How Do I Forward One Squarespace Site to Another Site?

Forwarding one Squarespace site to another involves setting up a URL redirect. This is useful if you are moving your site to a new domain or have rebranded. Below is a step-by-step guide to achieve this:

Step-by-Step Guide to Forwarding a Squarespace Site

Step 1: Set Up the New Site

Before you can forward traffic from the old site to the new site, ensure your new Squarespace site is fully published and accessible.

Step 2: Access the Old Squarespace Site’s Settings

1. Log in to Squarespace: Access the account that hosts the old site.
2. Go to the Home Menu: Click the menu button (three horizontal lines) at the top-left corner.
3. Navigate to Settings: Scroll down in the Home Menu and select “Settings.”

Step 3: Set Up URL Redirects

1. Select "Advanced": In the “Settings” menu, find and select the "Advanced" option.
2. URL Mappings: Click on "URL Mappings." This is where you’ll set up the redirects.

Step 4: Add Redirects

1. Manual Mapping: In the URL Mappings text box, you’ll need to manually input the redirects from the old pages to the new site. The format typically looks like this: /old-page-url -> http://www.new-site-url.com/new-page-url 301

   • /old-page-url: The relative path of the old page.
   • http://www.new-site-url.com/new-page-url: The full URL of the new page.
   • 301: This tells search engines it's a permanent redirect.

2. Redirect Entire Website: If you want to redirect the entire old website to the new website's homepage, you can use a wildcard redirect like this: /* -> http://www.new-site-url.com/ 301

3. Save Changes: After inputting the necessary redirects, save your changes.

Step 5: Confirm and Test Redirects

1. Publish Changes: Ensure all settings are saved and published.
2. Test Redirects: Open a web browser and visit a few of the old URLs to confirm they are correctly forwarding to the new site.

Additional Considerations

1. SEO Impact: Setting up 301 redirects helps preserve SEO rankings as they inform search engines that the page has permanently moved.
2. Domain Transfer: If you're also moving the custom domain to the new Squarespace site, update the DNS settings to point to the new site’s IP address.
3. Broken Links: Ensure all major content on the old site is accounted for in the new site to avoid broken links or lost traffic.
4. Analytics: Update any analytics settings to ensure consistent tracking between the old and new sites.

Limitations and Caveats

1. Temporary Site: If the old site is only temporarily needed, consider indicating this in your redirects by using a 302 redirect instead of a 301.
2. Third-Party Service: If using a domain registrar or third-party service, you may need to set up domain forwarding through their interface instead of or in addition to Squarespace.
3. Customization: Squarespace’s URL Mappings interface is straightforward but limited, so highly customized redirects may require additional effort or external tools.

By following the steps above, you can ensure users and search engines are seamlessly directed from your old Squarespace site to the new one, minimizing disruption and maintaining SEO equity.