Add a domain

1. Log in to the Cloudflare dashboard ↗.

2. Select Add a domain.

3. Enter your website's apex domain (for example, example.com), choose how you would like to add your DNS records, and select Continue.

   Note

   If Cloudflare is unable to identify your domain as a registered domain, make sure you are using an existing top-level domain ↗ (.com, .net, .biz, or others).

   Cloudflare requires your apex domain to be one level below a valid TLD defined in the Public Suffix List (PSL) ↗. Enterprise customers can onboard lower-level subdomains using Subdomain setup.

4. Select a plan ↗.

5. Make sure we have all of your DNS records.

   Cloudflare can automatically scan for common records and add them to the DNS zone for you, or you can add records manually. These records show up under your domain on the DNS > Records page of the dashboard.

   
   

   1. Since the quick scan is not guaranteed to find all existing DNS records, you need to review your records, paying special attention to the following:

      • Zone apex records (example.com)

        More about zone apex records

        Zone apex refers to the domain or subdomain that you are adding to Cloudflare.

        Usually, the zone apex record makes your domain accessible by visitors. In this case, the necessary record type (A, AAAA, or CNAME) and its content will depend on the provider that hosts your website or application.

        If you are using Cloudflare Pages, refer to Custom domains.

        If you are using other providers, look for their guidance on how to connect domains managed on external DNS services. Then, make sure you have the records required by your hosting provider on your DNS records table at Cloudflare.

      • Subdomain records (www.example.com or blog.example.com)

        More about subdomain records

        Most subdomains serve a specific purpose within the overall context of your website. For example, blog.example.com might be your blog, support.example.com could be your customer help portal, and store.example.com would be your e-commerce site.

        Even if you do not require specific subdomains, you might want to set up at least the www subdomain. It will usually point to the same content as what you have on the apex domain (example.com) or use a redirect. Having a DNS record on the www subdomain helps guarantee that a visitor who types www. in front of your domain address on their browser can still find your website or application.

      • Email records

        More about email records

        Depending on your business needs, you can configure DNS records so that you can use your domain to receive emails, receive and send emails from your domain, or prevent others from sending emails on your behalf (spoofing).

        Below are some examples of what those DNS records might look like. The exact values for your DNS mail records depend on your email provider. If you have issues, review the Troubleshooting and contact your email service provider to confirm your DNS records are correct.

        Type	Name	Content	Proxy status	TTL
        A	mail	192.0.2.1	DNS Only	Auto
        MX	example.com	5 john.mx.example-server.test	DNS Only	Auto
        TXT	_dmarc	"v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=...	DNS Only	Auto
        TXT	*._domainkey	"v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=..."	DNS Only	Auto
        TXT	example.com	"v=spf1 ip4:..."	DNS Only	Auto

      Note

      If you activate your domain on Cloudflare without setting up the correct DNS records for your domain and subdomain, your visitors may experience DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN errors.

   2. If you find any missing records, manually add those records.

   3. Depending on your site setup, you may want to adjust the proxy status for certain A, AAAA, or CNAME records.

   4. Select Continue.

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