Squarespace

Squarespace does not expose a public API for creating blog posts, so EarlySEO cannot write into your Squarespace blog directly. Instead, EarlySEO hosts the blog for you at a subdomain of your own domain — blog.example.com — and you add one navigation link from Squarespace to it.

Squarespace stays your main website. EarlySEO hosts the blog content, handles SSL, and gives you a public blog URL on your own domain, so the SEO value stays with you.

This page covers the Squarespace-specific steps. The DNS setup, provider-by-provider record instructions, and verification steps are shared with every hosted blog and live in the Custom Subdomain guide.

Not on Squarespace? The Custom Subdomain integration runs the same hosted blog for any platform.

Prerequisites

• A Squarespace site with a connected custom domain, such as example.com
• Access to your domain's DNS settings — either in Squarespace Domains or at an external registrar
• An EarlySEO account

Setup

1. Create the integration in EarlySEO

1. Go to Integrations in your EarlySEO dashboard
2. Click Add Integration and select Squarespace
3. Fill in the form:
   • Your Domain: your root domain, for example example.com — not blog.example.com
   • Blog URL Mode: choose Subdomain (Recommended)
   • Publishing Behavior: choose Publish Immediately or Save as Draft
4. Click Create Integration

Your blog will be served at blog.example.com. Your Squarespace site keeps serving example.com and www.example.com unchanged.

2. Add the DNS record

Add this CNAME record at whichever provider manages your DNS:

Type:  CNAME
Name:  blog
Value: blog.earlyseo.com

Do not replace your Squarespace root-domain records. Only add the blog subdomain record.

If Squarespace manages your domain, go to Settings → Domains → your domain → DNS Settings, then add a custom record with host blog, type CNAME, and data blog.earlyseo.com. Leave the Squarespace-managed records above it untouched — removing those takes your main site offline.

If an external registrar manages your domain, add the record there instead. See the Custom Subdomain guide for Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy, and Route 53 specifics, including the Cloudflare proxy setting.

EarlySEO registers the subdomain with our hosting provider when you create or validate the integration. DNS propagation and SSL provisioning take a few minutes.

3. Verify the connection

Confirm DNS resolves, check the verification endpoint, then click Validate on the integration until it shows Connected. The full verification sequence, with the exact commands and expected output, is in Verifying the setup.

4. Add the blog to your Squarespace navigation

Once the blog resolves, link to it from Squarespace:

1. In the Squarespace editor, open Pages
2. Click + and choose Link under the main navigation section
3. Set the link title to Blog, Articles, or Insights
4. Set the URL to https://blog.example.com
5. Leave Open in new window off so visitors stay in the same tab
6. Save

The link now appears in your site navigation and takes visitors to your EarlySEO-hosted blog on your own domain.

For a footer link as well, add the same external link under the footer navigation section.

Path mode

The integration also offers Path (Advanced) mode, which serves the blog at example.com/blog instead of a subdomain. This requires you to configure a reverse proxy in front of your domain yourself — Squarespace does not support it natively, and EarlySEO does not provision it automatically. Use Subdomain mode unless you already run a proxy such as a Cloudflare Worker in front of your site. See Cloudflare Worker Setup if you do.

Troubleshooting

Squarespace site went down after the DNS change

• You likely edited or removed a Squarespace-managed root record. Restore the original records in Settings → Domains → DNS Settings; Squarespace can reset them to defaults for you
• The hosted blog only ever needs the blog record added

SSL handshake failed / Cloudflare error 525

• If your DNS is on Cloudflare, the proxy (orange cloud) is on. Set the blog record to DNS only (grey cloud), wait a minute, then click Revalidate on the integration.
• Keep the value as blog.earlyseo.com. Do not swap it for the address shown in a hosting dashboard.
• Re-enable proxying only after the blog loads, with SSL/TLS mode Full (strict).
• Full explanation: Custom Subdomain → If you use Cloudflare

Navigation link 404s or shows a certificate warning

• The subdomain is not fully provisioned yet. Verify it directly at https://blog.example.com before blaming the navigation link
• Work through Troubleshooting in the Custom Subdomain guide

Articles are not appearing on the blog

• Confirm the integration shows Connected in EarlySEO
• Confirm the article is published rather than saved as a draft
• Check that Publishing Behavior is set to Publish Immediately if you expect articles to go live automatically

The blog does not match my Squarespace design

• Hosted articles follow your site's brand color and support dark mode. See Article Theming

Related

• Custom Subdomain guide — DNS records, verification, and troubleshooting for hosted blogs
• Article Theming — brand colors and dark mode