Squarespace 301 Redirects (for URLs, domains and b/w sites)

When I first started my Squarespace blog, I was still learning. Naturally, I made my fair share of blogging mistakes (like poor keyword choices and bad URLs). Luckily, there was a quick fix for my missteps.

This is my full guide on how to do Squarespace 301 redirects — including how to move your whole site domain plus individual URLs (within the same site and between different sites).

This is the guide I wish I had. Because information is seriously scant and I had to go through a lot of customer service emails and threads to find my own solutions.

Now let’s do this!

What is a 301 Redirect?

A 301 redirect is when you permanently move one domain or page to another, whereby visiting the old URL automatically redirects you to the new one.

For example, here’s a redirect from one of my travel site blog posts:

• Old URL —> http://jefquin.com/blog/how-solo-travel-changes-you-benefits-of-adventuring-alone

• New URL —> https://jefquin.com/blog/benefits-of-solo-travel

If you try to visit the old URL, you’ll automatically get redirected to the new one.

So, why did I do this?

Reasons to do a 301 Redirect

In the example above, I did a 301 redirect simply because the URL slug was way too long and way too ugly — plus, I wanted to better optimize for the target keyword.

Here’s a list of the most common reasons for needing to do a 301 redirect with your Squarespace site:

• To better optimize your URL slug

• To target new keywords or topics

• If you rebrand or change domains

• If you change subdomains (/blog/ —> /learning/)

• Content pruning for content strategy optimization

Benefits of 301 Redirects

• Improve your site branding

• Avoid broken links and 404 pages

• You end up updating old posts (which is great for SEO)

• Avoid deleting old posts and letting your hard work go to waste!

Squarespace 301 Redirects (how to move any page to any place)

The sections below cover the following:

• How to change your main domain

• How to redirect a URL under the same domain

• How redirect between two separate site domains

How to Change Your Squarespace Domain (+ email)

I’ve moved website domains twice for two separate sites. Once for my travel site (from jakeyou.com to jefquin.com) and again for my music site (from jeffhi.com to quinjef.com).

I guess I have commitment issues! 🙄

So if you visit either of those original URLs, you’ll be redirected to the new domain. I was also able to retain all of my SEO rankings, email accounts and branding.

How to Change Your Squarespace Domain

1. Click the ⚙️ icon on your site’s home menu

2. Click on Domains & Email

3. Click on Domains

4. Click on the three dots of the site domain you want to use

   1. *Click on Get A Domain or Use A Domain I Own if you still need to buy or connect a new domain

5. Choose Set As Primary Domain

6. Test your new domain works by reloading your website URL

7. Reconnect to Google Search Console under your new domain

8. Keep your old domain for at least a year (~$20/year)

And congrats! You’ve successfully changed your domain. Note that if you’ve recently registered a new Squarespace domain and website, you have 5 days to change it (without needing to do any 301 redirects).

But what about your professional email account (Google Workspace) you got through Squarespace — can you redirect that too?

Yep, you know it! Once you update your email, any mail sent to your old address will automatically redirect to your new one (which is great!).

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How to Change Your Google Workspace Email

This process is more involved, but it’s hardly impossible (especially if you’ve kept everything within the Squarespace ecosystem). I actually reached out to Squarespace customer support for this part.

This is the exact email I got from them (and the instructions I more or less followed):

“Changing your primary Google Workspace (previously G Suite) domain is an involved process and isn't always necessary. To save time, there are other options you can choose that will help you achieve a similar goal. Before changing your primary domain, I’d suggest reviewing Google’s guide on alternatives:

https://support.google.com/a/answer/54819

If you still want to change your primary domain:

1. Log into your Google Workspace Admin console at this link: https://admin.google.com/

2. Add the new domain to your Google Workspace account as a secondary domain: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7502379#zippy=%2Cadd-a-secondary-domain-manage-teams-at-different-domains

3. Follow these steps to switch your primary domain: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7009324

4. If you want to remove your old domain or let it expire, update existing users to use your new primary domain: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7009324#zippy=%2Cstep-switch-users-and-groups-to-your-new-domain

For any questions or issues with this process, contact the Google Workspace support team by following these steps:

https://support.google.com/a/answer/1047213

After you add a secondary domain, you can create new users that end in that domain. You’ll add users with your primary domain first, then edit the emails in your Google Admin console so they use the secondary domain.

To learn more, visit our guide:

Use multiple domains with one Google Workspace account”

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How to do a Basic 301 Redirect in Squarespace

Doing a 301 redirect between pages on the same site means only the URL is changing, not the actual domain (e.g., example.com/old-url—> example.com/new-url)

You can easily do 301 redirects for any page or blog post all inside your Squarespace dashboard. Here’s how:

1. Click on the ⚙️ icon for the page or post you want to change

2. Change the ULR Slug and hit Save

   1. *Copy the original slug into a note somewhere

3. From the home menu, click on the ⚙️ icon

4. Click on Developer Tools

5. Click on URL Mappings

6. Start a new line and create your 301 — follow this structure:

   1. /blog/original-slug -> /blog/new-slug 301

   2. /original-page -> /new-page 301

7. Reload original URL to test the redirect works

8. Request indexing in Google Search Console for your old URL (even though it’s already indexed) and then again for your new URL

How to do a 301 Redirect Between Different Squarespace Sites

Like above, this is for both individual pages or blog posts.

So let’s say you have a blog post that’s ranking well but it doesn’t make sense for your brand or content anymore. You don’t want to rewrite it on another site and have to wait for those SEO rankings again.

Luckily, you can just move that post to your other Squarespace site and keep all of its SEO and rankings. I’ve done this with over 50 blog posts on Squarespace (so far).

For example, many of my initial posts on this site were originally published on my travel site (like this one: https://jefquin.com/blog/future-of-blogging). So rest assured, your posts will survive a 301!

Here’s how to do a 301 redirect from one site to another on Squarespace:

1. Copy your blog post or page over to its new home

2. Refresh the content with updates and add images (if needed)

3. Publish the new post live (on the new site)

   1. *I like to keep the original page open in a tab until I’m finished with the 301 — this makes it easier for copying/pasting

4. Head over to your other site (where the original post lives)

5. From the home menu, click on the ⚙️ icon

6. Click on Developer Tools

7. Click on URL Mappings

8. Start a new line and create your 301 — follow this structure:

   1. /blog/example-post -> https://newdomain.com/blog/example-post 301

   2. /example-page -> https://newdomain.com/example-page 301

9. Delete the original blog post or page

   1. *Your 301 will not work until you delete the original page or post

10. Test that the 301 works

11. Request indexing for the original URL in Google Search Console

    1. This will force Google to crawl the old page, see the 301 and hopefully update the search results sooner

12. Request indexing for the new URL in Google Search Console

*Keep in mind that you may experience an initial drop in SEO rankings for each page or post you move. But don’t worry, once Google recognizes the change, your post should eventually show up again under the new domain (usually close to its original position). For me, this update usually takes a few weeks at most.

Later ✌️

If you’re serious about growing a blog, you’ll probably end up doing a 301 redirect or two at some point. Squarespace makes it a pretty simple process — but there are a few nuances and special situations.

For example, redirecting a blog post from one site to another requires an extra couple steps.

This guide walked through the most common situations and how to correctly do 301s so you retain your SEO rankings and user experience.

So happy blogging and good luck with your 301!

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