propagation

   Squarespace's custom records have a 4-hour TTL by default (you can change it, in seconds). Its help says DNS changes can take 24 to 48 hours to propagate, although they usually work much sooner.

2. Verification is automatic

   Acatudy checks pending domains every 10 minutes for 14 days. To check right away, click Verify on the Your own domain card: the badge changes from pending to verified.

3. HTTPS is automatic too

   Once verified, we issue a free Let's Encrypt certificate and renew it for you, usually within minutes (we retry every hour if the DNS isn't ready). There's nothing to install at Squarespace Domains.

4. Check it yourself (optional)

   Run nslookup -type=CNAME www.brightpathtutoring.com in a terminal, or use Google's Admin Toolbox Dig: the answer should be your academy address.

The TXT record (required with an A record on the root)

If you use an A record on the root, Acatudy requires a TXT record to prove the domain is yours (the IP address is shared by all academies). With the CNAME on www you don't need it, not even for the root. The card shows its Host (e.g. _acatudy-verify.brightpathtutoring.com) and Value (acatudy-verify=…).

Choose TXT. Squarespace adds .yourdomain.com to the Name automatically, so remove it from the Host that Acatudy shows.

Common problems at Squarespace Domains

Still not verified after 24 hours, or verified without HTTPS? Open a ticket in Support from your panel with the domain and a screenshot of your DNS records at Squarespace Domains (see Support and response times).

Official documentation and related guides

Squarespace Domains official documentation consulted for this guide:

• Pointing a Squarespace domain
• DNS records for web hosting
• Edit your domain's DNS records
• Adding TXT records
• Forwarding a domain
• Troubleshooting issues with DNS records
• Review, change or reset your domain's nameservers

In Acatudy: Connect your domain: guides by provider (www vs root, nameservers, TTL and troubleshooting) and Connect your own domain.