Switching guide · Updated September 2026
How to leave Squarespace without losing your domain or email
Short answer: you do not have to cancel first, and you do not have to move your domain. Build the replacement, point your www address to it, leave your email records alone, then cancel the Squarespace website plan.
What Squarespace lets you take with you
Squarespace exports a file made for WordPress. It includes regular pages, one blog, and text and image blocks. It does not include style settings, custom code, store pages, video blocks, headers, footers, or several other page types. Squarespace help center
That is why most owners rebuild rather than "export." simple a site. reads what is public on your current site and rebuilds it for you to review.
Step by step
Keep your Squarespace site running for now
Do not cancel first. Your current site stays live while you prepare the replacement, so customers never hit a blank page.
Build the replacement privately
Enter your current address at simple a site. It reads your public pages, services, and contact details and builds a private draft you can edit in plain words. Nothing on the live site changes.
Keep your domain where it is
Squarespace's own help center explains that a Squarespace domain can point to a site hosted somewhere else. You change one record for the www address. You do not have to transfer the domain. Source
Leave your email records alone
Business email runs on separate records (called MX records). The switch only changes the website record, so your inbox keeps working.
Check the new site on your own address
Open your www address and confirm the new site, your phone number, and your contact form work. Only then move on.
Cancel the Squarespace website plan
Squarespace notes that moving or pointing a domain does not cancel the site subscription, so cancel the website plan yourself once the new site is live. Your domain renewal is a separate, usually yearly, cost. Source
Want to move the domain too? You can, later.
Transferring a domain away from Squarespace uses an authorization code and can take up to 15 days. Recently purchased or recently transferred domains have a 60-day lock. None of that is needed to switch your website. Squarespace help center
What it costs
| Option | Website cost | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Squarespace Core (annual billing) | $29 a month, about $348 a year | Separate |
| simple a site. Personal | $79 once. Covered hosting $0. | Separate |
Squarespace price as reported in July 2026. PetaPixel. Covered hosting is for ordinary informational and service-business websites. Stores, memberships, and custom booking systems may need another solution.
See your replacement first
Enter your Squarespace address and see what carries over. Free, no account, no card. Our first 20 customers get personal setup help and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Check my Squarespace site