What happened to Google Domains?
Google Domains served as a domain registrar from 2015 until its closure in 2024. Google’s service offered straightforward domain name registration and management, featuring flat pricing and inclusive WHOIS privacy, powered by Google Cloud for DNS infrastructure. It was pretty convenient, and a lot of people liked the idea that you can simply buy a domain name straight from Google.
However, all good things must come to an end. In 2023, Google announced its decision to sell Google Domains to Squarespace. The complete migration of all domains was wrapped up by mid-2024. And a loooot of people were NOT happy with the decision.
Here’s the story of Google Domains. We’ll also dig into why Google exited the registrar market and how that migration took place.
How Google Domains operated
Google launched Google Domains in 2015 and rolled it out to the general public in 2022. At its peak, the registrar supported a wide range of top-level domains across 26 countries and managed millions of active registrations.
Key features of the service included:
- Flat annual pricing for domain renewals
- WHOIS privacy included at no extra cost
- DNS hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure
- DNSSEC available for supported TLDs
- No requirement to use a website builder or bundled services
For popular TLDs like .com and .org, renewal prices were generally around $12 per year. This consistent pricing minimized surprises in renewal costs for users managing multiple domains.
Most interactions with the product happened during initial setup or DNS adjustments, with ongoing management requiring minimal involvement.
Why Google exited the registrar business
In June 2023, Google announced the sale of Google Domains to Squarespace. The deal closed in September 2023, reportedly involving around 10 million domains for approximately $180 million.
Domain registrars operate in a regulated environment where compliance with ICANN policies and abuse mitigation is essential. Revenue per domain tends to remain steady, while operational responsibilities continue to grow.
In public statements, Google emphasized that the sale was part of a broader strategy to concentrate on core product areas, with no technical or operational issues with Google Domains mentioned as factors for the exit.
For Squarespace, this acquisition bolstered its position in domain registration and created a more seamless connection between domains, websites, commerce, and email integrations.
How the migration unfolded
After the acquisition closed in September 2023, the migration of domains from Google Domains to Squarespace occurred in stages. Users were notified and guided through account creation or linking on the Squarespace platform.
On July 10, 2024, Google confirmed that all domains had successfully transferred. Several operational changes became noticeable during this process.
Pricing changes
Squarespace maintained Google Domains renewal pricing for 12 months after the acquisition. After September 7, 2024, however, those domains were renewed at Squarespace’s standard rates. Which, wouldn’t you guess, were higher that Google’s.
Typical renewal pricing after the transition included:
- .com and .org: approximately $20 per year
- selected specialty TLDs: $30–$50 per year
Transfer delays and DNS configuration
After the migration, some users needed to manually update DNS records to maintain existing email workflows.
“Same situation here. I wish I had caught this before they transferred out of Google Domains. I now have 2 domains in limbo waiting for the 5 day transfer window to release them. I will definitely be moving all my clients sites away from Squarespace in light of this hassle.”
“Squarespace is a joke, I’ve spent so much time trying to change the DNS settings on my Domain, I even tried to move my Domain from them to a new provider, and I can’t get the transfer code. Squarespace is the worst, and everyone should stay away. The company should burn in hell.”
“It takes 5 days AFTER you get the code for the transfer to complete, too. Mine are happily over at cloudflare now, but I was in the same frustrating boat as you 6 months ago!”
Account structure and access
During the migration, some domains didn’t go into the same Squarespace accounts as their websites. This was clear for agencies managing domains for clients, causing some problems with account management.
“Google Domain transfer issue – Squarespace Support is Garbage
I had a domain registered with Google pointing to a Squarespace site. After the migration, I ended up with 2 different Squarespace Accounts
- Original Account holding the Site.
- New Account holding the domain.
I attempted a migration, but Squarespace gives an unspecified error, I requested a migration via a ticket which has not received a response after 1 week!
After this, my homepage became a placeholder “We’re under construction” site. I’m sharing this in case someone else has a similar problem, as Squarespace Support is nonexistent.”
Security incident
And yet, there were even more issues.
In July 2024, Squarespace disclosed a domain hijacking incident affecting a limited number of those migrated domains. According to their report, attackers took advantage of weaknesses in the account setup and login processes to change DNS records.
Squarespace stated that the issue was fixed and shared steps to address it. This incident sparked further discussions in the domain management community.
User feedback and reported issues
In addition to Reddit, similar questions arose in Google’s support forums, especially regarding who is responsible for issues after the transfer.
“Email not being received properly since google domains migration to Squarespace. I have a website created in squarespace – www.bulband branch.co.uk
My domain was hosted by google domains but has recently migrated to squarespace domains. Since the migration, all email being sent to my @bulband branch.co.uk email address is only being received in my @gmail.com email inbox.
According to squarespace ‘support’ (I feel this is a generous word), my DNS settings are all as they should be, and the issue lies with google. I have a google workspace for the @bulbandbranch.co.uk emails and there is no forwarding on (I checked on the admin console).
I’m in an infinite loop of support articles with no way of getting live help from either squarespace or google, both of whom claim the issue is not theirs.
Can anyone help?”
These reports reflected uncertainty around ownership, support responsibility, and configuration changes during the transition period. People bought their domains from Google, so naturally, they expected to get their support from Google directly.
The current state of Google & Squarespace Domains
As of 2025, Google Domains no longer operates as a registrar. Squarespace manages the transferred domains as part of its broader platform.
Current features include:
- domain registration without mandatory website creation,
- integration with Google Workspace,
- DNS infrastructure hosted on Google Cloud,
- DNSSEC enabled for supported domains.
As you can see – nothing out of the ordinary.
However, credit is due where credit is due as Squarespace continues to update its documentation and support resources for migrated domains. In 2024, Squarespace became privately held after its acquisition by Permira, which impacted its governance and long-term product planning.
Google Domains kicked off in 2015, all shiny and promising, with the idea of making domain registration a breeze. They offered flat rates, WHOIS privacy, and the kind of user-friendly setup you’d expect from Google. By 2022, they were boasting millions of registrations and claiming to be the go-to option for anyone needing a domain.
But then Google decided to sell the service to Squarespace in 2023, claiming it was all about their “strategic focus.” Translation? They didn’t want to deal with all the messy details of running a registrar anymore. (And it’s a complicated business. We know).
The migration to Squarespace was completed in 2024 and introduced changes in account management and support processes. Adding insult to injury, users soon noticed that while Squarespace kept renewal pricing steady for a year, those rates shot up afterward. Nothing says “welcome to your new home” like a price hike. Complaints flooded in across forums and social media as users vented about the lack of guidance and support after the transfer.
The whole experience highlighted a painful truth: changing ownership isn’t just a back-office issue. It has real repercussions for everyday users. It’s a reminder that for some companies, customer care takes a backseat to corporate maneuvers.
But hey, at least there’s SpaceLama!
We’re a domain registrar that wouldn’t dream of putting our customers through such a nightmare. We prioritize smooth experiences and reliable service, leaving behind the drama of ownership changes and the chaos that comes with it.
So, the next time you want to buy a domain, buy one from SpaceLama.