Cloudflare DNS

Check whether you need this guide

If your domain was purchased from Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Name.com, or another provider and DNS is still managed there, skip this guide and use Domain DNS Setup.

Continue only in either of these cases:

• You purchased the domain from Cloudflare.
• You purchased the domain elsewhere, but its DNS / nameservers are hosted by Cloudflare.

💡 In this guide, you will add the root redirect and www CNAME in Cloudflare, then check DNS / SSL in AllinCMS admin. Estimated time: 10 minutes.

Cloudflare's most common mistake is proxy status. The root domain and www need different settings. Finish the main setup first, then adjust advanced rules.

📺 Video: DNS Setup

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Overview

1Copy CNAME

2Add root A

3Add www CNAME

4Redirect root

5Refresh admin

1. Copy Target

In AllinCMS admin, open Domains and copy the generated CNAME target.

If you are not sure where the CNAME is, read the "Get Target" section in DNS Setup.

2. Root A

In Cloudflare, open your domain, go to DNS -> Records, and click Add record.

For the root domain record:

Field	Value
Type	A
Name	@
IPv4 address	8.8.8.8
Proxy status	Proxied
TTL	Auto

This A record is mainly used to redirect the root domain to www. Do not treat it as the actual server address for the AllinCMS site.

3. www CNAME

Add a CNAME record:

Field	Value
Type	CNAME
Name	www
Target	Paste the AllinCMS admin CNAME target
Proxy status	Disabled, DNS only
TTL	Auto

If Cloudflare says the record already exists

Before adding the www CNAME, check whether Cloudflare already has a record with the same name.
If you see A CNAME record with that host already exists, the www host already has a CNAME or A record.

Use one of these fixes:

• If you do not need the old record, delete the existing www record and add the CNAME again.
• If you need to keep the same host, edit the old record, change the type to CNAME, and replace the target with the AllinCMS admin CNAME target.

Do not keep two records with the same www name.

Then fill the CNAME like this. The three key fields are: choose CNAME, enter www, and paste the AllinCMS admin CNAME target. Keep proxy disabled so it shows DNS only.

After saving, the DNS list should contain two key records: the root A record and the www CNAME record.

Keep www DNS only first

Keep the www CNAME proxy disabled first, so AllinCMS admin can verify DNS and SSL. The cloud should be gray and show DNS only.

4. Redirect www

If you want example.com to redirect to www.example.com, create a page rule or redirect rule in Cloudflare.

Example:

URL: example.com/*
Setting: Forwarding URL
Status code: 301 permanent redirect
Target: https://www.example.com/$1

Replace example.com with your real domain.

5. Refresh Admin

For Cloudflare, AllinCMS admin usually only needs the www domain added and selected as the primary domain. After DNS records are saved, return to Domains and refresh.

If SSL fails, wait 10 to 30 minutes and refresh again.

Pitfalls

Mistake	Result	How to avoid it
🔴 Proxy enabled on www CNAME	AllinCMS admin verification may fail	Use DNS only first
🟡 Root domain not redirected	Root domain may not open	Add 301 redirect to www
🔴 Adding https:// before CNAME target	DNS does not pass	Enter the plain domain only
🟡 Judging right after saving	False failure	Wait 10 to 30 minutes

Next

• 📚 Not Secure: read this if SSL does not pass.
• 📌 Launch Checklist: run the launch check after DNS passes.