HOW TO CONNECT A BLUEHOST DOMAIN TO SQUARESPACE SITE

Learn How To Connect a Bluehost Domain To Squarespace site,

There has been this confusion about Bluehost and Squarespace which has led to the rising of questions like "how can one connect a Bluehost domain to his Squarespace site"?. Then don't worry this article is for someone who is looking for a way to host his Squarespace site with Bluehost or even if you need to know more about Squarespace and Bluehost, then continue reading...

Squarespace Quick Review

Squarespace is a website building and hosting company, it allows users to build websites using pre-built websites templates and drag and drop elements to create and modify webpages. It works like WordPress or Wix when creating websites.

Let's see how to create a website with Squarespace.

How To Create A Squarespace site

Creating a website on Squarespace is very simple and easy. 

First, go to (Squarespace.com)  and click on the Get Started Button.

You will be prompted onto a templates page, Choose a template of your choice.

After choosing a template you can click on the view mode on desktop, tablet & mobile, to see how it looks on the live preview.

After viewing if you are not pleased with the view of the template you can simply go back and choose another template, but if you are satisfied with the template then click on the Start with this design button, Squarespace will then prompt you to create a free account.

After creating your account Squarespace will then prompt you to name your site.

Give an appropriate name to your site, then click on the Continue button.

Squarespace will be showing you a short introductory demo video showing you a live preview of your site, you will just need to click next and get started. 

Your template will load exactly like on the live preview sample, then on the bottom you there a features that direct you on your page creation and you can choose either to create a page exactly like the template or you can remove it and start from scratch.

Creating different parts of the websites will differ depending on the template or theme you choose but the general idea of creating is always the same.

Add pages using the navigation panel on the left, and add elements using the buttons on the upper right. To edit elements simply click on them to modify content.

The cPanel has many features like the management tools where you can edit your site title & also make a view of your visitors' statistics.

After you have confirmed that you have added all your contents and everything is in order then you will need to publish your site online. Squarespace gives you a free custom domain that has the following service plans;

A Standard Plan starts at $8/per month, an Unlimited Plan which starts at $16/month, and A Business Plan which starts at $24/per month.

But in this article, we shall see how we can host the Squarespace site with Bluehost hosting account due to various reasons.

Before we check on how we can host a Squarespace site on Bluehost, let us take a quick review on Bluehost and why it is recommended on hosting the Squarespace site.

What is Bluehost?, A Quick Review on Bluehost

Bluehost is a web hosting company that offers web hosting services, it is the most recommended web hosting company for hosting sites. It offers services to more than 2million people all over the world. It is also recommended by WordPress as the best website builder in the world that uses easy online drag and drop tools. 

You can start building or hosting your site on Bluehost starting from $2.95 which is very cheap for beginners, It offers a free domain for 1-year, free support for 24/7, free SSL Certificate, great security, it also offers a great customer where one can contact for help through phone call & through live chat.

Those are just some of the great efficient features for Bluehost, let us now see how we can connect a Bluehost domain to a Squarespace site.

How To Connect a Bluehost Domain To A Squarespace site

The process of connecting a Bluehost domain to your Squarespace site is somehow complicated but if you are keen enough then it's very simple.

If you do not have a Bluehost domain the sign up HERE on Bluehost starting from $2.95/month the hosting cost and get a free domain for 1-year, but if you already have a Bluehost domain then follow the following steps carefully and do the connection.

Step 1, The Connection will start on Squarespace

In the Home Menu, click settings, then click Domains

Click, Use a domain I own

Now enter the full domain name you're connecting in the Enter domain field, then click the forward arrow.

Click Connect domain
Note: If you see a message that says " this domain is already connected to another Squarespace site," check your other site to find whether the domain is connected. After finding the domain disconnect the domain. If did not see this message let's continue...

Select Bluehost from the drop-down menu

Click Connect domain

There will appear a message click Continue

A new panel will open with the records to create in your Bluehost account. Don't close this panel keep it for your reference.

Step 2, Log into Bluehost

Open a new browser and go to Bluehost and log in to your account.

Under My Domains, find the domain you want to connect.

Click the Manage drop-down menu then select DNS.

Now copy the records from the DNS settings of your Squarespace site into your domain's settings. 

You should not delete your MX Records at this point as they connect your email address and deleting them could interfere with your email services.

Step 3, Add the first CNAME 

Copy the unique code that appears directly below the Host column. In the first line of your Squarespace DNS Settings. The unique code points to verify. squarespace.com

In your Bluehost DNS Manager create the following record;

Next to CNAME, Click Add Record

In the Host Record field, paste the unique code you copied from the Host column in your DNS Settings panel.

In the Points To field, enter verify.squarespace.com

Leave the TTL, at the default setting.

Click save

Step 4, Add the second CNAME

In the second line of your Squarespace DNS Settings, www appears directly below the Host column. This record must point to ext-cust.squarespace.com.

In your Bluehost DNS Manager create the following record;

Next to CNAME, Click Add Record

In the Host Record field, enter www

In the Points To field enter ext-cust.squarespace.com

Leave the TTL at the default setting

Click save

Note If you already have a CNAME set up with a www Host Record, edit it so that Points To is ext-cust.squarespace.com

Step 5, Add A Records

In the last four lines of your Squarespace DNS Settings, you'll see four IP addresses in the Required Data column.

In your Bluehost DNS Manager follow the steps below to create records;

Next to A, Click Add Record

In the Host Record field, enter @

In the Points To field, enter 198.185.159.154

Leave the TTL at the default setting

Click save

Repeat this process three times for the remaining fields using the following IP addresses in the  Points To field;

• 198.185.159.145
• 198.49.23.144
• 198.49.23.145

Step 6, Wait for the connection to complete

Now that you have entered the records it can take 24-72 hours for the connection to start working properly. While you wait;

You can watch the connection progress by returning to your Squarespace DNS settings click Refresh below the records and the Current Data column will show green labels as your domain connects. 

It's normal to see errors in the Domains Panel or when visiting your domain for up to 72 hours after completing the steps in this guide. If you see any errors visit troubleshooting domains connections. 

Thank you for reading, if you will need to signup on to Bluehost CLICK HERE to sign up and start your successful journey with Bluehost.