Squarespace domain not working: how to fix it

You bought a domain somewhere else, connected it to Squarespace, and it still shows an error or the old site. Almost always one DNS record is missing or wrong at the registrar.

What to check, in order

1. Open Squarespace, Settings, Domains, your domain. Squarespace lists the exact records it wants and marks each one green or red. Fix the red ones first.
2. The CNAME. A record named www must point to ext-cust.squarespace.com. A second CNAME with a code name, given by Squarespace, proves you own the domain. Both are needed.
3. The four A records. The bare domain (shown as @) needs four A records: 198.185.159.144, 198.185.159.145, 198.49.23.144 and 198.49.23.145. Delete any other A record on @, such as the registrar's parking page.
4. Wait, but not forever. Changes usually show within an hour. If it is still broken after 24 hours, a record is wrong, not slow.
5. Check the nameservers. If your domain uses Cloudflare or another DNS host, add the records there, not at the registrar. Records at the wrong place do nothing.
6. Security certificate error after it connects? Squarespace issues the certificate itself once the records are right. Turn off Cloudflare's orange cloud proxy if you use it, then wait an hour.

If it still will not connect, send me the domain and I will read its DNS records and tell you which one is wrong.

Want the rest of your site checked after it is back? Run a free 40-point check at tinkeraudit.com.