How to proceed with changing my website domain name?

[csmt2901]

Hello Community.

I have a live website with my current domain, but I edited my website in order to better optimize it for SEO. I have not published the edited version yet, because I actually just bought a brand new domain that actually fits more with SEO. The new domain is exactly the name of my business. The live website is already listed with Google Search Console and has been analyzed by Google Analytics, and that is what I want to ask you about. Should I publish the edited version of my website with the current domain and let it be indexed with the edited version and after is analyzed by Google Search Console, I then change the domain to the new one? Or should I change the domain before publishing the edited version. Also how do I enter 301 redirects from my old to my new domains on square dashboard? 

[Donnie-M]

@csmt2901  SEO Mindset = win. 🧠

If you’ve already got your new domain and it better fits your brand and SEO goals, here’s the cleanest approach:

✅ Best practice:

Connect the new domain before publishing the updated version of your website.
That way, search engines index the fresh content under your permanent domain right from the start—no need to build SEO equity twice.

🔁 About redirects:

Square Online does allow 301 redirects, but with some limitations:

• You can redirect one URL at a time (no bulk tool), and it must be from one page on your current Square site to another.

• Square does not currently allow full-site redirects across different domains (e.g., from oldsite.com/page to newsite.com/page).

• If your old domain is hosted elsewhere (like GoDaddy), you'll need to set up the redirect from that provider’s dashboard.

So if you're changing domains, just make sure your old domain is forwarding to the new one at the domain registrar level, and use Square's built-in redirects for any specific page paths you want to preserve within the new domain.

Last tip: once you publish, verify the new domain in Google Search Console and submit your new sitemap to get re-indexed fast.

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/7045-redirects 

#RedirectWisely #SEOStacked #DomainUpgradeUnlocked #HatOrBust

[csmt2901]

Thank you so much @Donnie-M that was very helpful. Unfortunately my current domain is been hosted by Square Online. It was with GoDaddy, but I made the mistake to transfer to Square Online. I had no idea Square Online was such a limited platform. I understand your explanation of the redirects by each page. Can you tell me if that will negatively affect the indexing of my new domain? Perhaps would be better to find a better hosting platform before switching domains and publishing the new website? And to make things even worst, I purchased my new domain from Square Online. It bugs me that if we need assistance with our products with Square online, we need to ask help from good people like you, when we pay our monthly dues directly to Square and they can't never help. I am very concerned that because Square Online does not provide the adequate functions to allow redirects of domains, it might hurt my business by Google Search Console not been able to index my website. Any point of view regarding my concerns?

Thank you again.