Point Squarespace DNS to Flywheel

Flywheel provides each site with an IP address to which domains can be pointed. This is useful if you own, for example, mystunningwebsite.com and would like it to resolve to a Flywheel site.

If you’re brand new to the world of domain names, some of the terminologies may seem a little confusing. Feel free to reference our Glossary of DNS terms if you ever feel stuck.

Step 1: Add the domain to your Flywheel site

1. From the site’s Overview tab, click the (+) icon in the Domains list to add the domain you’d like to point to Flywheel.
   
2. Fill out the domain information:
   
   • Enter the URL in the Domain field
   • Check the box to set the domain to Primary (if this will be your site’s main URL)
   • By default, the www version of the domain will be added (uncheck the box to skip this step)
   • Select Yes for “Have you purchased this domain?”
   • Click Next

   Note

   In the background, our system will automatically update all appropriate URL references in the database to this new primary domain.
3. Click the site’s IP address to copy it to your clipboard for use in Squarespace’s DNS editor (instructions below). Clicking Back to site will take you back to the site’s Overview tab.
   

Step 2: Log in to Squarespace

1. In the Home menu, click Settings, then click Domains.
2. Under Squarespace domains, click the domain name.
3. Click DNS Settings.

Step 3: Configure the A record

You may see several types of DNS records already configured, especially if your domain was pointed to a different host previously. For now, we’re just going to be concerned with the A record, since it’s the record responsible for pointing your domain to your site on Flywheel.

1. In the Website Defaults section, hover over the records, then click the trash can to delete your default records. Your domain can’t point to another site when these defaults are in place. You can always add them again if you need them later.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. From the Record drop-down menu, select A.
4. In the Host field, enter @.
5. In the Data field, enter the IP address you copied earlier.
6. Click Add, then click Save at the top of the page to complete the process.

Step 4: Configure CNAME record for www

If you added the www version of your domain earlier, you’ll want to set up a CNAME record as well. A CNAME (aka canonical name) points a subdomain to another domain name.

For example, with a CNAME in place, visitors entering www.mystunningwebsite.com in their browser will be redirected to mystunningwebsite.com. Without a CNAME record, visitors will instead reach an error page.

1. In the Website Defaults section, hover over the records, then click the trash can to delete your default records. Your domain can’t point to another site when these defaults are in place. You can always add them again if you need them later.
2. Scroll down to Custom Records.
3. From the Record drop-down menu, select CNAME.
4. In the Host field, enter www.
5. In the Data field, enter the site’s primary domain.
6. Click Add, then click Save at the top of the page to complete the process.

Step 5: Double-check your work

1. Check the DNS records on the Squarespace dashboard to make sure the changes were applied.
2. After propagation, you can also verify your domain is successfully pointed to Flywheel by clicking the Check DNS button.
   
3. Once your site is pointed to Flywheel, the status will switch to ✅ Pointed and the domain registrar will be displayed as well.
   

Need help?

If you have any questions our Happiness Engineers are here to help!