Google is leaving the domain registrar business.
On June 15, 2023, Squarespace announced an agreement to acquire the assets of Google Domains, including approximately 10 million domain names belonging to millions of customers.
Google Domains will be wound down following a transition period, with Squarespace taking over the customer accounts and domain management business.
For existing Google Domains customers, Squarespace promised to honor current renewal prices for at least 12 months after the transaction closes. During the migration, the company will also use Google’s existing domain infrastructure to make the transfer as seamless as possible.
There is another important part of the deal: Squarespace will become Google’s exclusive domain provider for customers buying a domain together with Google Workspace directly from Google, for at least three years.
Squarespace will also take over billing and support for Google Workspace customers who originally purchased Workspace through Google Domains.
The acquisition was expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.
For the domain industry, the most interesting number is simple:
Around 10 million domains are changing hands — not one by one, but in a single corporate transaction.
“Domains are a critical part of web infrastructure and an essential piece of every business’s online presence.”
— Anthony Casalena, Founder & CEO of Squarespace
Update
Squarespace officially completed the acquisition on September 7, 2023. The migration of millions of Google Domains registrations to Squarespace was subsequently completed in 2024.
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