Updated: Where should I buy my domain name from? Godaddy or Squarespace?

Originally posted: 12/2/24 | Updated: 3/16/26

I am here today to help you answer a frequently asked question — where should I get a website domain?

For anyone who’s afraid to raise their hand and ask the question… I’ll answer it: A website domain is the URL or address of your website — and it usually ends with dot com (but sometimes it may end with dot org or dot net.) For example, this website you’re on right now has the domain name: LetsMakeASite.com. It’s like the street address for your website.

Lots of companies sell domain names — and some of those companies are more recognizable brands than others. Remember those Godaddy Superbowl commericals?

If I have a Squarespace website — do I need to also have a Squarespace domain? (no)

Is it possible to have a Squrespace website — but a Godaddy domain? (yes)

Where should buy my domain from?(wherever ya want, sista)

Don’t fret, pet.

All of the above are possible!

The truth is, you can buy your domain anywhere and connect it to your Squarespace website. The question really comes down to what is important to you: price, convenience, or domain customization.

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First up, here are a few popular domain hosting companies:

• Godaddy.com

• Dreamhost.com

• NameCheap.com

• Bluehost.com

• … and of course, Squarespace

• ….plus a billion others!

When it comes to domains, the offerings are pretty similar but there are a few slight differences.

Domain hosting factors

1. Price:

• As long as you have a website, you’ll also need to have a domain. You can’t have a house without a street address, right? This means you will pay annually for a domain name. I consider a domain name a necessary business cost and expense it with my small business office costs every year when I do my taxes.

• There used to be a big difference between annual pricing across different domain companies. Namecheap.com, for example, is generally less spendy compared to other companies. But these days, the difference is likely only $5 or so a year. i.e. As I write this post, I just searched the name funwithsquarespace.com and here is what I found:

  • Namecheap: $14.97/year

  • Squarespace: $20/year

  • Godaddy: $21.99/year

• Domains that end in other suffixes (like .net or .info) are usually cheaper. But, I would still advise you purchase a dot com if you can.

In summary… If the difference in $2-$5 dollars a year is worth it to you, you may want to go with a less expensive company. Squarespace is pretty consistently $20/year across the board and if you buy an annual website subscription, they’ll throw it in for free the first year!

Bonus: If you work with me, I get you sweet discounts!

2. Convenience:

• Do you have a million passwords and logins to various online platforms and apps? Who doesn’t? Keeping track of them all is a living nightmare. As such, convenience is the number one reason I end up recommending Squarespace domains to my Squarespace website clients.

  • One username/password for your Squarepace site and domain.

  • It’s all billed together on one invoice

  • Boom!

In summary… If you like having one spot/one bill/one easy account for all of your website-related stuff, than why not use Squaresapace for your domain as well? It really is easy.

3. Advanced Customization:

• Do you need PizzaYum.com to point to one page and PastaYum.com to point to a different page on the same website? You can do this on most domain providers, however, with Squarespace - once the page loads, the URL in the browser will update back to the primary destination address. Some domain providers can get really specific — A company like Dreamhost would be a better bet if this is important to you.

In summary… If you need very extreme advanced customization out of your domain name, then a different domain provider from Squarespace may be the way to go.

So there you have it! Generally, hosting both the site and domain on Squarepace makes things much more convenient. But, you can really host your domain name wherever you’d like! Regardless of where you decide to buy your website domain from — I will connect it to your website for you! I can even set up branded email for you at your domain if you’d like.

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Hope this helps! I have many more ideas for website tips and tricks but I would love to hear what YOU are curious about! Hit me up. :)

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