"Set up with Cloudflare" doesn't depend on where the domain was registered. It depends on where the domain's DNS (its nameservers) is: if the nameservers are Cloudflare's, you can use it. A domain bought at GoDaddy with its DNS on Cloudflare works too (what nameservers are). This guide explains how to use it, what the access is used for, and how to add the records by hand when it isn't an option.
It's about where the DNS is, not where you registered
When you connect a domain, C Building first looks up its nameservers, that is, where its DNS is. If they are Cloudflare's, the domain settings offer the one-click setup, whichever company the domain was registered with.
Both common cases work:
- The domain is registered at Cloudflare: its DNS is always on Cloudflare, so the one-click setup works.
- The domain is registered elsewhere (for example GoDaddy) with its DNS on Cloudflare: the one-click setup works as well, with nothing to do at your registrar.
One thing to know: domains on Cloudflare Registrar always use Cloudflare's nameservers and can't switch to a third party's (Cloudflare Registrar FAQ). So for these domains "Let C Building manage your DNS" is the wrong choice: its last step is a nameserver change, and if that doesn't happen within 3 days, the setup and the records brought over are removed. Use the one-click setup or add the records by hand.
Use "Set up with Cloudflare"
When C Building detects that a domain's DNS is on Cloudflare, the domain settings show an extra card, "This domain's DNS is on Cloudflare", with a "Set up with Cloudflare" button. It leaves the nameservers alone and adds the DNS records your website needs directly in your Cloudflare account.
Where to find it
- The "Domain" tab of the editor's settings panel.
- The website's "Domains & publishing" page.
If the domain isn't in C Building yet, open "Domains" from the account menu, choose "Connect a domain you own", enter the domain and pick the website that should use it.
Steps
- Open the domain settings and find the "This domain's DNS is on Cloudflare" card.
- Click "Set up with Cloudflare", approve access at Cloudflare, and include this domain.
- Back in C Building you'll see "The records for example.com were added at Cloudflare. The setup is verified automatically once DNS takes effect."
- Once DNS updates, it shows "example.com is set up and verified". There is nothing else to click.
What the access is used for
- Only the records your website needs: the ones listed in the records table under the card.
- Existing website records on @ and www are replaced: records pointing to another site are replaced, and you'll see "Replaced N existing website record(s)."
- Email is left alone: MX and other records are not touched.
- Authorize once, no repeat trips to Cloudflare: C Building stores this domain's DNS permission securely and uses it only for domains connected to your own websites. It asks you before every later DNS change.
- Disconnect any time: click "Disconnect" on the Domains page in the account menu, or revoke the access in Cloudflare. It also ends by itself after 90 days unused. Disconnecting does not delete records that were already added.
If you cancel at Cloudflare, you'll see "Cloudflare access was declined; nothing was changed." If you didn't include the domain, you'll see "This domain was not selected when you approved access. Approve again and include it." Just click the button again. If it says "Setting up with Cloudflare did not finish", try again later or add the records by hand as described below.
Not the domain owner, or the one-click setup isn't working? Add the records in Cloudflare by hand
The one-click setup has to be approved by someone who can sign in to the Cloudflare account that holds the domain. If you aren't the domain owner, prefer not to grant access, or the setup didn't finish, add the records by hand in Cloudflare's DNS settings. Which records to add (type, name, value) is whatever the card lists when you connect the domain; existing records with the same name on "@" or "www" need to be edited or deleted first. See Connect your domain to C Building: add DNS records at Cloudflare for the full steps.
Set A and CNAME records to "DNS only" (grey cloud). If they are "Proxied" (orange cloud), C Building can't verify the domain or issue its HTTPS certificate.
If you want C Building to manage the DNS fully
If the domain is registered elsewhere with its DNS on Cloudflare, change its nameservers to C Building's at your registrar and follow Let C Building manage your DNS. If it is registered at Cloudflare, the only way is to transfer it to a registrar that allows custom nameservers; as Cloudflare's FAQ notes, ICANN does not allow a transfer within 60 days of registration, a registrar transfer or a WHOIS change (this does not apply to .uk). Before changing nameservers, read the checklist before changing nameservers.