If you purchased a domain from Hover, you can use it for your Squarespace 5 site by following a process called domain mapping. This process involves changing a few settings in your Hover account which will tell the domain where to point.
To follow this guide, you should already have an active domain with Hover. Once you connect your domain by following the steps in this guide, you must leave the domain registered with Hover to keep it connected to your Squarespace 5 site.
Tip: Before you begin, review our requirements for connecting a third-party domain.
Step 1 - Log into Hover
To log into Hover:
- Go to www.hover.com and log in to your account.
- Click the Your Account drop-down in the top-right corner, then choose Control Panel.
- In Your Domains, click the domain you want to connect.
- Under the Connect area, click the Squarespace logo. You can also click the Connect tab, then scroll down and click the Squarespace logo on that page.
- A new window will open.
Here, you’ll create five records: A CNAME record for the www version of your domain and four A records for the non-www version.
Step 2 - Add the CNAME Record
In the Advanced DNS section for your Hover domain, click Add New.
- In the Hostname field, enter www.
- In the Record Type field, select CNAME from the drop-down.
- In the Value field, enter ext5-cust.squarespace.com
- Click Save.
Step 3 - Add the A Records
After adding your CNAME, add four A Records for the non-www version of your domain.
In the Advanced DNS section for your Hover domain, click Add New.
- In the Hostname field, enter @
- In the Record Type field, select A Record from the drop-down.
- In the Value field, enter 198.185.159.160
- Click Save All Changes.
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 Hover, 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 connection's progress by using Whatsmydns.net. Until it connects, you'll see one of these two warnings:
When your Hover 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.
