# Add DNS records · Google Domains / Squarespace

<!-- external-screenshot: Squarespace Domains → DNS settings → Custom records -->

Google Domains was acquired by Squarespace, and domains registered there have been migrated to Squarespace Domains — the DNS editor you may remember from Google now lives in your Squarespace account. This page walks you through publishing the DNS records Bird asks for on a sending domain: a DKIM TXT record, a return-path CNAME, an optional tracking CNAME, and a DMARC TXT record. Bird does not ask you to add an SPF record at your domain's apex — see [DKIM, SPF & DMARC](/docs/guides/email/dkim-spf-dmarc) for why.

Before you start, open your domain's detail page in the Bird dashboard and keep it visible — every host and value below is copied from there, not typed by hand.

![A domain's DNS Records page in the Bird dashboard, showing the verified DKIM record with copyable name and value, and the return-path and DMARC sections below](/images/docs/dashboard-email-domain-detail.png)

## Find the DNS editor

1. Sign in to your Squarespace account at [domains.squarespace.com](https://domains.squarespace.com) — this works even if you only ever used Google Domains and have never built a Squarespace site. If your domain has not been claimed since the migration, Squarespace will prompt you to claim it with your Google sign-in.
2. Click **Domains** and select your domain from the list.
3. Click **DNS settings** (in some views this appears as just **DNS**), then scroll to **Custom records**.

## Add the records

For each record on your Bird domain detail page, click **Add record** under Custom records and fill in the fields. The **Host** field in Squarespace is relative to your domain — enter only the part before your domain name.

### DKIM (TXT)

1. Click **Add record**.
2. **Host**: paste the DKIM host from Bird, but remove your domain from the end — for `example.com` you enter `<selector>._domainkey`, not `<selector>._domainkey.example.com`.
3. **Type**: select **TXT**.
4. **Data**: paste the DKIM value exactly as shown in Bird (`v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=...`). Do not add quotes around it — Squarespace stores the raw text and quotes it on the wire for you. If the field won't accept the full value in one go, use the [DNS record splitter](/tools/dns-record-splitter) to break it into chunks first.
5. Click **Save** (or press Enter to confirm the row).

### Return-path (CNAME)

1. Click **Add record**.
2. **Host**: `send` (or whatever subdomain your Bird dashboard shows before your domain name).
3. **Type**: select **CNAME**.
4. **Data**: paste the value from Bird, for example `<region>.bounce.bird.com`.
5. Save the record.

### Tracking (CNAME, optional)

This record only enables branded open and click tracking — your domain can verify and send without it.

1. Click **Add record**.
2. **Host**: `links` (or the subdomain shown in Bird).
3. **Type**: select **CNAME**.
4. **Data**: paste the value from Bird, for example `<region>.links.bird.com`.
5. Save the record.

### DMARC (TXT)

1. Click **Add record**.
2. **Host**: `_dmarc`.
3. **Type**: select **TXT**.
4. **Data**: paste the DMARC value from Bird, for example `v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:example.com@dmarc.bird.com;` — again, no surrounding quotes.
5. Save the record. If you already have a DMARC record at this domain or a parent domain, you can keep it — Bird only requires that a valid DMARC record exists.

## Squarespace gotchas

- **The editor moved.** If you go looking for DNS at domains.google.com, you will be redirected — DNS for migrated domains is managed only at Squarespace (**account → Domains → your domain → DNS settings → Custom records**).
- **Host names are relative.** Squarespace appends your domain to whatever you type in the Host field. Entering the full hostname (`send.example.com`) creates a broken record at `send.example.com.example.com` — enter only `send`.
- **Paste TXT values without quotes.** Some providers require quoted TXT values; Squarespace does not. Paste the DKIM and DMARC values exactly as Bird shows them, with no `"` added.
- **Third-party name servers override everything.** If your domain's name servers point somewhere else (Cloudflare, for example), records added in Squarespace have no effect — add them at whichever provider the name servers point to instead.

## After you publish

There is nothing to click in Bird — verification is automatic. Bird starts checking your DNS within seconds of the domain being added and re-checks frequently, so most domains flip to verified within minutes of the records going live. You can also trigger an immediate re-check from the domain's detail page in the dashboard. If the domain stays pending longer than you expect, see [Verification delays](/docs/knowledge-base/dns-and-domains/verification-delays).

## Next steps

- [Sending domains](/docs/guides/email/sending-domains) — adding and managing domains end to end
- [DKIM, SPF & DMARC](/docs/guides/email/dkim-spf-dmarc) — what each record proves and why there is no apex SPF record
- [Verification delays](/docs/knowledge-base/dns-and-domains/verification-delays) — what to check when a domain stays pending