What happened to Google Domains, and where did my domain go?

Google sold its domain registration business, Google Domains, to Squarespace in 2023, and moved customers' domains over to Squarespace during 2023 and 2024. If you had a domain at Google Domains, it is almost certainly at Squarespace Domains now, under the same Google account email, with its settings carried over. It did not vanish. What needs your attention is whether it is set to renew, and who can log in to it.

What actually happened

Google Domains was Google's service for buying and renewing domain names. In 2023 Google announced it was leaving that business and selling the customer accounts to Squarespace, the website builder company. Over the following months, domains were moved across in batches. Owners got emails from Google and Squarespace about the move, and many did not read them, which is perfectly understandable: they looked like every other account notice.

Some things to keep separate in your head:

• Your domain moved to Squarespace.
• Google Workspace (Gmail on your own domain, Google Drive for business) did not move. It is still a Google service, billed by Google.
• Google Business Profile (your listing on Maps and Search) has nothing to do with Google Domains. It did not change.
• A website built with Google Sites stays with Google, but its connection to your domain now runs through Squarespace's DNS settings.

How to find your domain now

1. Look it up. Type your domain into ICANN's lookup tool. The registrar line should now name Squarespace. Note the expiration date.
2. Sign in to Squarespace's domains area using the same Google account you used for Google Domains. Look for a "Continue with Google" option rather than creating a new account, or you may end up with an empty one.
3. If the domain is not there, you may have used a different Google account back then: a personal one, an old business one, or one belonging to whoever set it up. Try each.
4. If the registrar is not Squarespace, someone may have transferred the domain elsewhere before or after the move. The lookup tells you where it is.

If none of this finds it, how to find where your domain is registered has more ways to track it down.

The renewal is what to check first

Google Domains billed through your Google payment profile. At Squarespace, the domain needs a payment method on the Squarespace account. During the move, card details did carry over for many owners, but not for everyone, and a domain without a working card on file will not renew by itself.

Inside Squarespace, open the domain and check:

• Auto-renew is on.
• A current card is on file for the account.
• The renewal price. Squarespace held prices steady for former Google customers for a while after the move. Check what yours is now, so the next charge is not a surprise.
• The expiration date matches what the ICANN lookup shows.

If the domain is close to expiring, renew it now, while you think about the rest.

Did the settings carry over?

For most owners, yes. Your DNS records, the settings that point the domain at your website and your email, were moved across. Email forwarding, the free feature many Google Domains users relied on to forward info@ addresses to a Gmail inbox, also moved.

Still worth a look:

• Open the DNS page for the domain in Squarespace and compare it with how things are meant to work. Website records, MX records for email, and any TXT verification codes should all be there.
• Send a test email to your business address and reply to it.
• If you used anything unusual at Google Domains, such as dynamic DNS for a security camera or office device, check it still works. A few less common features worked differently after the move.
• Two-step sign-in. Your Squarespace access may rely on your Google account sign-in. Make sure that account has two-step verification on, and that its recovery phone and email are current.

Your three options from here

Stay at Squarespace

Perfectly fine for most businesses. The domain works, the DNS screen is straightforward, and nothing forces you to move. Make sure renewal and sign-in are sorted and leave it.

Keep the domain at Squarespace, but use a website from somewhere else

Owning a domain at Squarespace does not mean your website must be built on Squarespace. You can point the domain at any website by changing a couple of records. Connecting a Squarespace domain to another website shows exactly which records to change and which to keep.

Transfer the domain to another registrar

If you would rather have the domain at a different company, perhaps where your other domains are or where you prefer the prices, you can transfer it out. Get the authorization code from the domain's settings in Squarespace and start a transfer at the new registrar. How to transfer a domain to another registrar covers the steps and the precautions for email.

If your email is Google Workspace

Your Workspace subscription, mailboxes and billing stayed with Google. Only the DNS records that make it work moved to Squarespace. As long as those MX and TXT records stay in place, email keeps working.

Be careful with two things. When you change your website, do not delete the Google records in Squarespace's DNS. And if you ever transfer the domain away from Squarespace, recreate those records at the new DNS company before the switch. Google Workspace email and a new website goes through it.

Watch for fake "migration" emails

The move gave scammers a good story. Be wary of emails saying your Google Domains account "must be verified" or "will be deleted unless you act", especially with a link to sign in. Do not click. Open a new tab, go to Squarespace or Google yourself, and sign in there. If there is a real problem, you will see it.

What to do this week

• Look up your domain and confirm the registrar and expiry date.
• Sign in to Squarespace with the Google account you used before.
• Turn on auto-renew, check the card, note the renewal price.
• Screenshot the DNS records and send yourself a test email.
• Decide: stay, point elsewhere, or transfer.

If the domain still points at a website you have meant to replace, you can see your site rebuilt first and then decide which of the three options suits you.