---
title: Add a site · Cloudflare Fundamentals docs
description: If you purchased your domain from a different provider, you can still connect the domain to Cloudflare. After you connect your domain to Cloudflare, Cloudflare will act as the reverse proxy and DNS provider for your site.
lastUpdated: 2025-04-30T14:58:12.000Z
source_url:
  html: https://zt-dark-mode-changelog.preview.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/setup/manage-domains/add-site/index.md
  md: https://zt-dark-mode-changelog.preview.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/setup/manage-domains/add-site/
---

If you purchased your domain from a different provider, you can still connect the domain to Cloudflare. After you connect your domain to Cloudflare, Cloudflare will act as the [reverse proxy](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/concepts/how-cloudflare-works/#cloudflare-as-a-reverse-proxy) and [DNS provider](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/concepts/how-cloudflare-works/#cloudflare-as-a-dns-provider) for your site.

The information below applies to a [full DNS setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup) which is the most common configuration.

Note

To use Cloudflare as a reverse proxy but maintain your DNS provider, refer to [partial setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/partial-setup/). To use one or more DNS providers, refer to or [DNS Zone transfers](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/zone-transfers/).

## Prerequisites

[Disable DNSSEC](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/dnssec/#disable-dnssec) at the registrar where you purchased your domain name to avoid connectivity errors when you change your nameservers.

## 1. Add site in Cloudflare

1. Log in to the [Cloudflare dashboard](https://dash.cloudflare.com/login).

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](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-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](https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/dns/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)](https://github.com/publicsuffix/list/blob/master/public_suffix_list.dat). Enterprise customers can onboard lower-level subdomains using [Subdomain setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/subdomain-setup/).

4. Select a [plan](https://www.cloudflare.com/plans/#compare-features).

5. [Review your DNS records](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/setup/#review-dns-records) to ensure none are missing. Your DNS records must accurate for your domain to work properly.

   Cloudflare can [automatically scan for common records](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/reference/dns-quick-scan/) and add them to the [DNS zone](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/concepts/#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`)](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-dns-records/how-to/create-zone-apex/)

      * [Subdomain records (`www.example.com` or `blog.example.com`)](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-dns-records/how-to/create-subdomain/)

      * [Email records](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-dns-records/how-to/email-records/)

      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](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/troubleshooting/dns-probe-finished-nxdomain/) errors.

   2. If you find any missing records, [manually add](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-dns-records/how-to/create-dns-records/) those records.

   3. Depending on your site setup, you may want to adjust the [proxy status](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/proxy-status/) for certain `A`, `AAAA`, or `CNAME` records.

   4. Select **Continue**.

## 2. Update nameservers

Once you have added a domain (also known as a *zone*) to Cloudflare, that domain will receive two assigned authoritative nameservers.



Before your domain can begin using Cloudflare for DNS resolution, you need to [add these nameservers](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/setup/#update-your-nameservers) at your registrar. DNSSEC should still be **disabled** at this point.

Warning

If your domain is particularly sensitive to downtime, review our suggestions to [minimize downtime](https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/performance/minimize-downtime/).

## 3. Complete SSL/TLS setup

To prevent insecure connections and visitor browser errors, [enable SSL/TLS protection](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/get-started/). Many Cloudflare services will automatically protect and speed up your web traffic after your nameservers are updated.

If you encounter unexpected results when changing your nameservers, refer to the [DNS Full Setup troubleshooting](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/troubleshooting/).
