Earlier this year, Google abruptly announced it would shutter Google Domains after nearly a decade, selling the business to popular site builder Squarespace. Now, as the transition goes on, Google has ceased the sale of new domains.
Google Domains somewhat quietly stopped selling domains to new and existing customers on September 7. The change was announced on the Domains website, but the announcement only appears when signed out/incognito, and it doesn’t appear the company communicated the change through an email, but some users did notice on that date. The Domains website directs users to instead purchase domains through Squarespace, funnily enough, through an affiliate link.
The message reads:
Google no longer offers new domain registrations, but try Squarespace.
On September 7, 2023 Squarespace acquired all domain registrations and related customer accounts from Google Domains. Customers and domains will be transitioned over the next few months.
Squarespace sells domains starting at $12/year, the same cost that Google charged for “average” domains.
This change doesn’t force existing users away from using domains.google.com to manage their purchased domains. All existing controls remain in place; customers just can’t add any new domains to their portfolios. A notice at the top of a customer’s library of domains reads that “Squarespace is the registrar of record for your domain” and that “Google will manage your domain during a transition period.”
The Squarespace acquisition of Domains was completed on September 7, with sales of new domains ending not long after the completion was announced.
Notably, affected customers are able to take advantage of an offer from WordPress that allows for free domain transfers for a limited time, with pricing matched for at least one additional year.
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