In an unexpected move, Google has decided to leave the domain name registration industry and has sold the assets of its Google Domains division to website builder Squarespace.

With the $180 million purchase, Google customers will move over 10 million domain names to Squarespace, giving the business an immediate competitive advantage in the domain name registrar industry, according to Mashable.

According to Matt Madrigal, Google's Vice President and General Manager of Merchant Shopping, the transaction is part of the company's strategic drive to hone its core competencies. Madrigal stressed that Squarespace clients' transition would be carefully handled to provide a smooth experience.

The formal agreement includes a promise from Squarespace to maintain the same price structure for at least a year after the transaction is finalized.

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What Will Be The Changes?

Customers of Google Domains should see little disruption as a result of this change. Website owners will see little downtime as Squarespace uses Google's infrastructure to move domains.

The Google Workspace domain purchase process will now only be available via Squarespace, well-known for its domain administration and website creation capabilities.

Existing Google Domains users will get invoicing and support from Squarespace for their Google Workspace accounts. Customers must switch to Squarespace's billing system when their subscriptions are up for renewal, Engadget reported.

Moreover, customers that wish to swiftly purchase a domain as part of the Google Workspace enterprise platform subscription process will now register it via Squarespace by default. However, the client may purchase the domain elsewhere and attach it to Workspace later. 

With the purchase of Google Domains, Squarespace's website builder has established itself as a primary domain name registrar, fourth in the world only to GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Tucows. Squarespace's client base will grow due to this action, which also shows the company's dedication to providing a complete range of services to fulfill the changing demands of website owners.

Squarespace CEO and co-founder Anthony Casalena recently spoke on the importance of domains to the web's infrastructure and his company's eagerness to start helping out its new clients.

Casalena emphasized Squarespace's commitment to maintaining industry-leading service and support standards while assuring clients that the company's domain products and experience would facilitate a smooth transition.

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