The Complete Squarespace Migration Checklist

Squarespace is fine until you need to leave. Maybe you hit platform limits, want a cheaper host, or a client asked for a copy they can open without a Squarespace login.

This is a checklist, not a magic migrate button. There is no one-click Squarespace restore into another CMS from a zip of public HTML. An archive is your safety net and a brief for whoever rebuilds the site.

Before you touch DNS

• A copy of the public pages (HTML plus screenshots). Back up one page free, then keep a monthly backup of the whole site.
• Native Squarespace export if you care about blog posts / products as data.
• Media downloaded separately (images, PDFs).
• SEO: titles, meta descriptions, slugs, redirects list.
• Integrations: analytics, email, payments. Write down what is connected.
• Domain / DNS records and the registrar login.

Then migrate

1. Keep Squarespace live while the new site is built.
2. Rebuild or import on the new platform. HTML archives help designers; they do not paste in as a theme.
3. Map every old public URL to a 301.
4. Point DNS only after redirects and forms work.
5. Keep the old site for a few weeks. Cancel last.

Common mistakes

• Canceling Squarespace the day the new homepage ships.
• Skipping redirects.
• Assuming an HTML zip is a restore.
• Forgetting form submissions and mailing lists that live *outside* the public site.

Start with an archive you can actually open. Then move content. Then move the domain.