Google Domains has been silently killed with a transition period. The US-based SquareSpace has entered into a definitive agreement with Google Domains and is said to disrupt the emerging domain business. According to reports, the deal is expected to finish by Q3 2023. SquareSpace is a design-driven platform that enables businesses to build brands and businesses online. As part of the deal, SquareSpace will acquire the assets pertaining to the Google Domains business. The Google registry team will be dismantled after the transition period. We don’t have any information as to whether the search engine giant will layoff the entire team. There is a chance that the teams will be allocated to other departments across Google.
Deal completion
According to the deal, SquareSpace will have access to approximately 10 million domains hosted on Google Domains after the finalization of regulatory approvals. Google will also have to follow customary closing conditions and is expected to close by Q3 2023. Google disclosed that majority of the benefits of this transaction will be realized in 2024 and beyond. Meanwhile, Squarespace is of the opinion that the deal will be a major milestone in terms of revenue and free cash flow.
Commenting on the development, Anthony Casalena, Founder & CEO of Squarespace revealed that they are exceptionally proud to be chosen to serve the valuable clients of the Google Domains business. He added that Domains are a critical part of web infrastructure. It’s an essential piece of the online presence of every business. The company looks forward to serving the new customers with a seamless transition process.
Squarespace intends to carry out a smooth transition for customers over the coming months with the assistance of Google Domains team, said Matt Madrigal, Vice President and General Manager, Merchant Shopping of Google. He added that Squarespace provides an integrated experience for the purchase and management of domains in addition to other tools for a successful online presence.
Old prices intact
As per the terms of the agreement, Squarespace will offer Google Domains customers renewal prices for at least 12 months after the closure of the transaction. The company will also provide additional incentives to encourage Google Domains customers to build a website with Squarespace. You will also have great benefits of the various Squarespace offerings. Moreover, Squarespace will leverage Google’s infrastructure that powers the Google Domains product during the migration period. The move is to ensure the seamless transfer of domains. After the closure of the deal, Squarespace will become the exclusive domain provider for any customer who purchases a domain with their Google Workspace subscription for a minimum of three years.
You can continue to work with Google Domains and renew domains. If you prefer, you can renew for maximum 10 years with Google Domains now. You can also transfer your existing domain from Google to a provider of your choice. If you renewed your domain for long time, then you need not have to worry. However, you can transfer to GoDaddy or Namecheap if you wish. We reached out to Squarespace over Twitter Mesaging platform with a query and they are yet to respond. It remains to be seen as to how their techical support works out.
