If you purchased a domain from Dreamhost, you can use it for your Squarespace 5 site by following a process called domain mapping. This process includes changing a few settings in your Dreamhost account, which will tell the domain where to point.
To follow this guide, you should already have an active domain with Dreamhost. Once you connect your domain by following the steps in this guide, you must leave it registered with Dreamhost to keep it connected to your Squarespace 5 site.
Note: This guide was written in 2015, and Dreamhost's interface may have changed. For a more recent guide with general steps, visit Connecting a domain to your Squarespace 5 site.
Before you begin
Before following the steps in this guide, review our requirements for connecting a third-party domain.
Step 1 - Log into Dreamhost
Go to www.dreamhost.com and log in via the Panel login link in the top-right corner of the screen.
Click Domains in the Main Menu on the left, and then click Manage Domains.
Under Web Hosting, if it says your domain is Fully Hosted / user: you, click Remove. This stops Dreamhost from providing hosting for the domain.
Note: This won't delete the contents of your domain's folder/directory within your Dreamhost account, accessible via FTP.
Click DNS below your domain name.
Step 2 - Add the CNAME Record
Scroll down to the Add Record Now! section.
Then follow these steps:
- For Name, add www.
- For Type, choose CNAME.
- For Value, add ext5-cust.squarespace.com. (Ensure you add the period after .com.)
- Click Add Record Now!
Step 3 - Add the A Records
After adding your CNAME, add four A Records for the non-www version of your domain. Scroll down to the Add a custom DNS record to mydomain.com section.
- Leave the Name blank.
- Set the Type to A.
- For Value, add 198.185.159.160.
- Click Add Record Now!
Repeat this process three more times using the following values:
- 198.185.159.161
- 198.49.23.160
- 198.49.23.161
Step 4 - Link your domain
After setting up your CNAME and A Record settings with Dreamhost, link the domain to your site.
- Log into your Squarespace 5 site.
- Open the Website Management bar and click Custom Domain under Structure.
- Click Link Domain.
- Enter your custom domain.
- Click Add.
If all records are entered correctly, your domain will connect to your site within 24 hours. At times, it can take up to 72 hours to connect. We have more information about this on our Squarespace 7 help site.
While you wait, you can check your domain’s progress across the Internet by using Whatsmydns.net. Until it connects, you'll see one of these two warnings:
When your Dreamhost domain is correctly linked, it will appear in the Domains list.
Step 5 - Set domain display preferences (optional)
When you link a domain to your site, both the www domain version (e.g. www.yourdomain.com) and non-www domain version (e.g. domain.com) are automatically included.
Click the Toggle WWW link next to the domain to display the version you prefer.
