---
title: Add a domain · Cloudflare Learning Paths
lastUpdated: 2024-12-10T17:15:25.000Z
source_url:
  html: https://zt-dark-mode-changelog.preview.developers.cloudflare.com/learning-paths/personal-website/domain-setup/add-domain/index.md
  md: https://zt-dark-mode-changelog.preview.developers.cloudflare.com/learning-paths/personal-website/domain-setup/add-domain/
---

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**.
