I’m in the process of rebranding and transitioning my domain from oldsite.com (managed via Squarespace and hosted on Webflow CMS) to newsite.com (managed via Namecheap and hosted on Webflow CMS). I’m currently working on setting up 301 redirects and have a question about the interaction between Squarespace path forwarding and Webflow page-level redirects.
As of now, Just the content on new website is live and no redirect has been done.
Here’s the setup:
Squarespace: I’m setting up domain forwarding with the “Maintain paths” option enabled, so , Apart from oldsite.com-> newsite.com, it’ll also → oldsite.com/blog/abc redirects to newsite.com/blog/abc.
Webflow: I’ve also configured specific page-level redirects, like /about-us on the old site to /manifesto on the new site. and /blog/abc → newsite.com/blog/abc
My Questions:
When Squarespace path forwarding (with “Maintain paths”) redirects a URL like oldsite.com/about-us to newsite.com/about-us, will Webflow’s page-level redirect (e.g., /about-us → /manifesto) still take effect once the traffic reaches Webflow?
If Squarespace’s “Maintain paths” is active, but Webflow has page-specific rules, which one takes precedence in practice?
Should I rely solely on Webflow for all specific path-level redirects, or is there an advantage to splitting responsibilities between Squarespace for general path forwarding and Webflow for specific overrides?
I’m aiming to ensure a seamless user experience while preserving SEO value. I’d greatly appreciate any guidance on how to best structure this setup or insights from anyone who’s done something similar.
Squarespace will redirect oldsite.com/abc to newsite.com/abc, that’s all it means to maintain paths. When the user visits oldsite.com, Squarespace is in control, so that happens first, and it passes responsibility for handling the request to Webflow.
Then Webflow’s redirects ( if any ) take effect.
If you’re fully moving your site, there’s no value to keeping oldsite.com pointing at Squarespace… it just adds another server to the mix ( do they charge you for that? ).
Ultimately it would be easier to add both domains to your Webflow site, and make www.newsite.com the default domain. When you have multiple domains in Webflow, that automatically redirects ( preserving path ) first.
Re: If you’re fully moving your site, Ultimately it would be easier to add both domains to your Webflow site, and make www.newsite.com the default domain
How does this work?
I’ve my old site and new site- Both on webflow as of now.
Wouldn’t it mean- we always need to keep our old domain live as in active for as long as the new site?
In your setup, the order of redirects matters. When Squarespace’s domain forwarding with “Maintain paths” is active, it will redirect the user to the path first, maintaining the structure. However, once the user reaches Webflow, any page-specific redirects you’ve set in Webflow (like /about-us → /manifesto) will still take effect. Webflow will process those redirects after the domain forwarding from Squarespace.
In practice:
Squarespace redirects first: It will handle general redirects, including maintaining paths.
Webflow redirects second: Webflow will then handle any specific page-level redirects after the traffic reaches the new site.
It’s usually best to rely on Webflow for specific path-level redirects to ensure consistency and control. You can use Squarespace for broader, site-wide redirects and Webflow for detailed, page-specific ones.
This setup should help ensure a smooth user experience while preserving SEO value, as long as you make sure redirects are properly mapped and avoid redirect loops.
