⭐ NEW 2026: How to Activate Gmail in Squarespace Domain with Google Workspace (Best)

Sign up for Google Workspace and pick a plan sized to how many mailboxes you need. You'll be asked for your business name and the domain you plan to use, which should match the domain your Squarespace site already runs on.

There's a second route worth knowing about: from your Squarespace domain's dashboard, under Email, Get Started walks you through the same signup, and if your domain still uses Squarespace's default nameservers, Squarespace adds the MX records for you automatically once you finish. The manual steps below are for signing up directly through Google, or for a domain on third-party or custom nameservers, where Squarespace can only email you instructions instead of setting records itself.

Inside Google admin, the Add a domain screen asks for the domain name and whether it's a secondary domain (for managing a separate team or replacing your primary one) or a user alias domain, which just gives existing users an alternate address at no extra cost. For activating Gmail on your main business domain, add it as your primary domain; the screen keeps both alternatives available for other setups.

Google needs proof you control the domain before it activates anything, and that proof is a TXT record it generates for you to add in Squarespace's DNS settings. Open the domain's DNS settings there and paste in the exact TXT record Google provided. Mismatched or truncated values are the most common reason verification fails, so copy the record instead of retyping it by hand.

Google Workspace's current setup uses a single MX record: smtp.google.com at priority 10, replacing the five-record configuration older guides describe. In Squarespace's DNS Settings, the fastest way to add it correctly is the Add Preset dropdown: choose Google Workspace MX and Squarespace fills in the record for you instead of typing it in by hand.

Before adding it, remove anything mail-related already on the domain: old MX records, and any DKIM, SPF, or email-forwarding rules tied to a previous provider. Squarespace's own support documentation calls this the most common cause of Google Workspace email not working afterward, ahead of any typo in the new record itself.

Squarespace treats SPF and DKIM as optional TXT records, needed only if a third-party provider or Google itself asks you to add one, not a requirement for receiving mail. They authenticate outgoing messages and reduce the chance of landing in spam, which starts to matter once you're sending real client or customer mail from the address.

If you already have an SPF record and add a second one, most receiving servers reject a domain with two. Squarespace merges duplicate SPF TXT records into a single one automatically after you refresh the DNS settings page, but check that only one remains before moving on.

MX changes can take up to 48 hours to fully process, per both Squarespace's and Google's own documentation, though it's often much faster. Finish verification inside Google Workspace once the records are live, then send a test email in both directions before handing the new address out. If something's off after 48 hours, recheck that the MX record still reads smtp.google.com at priority 10 and that no old MX, SPF, DKIM, or forwarding rule got left behind in Squarespace's DNS settings.