How to Fix Squarespace This rule is conflicting with an existing DNS record while Domain Forwarding

In Domain Forwarding, adding a rule for the www subdomain, pointing it at a destination like https://www.smartcric.space, triggers a red validation message directly under the subdomain field: "This rule is conflicting with an existing DNS record. Resolve by deleting the conflicting record in the DNS settings page." The form won't let the rule save while this message shows, no matter how many times the destination URL is re-entered. The message names the fix's location on purpose: the DNS Settings page, not this forwarding dialog.

When a domain is registered through Squarespace or connected to a Squarespace site, the platform writes a set of default DNS records: A records pointing the root domain to Squarespace's servers, and a CNAME pointing www to Squarespace's hosting. Those records exist so the site resolves correctly by default.

Squarespace's own documentation says setting up forwarding normally clears these defaults for you automatically, since a default record and a forwarding rule can't both control the same subdomain. This error is what happens when that automatic cleanup doesn't run, most often because the record on file no longer matches a clean default. Squarespace won't silently delete something it isn't sure about, so it stops and asks for the conflict to be removed by hand first.

From the domain's settings, go to DNS Settings. A table lists every record on the domain, grouped into sections; Squarespace Defaults is usually the one to check first, showing A records for the @ host pointing at Squarespace IP addresses, plus a www CNAME record pointing to ext-sq.squarespace.com. Forwarding the www subdomain specifically will almost always conflict with that CNAME row; forwarding the root domain (@) conflicts with the A records instead.

Click the trash icon next to the Squarespace Defaults section. A confirmation dialog appears: "Delete Squarespace defaults?

If you do this, your domain will no longer point to your Squarespace site. Be sure to forward your domain or restore these defaults from presets." That warning is accurate: deleting these records does disconnect the domain from the Squarespace site's own content. That's fine here, since forwarding is about to take over that job, but it's the wrong move for a domain meant to keep showing its Squarespace site.

Back in Domain Forwarding, add the rule again with the same subdomain and destination URL as before. With the conflicting record gone, the red error no longer appears and the rule saves. Forwarding the root domain instead of www is simpler: the form's own hint under the Subdomain field says entering @ will delete any remaining Squarespace default records automatically as part of adding that rule, no manual DNS Settings trip required.

Once saved, the Domain Forwarding page shows the rule's real settings: Redirect Type as Permanent redirect, Forwarding over SSL as On, and Path Forwarding as Forward path, next to a Last Update timestamp. Permanent redirect and SSL on are the settings for a production forward: permanent tells browsers and search engines this is the lasting destination, and SSL keeps the redirect itself encrypted before it reaches the destination site. Squarespace notes that a forwarding change can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate, so a rule that looks right here but hasn't taken effect for every visitor yet isn't necessarily broken.