Add your domain to Cloudflare

Cloudflare can run the DNS for your domain. DNS is the system that tells browsers where your website and email are. This guide shows how to create a Cloudflare account, add your domain and change the nameservers. A nameserver is the server that answers DNS questions for your domain.

Before you begin

• Access to the place where your domain is managed. This is your registrar, or the APNCloud Client Area if you registered the domain with APNCloud.
• An email address for the Cloudflare account.
• A list of your current DNS records, especially website records (A and CNAME), email records (MX) and TXT records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). If you are not sure where they are today, read Find your DNS provider.
• The domain added to your hosting account. See Domains and subdomains.

Email can stop if you skip the records

After the nameservers change, only the records in Cloudflare count. Anything missing in Cloudflare stops working, including email. Copy every record you need before you change the nameservers.

Steps

1. Open dash.cloudflare.com, create an account and confirm your email address.
2. Select Add a domain, type your domain without www (for example example.com) and continue.
3. Choose the Free plan.
4. Cloudflare scans your current DNS and lists the records it found. Compare the list with your own list. Add every record that is missing, especially MX and TXT records.
5. Make sure the website records point to your hosting. Follow Point your domain to hosting with web.apncloud.net. For a new domain, keep Proxy status on DNS only (grey cloud) for now.
6. Cloudflare shows two nameservers for your domain. Their names end in ns.cloudflare.com. Copy both exactly.
7. If DNSSEC is turned on for the domain at your registrar, turn it off there before you continue. You can turn DNSSEC on again later in Cloudflare.
8. At your registrar, replace all current nameservers with the two from Cloudflare. If the domain is managed in the APNCloud Client Area, follow Change nameservers.
9. Go back to Cloudflare and use the button that checks your nameservers.
10. Wait until Cloudflare shows the domain as Active. It also sends you an email. This often takes less than an hour, but it can take 24 hours or longer. Your website keeps working during this time if the records in Cloudflare are correct.

Does your domain use APNCloud nameservers today?

If the domain uses ns1.apncloud.net and ns2.apncloud.net, its records are in DNS Management in the hosting panel. After you switch to Cloudflare, changes made there have no effect. Make all DNS changes in Cloudflare.

Common mistakes

• Changing the nameservers before copying the MX and TXT records. Email stops working.
• Keeping some old nameservers next to the Cloudflare ones. Use only the two nameservers Cloudflare gave you.
• Adding www.example.com instead of example.com as the domain.
• Turning the orange cloud on too early. See Cloudflare settings for APNCloud hosting.
• Leaving DNSSEC turned on at the registrar.

Need help?

Open a support ticket in the Client Area or contact [SUPPORT_CONTACT]. Tell us the domain name and which step you are on.

Related articles

• Point your domain to hosting with web.apncloud.net
• Cloudflare settings for APNCloud hosting
• Change nameservers
• Find your DNS provider
• Nameserver changes not working

Last reviewed

2026-10-29