Leaving Squarespace? How to Move Your Website Without Losing Your Google Ranking (2026)

Squarespace lets you export your blog posts and some basic page content, but not your design, so leaving means rebuilding your site elsewhere and moving your content across. You can keep your Google ranking if you keep your domain, keep important page addresses the same (or redirect them), and tell Google about the new site. Most ranking drops come from broken links, not from switching platforms.

Squarespace is known for beautiful templates. But many owners eventually want more: a site that doesn't look like other Squarespace sites, layouts the template won't allow, or features that fit how their business actually works. If that's you, this guide shows what you can take and how to move, step by step.

Should you leave Squarespace? A quick check

Leaving makes sense if most of these sound familiar:

• Your site looks polished, but a lot like other Squarespace sites
• You want layouts or sections your template doesn't allow
• Small design changes need custom code or a developer
• You're paying for extras (scheduling, email campaigns, commerce) that add up
• You want your site to collect leads or payments in a way that fits your business better

Stay on Squarespace if you love your design, your site brings in enough customers, and you rely on built-in tools like Squarespace Scheduling or Commerce that are working well for you. It's a strong platform; switching only makes sense if it's holding you back.

Why small businesses leave Squarespace

The most common reason is wanting a site that feels like their own brand, not a template. Squarespace templates are beautiful, which is why so many people use them, and why many sites end up looking alike. Going beyond the template's structure often needs custom code.

Common complaints:

1. Template look. Hard to stand out when your layout matches thousands of other sites.
2. Design limits. Changes outside what the template allows can need code or a developer.
3. Add-on costs. Extras like scheduling and email campaigns can be paid separately.
4. Hard to leave later. Only part of your site can be exported, so the longer you wait, the more you rebuild.

What you can (and can't) take with you

You can export your blog posts, basic page text, store products and your domain. You can't export your design, layout or custom code.

How to move off Squarespace: step by step

Keep your Squarespace plan active until the new site is live, so you can go back and copy anything you missed.

Step 1: List every page on your site

Open yourbusiness.com/sitemap.xml to see your pages, and copy every page address into a spreadsheet. Blog posts usually live at addresses like /blog/your-post-title.

Step 2: Find the pages Google already likes

In Google Search Console, go to Performance → Pages and set the date to the last 3 months. Mark the pages with the most clicks. These are the ones to protect.

Step 3: Export your content

• Blog and basic pages: go to Settings → Import & Export Content (the menu may sit under "Website" or "Advanced" depending on your version), click Export, choose the WordPress format and download the XML file. Only one blog can be exported. If you have more than one, choose the main one to export and copy the rest across by hand.
• Products: in Commerce → Products, export all products as a CSV.
• Everything else: copy page text into a document and download images you want to keep.

Step 4: Rebuild your site on the new platform

Build your new site and bring your content across. Use this as a chance to cut pages nobody visits and sharpen your homepage message.

Step 5: Keep your page addresses the same, or redirect them

This is the step that protects your Google ranking. If a page was at /services, keep it at /services. If a blog post was at /blog/your-post-title, keep that address if you can. Where an address must change, set up a 301 redirect on your new platform, so Google knows the page moved and passes your ranking along. [VERIFY: how redirects are set up in OhhWells]

Step 6: Move your domain, without breaking your email

If you bought your domain through Squarespace, you can transfer it to another provider or point it to your new site. Careful: if your business email runs through Squarespace (for example, Google Workspace billed by Squarespace), only change the website records. Leave the email records (MX records) alone, or your email may stop working. If unsure, ask your new platform's support first.

Step 7: Tell Google about your new site

In Search Console, submit your new sitemap and use URL Inspection on your most important pages. Check the Pages report over the next few weeks for errors.

Step 8: Only then cancel Squarespace

Once the new site is live and working, and you've checked you have everything, cancel your Squarespace plan.

Where to move: Squarespace alternatives for small businesses

If you're leaving because of the "template look," choose a platform that gives you a custom design you can still edit yourself.

Why OhhWells: you describe your business and get a custom site that looks like your brand, not a template, and you can change it yourself afterwards. SEO structure, mobile layouts, lead capture and payments (through your own Stripe account) are built in.

For a full comparison, see our Squarespace alternatives page.

Move it yourself, or have it done for you?

Do it yourself if your site is small (under about 10 pages), with a simple blog and no store.

Get it done for you if your site has lots of pages, several blogs, a store, or important Google traffic you can't risk. Drop us an email to support@ohhwells.com and have a chat with us to find out more.

The bottom line

Squarespace makes it easy to look good, but hard to look different. Leaving is a rebuild, but your blog and content come with you. Export first, protect your ranking with redirects, and keep Squarespace running until the new site is live.

Not sure your current site is worth keeping? Run a free website audit first, then decide.