englang

Use a domain from another registrar

Keep the domain where it is. Add it to your Cloudflare account, check its records, then replace the name servers at your registrar with the two that Cloudflare gives you. You do this once.

Before you start

You need a Cloudflare account, and the sign-in for the registrar where you pay for the domain. Your website and your email keep working during the change, if the records are complete.

The steps

  1. Add the domain to Cloudflare. Sign in at dash.cloudflare.com, choose Add a domain, type the domain and choose the Free plan. Cloudflare reads the records that your domain has now.
  2. Check the records. Compare the list in Cloudflare with the list at your registrar. Make sure that the email records are there: the MX records and the TXT records. Add any record that is missing.
  3. Turn off DNSSEC at your registrar, if it is on. If you do not, the domain stops working after the change. You can turn it on again later, from Cloudflare.
  4. Replace the name servers. Cloudflare shows two name servers, for example ada.ns.cloudflare.com. At your registrar, open the settings of the domain and find Name servers. Some registrars call it DNS servers or Custom DNS. Remove the old name servers and enter the two from Cloudflare, exactly.
  5. Wait. The change usually takes a few hours, sometimes up to a day. Cloudflare sends you an email when the domain is active. Englang then shows Cloudflare DNS for the domain.

If something goes wrong

  • Email stopped. An email record is missing in Cloudflare. Copy the MX and TXT records from your email provider into Cloudflare.
  • A part of the website or a subdomain is gone. A record is missing. Add it in Cloudflare, in the DNS settings of the domain.
  • Still not active after a day. Check that the registrar shows only the two Cloudflare name servers, spelled exactly. Check that DNSSEC is off.
  • You cannot find the setting. Ask your registrar’s support to “change the name servers to Cloudflare”. They do this often.

Do I have to move the domain?

No. Only the name servers change. You keep paying your registrar as before. If you want everything in one place, you can transfer the domain to Cloudflare later. That is optional.