Set up a Custom Domain for your Static Web Site on Cloudflare Pages

Posted on Sat 12 November 2022 in Blogging

This post describes how to configure Cloudflare Pages to use a custom domain name, instead of the domain pages.dev when it serves your static web site.

I purchase and manage my domains using hover.com. Hover offers an easy-to-use domain forwarding service. However, after the user is forwarded from my Hover-managed domain to Cloudflare Pages, the URL displayed by the browser changes to the Cloudflare URL. I want my URL, learningwithcode.com to remain visible on the browser. So, I will use the relatively more complex method of modifying DNS information so my custom domain name resolves directly to my site on Cloudflare Pages.

Cloudflare wrote a good document that tells you how to modify your domain provider's and Cloudflare's DNS information so that a URL managed by another provider will point to a Cloudflare Pages site. The procedure is summarized below:

  1. Temporarily disable DNSSEC on hover.com, or at your domain registrar. Cloudflare offers links to provider-specific instructions for disabling DNSSEC, including one for hover.com.
  2. Add your domain in the Cloudflare Dashboard.
  3. Update your nameservers on hover.com,, or at your domain registrar, with the CLoudflare nameserver information.
  4. Set up your SSL certificate at Cloudflare Pages
  5. Re-enable DNSSEC on hover.com, or at your domain registrar.
  6. Wait up to twenty four hours for nameserver changes to propagate across the Internet

Temporarily disable DNSSEC on your domain

First, you need to disable DNSSEC for your domain so you can change its configuration.

In my case, I disabled DNSSEC on my domain at hover.com using the following steps:

  • I signed into my Hover control panel
  • In the list of domains, I clicked on the domain I wish to configure, learningwithcode.com.
  • I clicked on the Advanced tab on the page. In my case, DNSSEC is not yet configured because my domain is not configured yet.
  • If it was configured, I would have clicked Edit from the DNSSEC section for current settings.
  • I would have clicked Clear Fields to remove the DNSSEC.
  • I would have clicked Save.

Add your domain to Cloudflare

Add your domain to Cloudflare's free plan level.

  • I logged into my Cloudflare dashboard.
  • In the top navigation bar, I clicked Add site.
  • I entered my website’s root domain, learningwithcode.com, and then clicked Add Site.
  • Select your plan level. I chose the Free plan level. Click Continue.
  • Review your DNS records. The records show up under the DNS --> Records menu item. Cloudflare assigned your domain two nameservers. You may have to scroll down a bit to see this information.
  • Make a note of the Cloudflare nameserver information so you can configure it at your domain registrar.

Update your domain's records in your registrar's dashboard

Add the Cloudflare nameservers to the domain records at your registrar. In my case, my registrar is hover.com so I performed the following steps:

  • I signed into my Hover control panel.
  • In the list of domains, I clicked on the domain I wanted to configure, learningwithcode.com.
  • On the domain's Overview page, I went to nameservers on the left-hand side of the page and selected Edit.
  • I entered the nameserver information from Cloudflare Pages in the pop-up window.
  • I clicked on Save Nameservers

Set up an SSL Certificate for your Cloudflare Pages site

I use Universal SSL for my domain at Cloudflare. Cloudflare manages the SSL certificates for my domain as long as it is hosted on Cloudflare pages.

My web site is hosted by Cloudflare Pages so I automatically get Univeral SSL enabled. I don't have to change anything.

Re-enable DNSSEC on your domain

First, get the information you need to set up DNSSEC at hover.com, or at your domain registrar:

  • I logged into my Cloudflare dashboard.
  • I selected my domain, learningwithcode.com
  • I went to DNS > Settings.
  • For DNSSEC, I clicked Enable DNSSEC.
  • In the Enable DNSSEC dialog box, I took note of the values to I need to re-enable DNSSEC at hover.com. Keep this page open so you can access the configurations when you need them

Then, go to hover.com in a new browser tab, or your domain registrar, and re-enable DNSSEC:

  • I signed into my Hover control panel
  • In the list of domains, I clicked on the domain I wish to configure, learningwithcode.com.
  • In the domain's Advanced page, I clicked on Add a DNSSEC record
  • I added the settings to the required fields. In my case, Hover asked for the Key Tag, the Algorithm, the Digest Algorith, and the Digest.

Enable e-mail security

If you plan to use your domain as part of an e-mail address, you may want to enable e-mail security for your custom domain. This helps you detect when scammers spoof your domain name in their e-mail addresses. I actually had this problem with another domain I used for e-mail and it was a real pain.

In the Cloudflare Dashboard menu for your domain, click on Email --> DMARC Management.

Set up custom domain for Cloudflare Pages site

To add a custom domain for your Cloudflare Pages site:

  • I logged into my Cloudflare dashboard.
  • I selected Workers & Pages and selected my pages site,
  • Select your Pages project --> Custom domains.
  • Select Set up a custom domain.
  • I entered "learningwithcode.com" as the domain name to serve my Cloudflare Pages site and selected Continue. Then Activate domain in the next page.

Conclusion

Now, anyone who enters the URL https://learningwithcode.com will be directed to my static web site hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Cloudflare creates a wildcard DNS record so the domain www.learningwithcode.com should also work.