How to Point Namecheap Domain to Cloudflare: Step-by-Step Guide
Setting up your website correctly is crucial for speed, security, and reliability. One of the best ways to achieve this is to point Namecheap domain to Cloudflare.
Cloudflare offers DNS management, CDN services, and enhanced security for your website — and the best part is, it’s free for basic use.
We’ll guide you through the entire process in simple steps.
Why Point Namecheap Domain to Cloudflare?
Before learning the steps, let’s quickly understand why it’s a smart move to point Namecheap domain to Cloudflare:
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Enhanced Website Speed: Cloudflare caches your site content and serves it from global servers.
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Stronger Security: Protects against DDoS attacks and malicious threats.
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Free SSL Certificate: Easily secure your site with HTTPS.
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Effortless DNS Management: Faster DNS resolution times.
By pointing your domain, you give your website better protection and faster load times without heavy technical work.
Steps to Point Namecheap Domain to Cloudflare
Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you out:
Step 1: Create a Cloudflare Account
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Visit Cloudflare.
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Click on Sign Up and create an account with your email and password.
Step 2: Add Your Website to Cloudflare
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After signing up, click Add a Site.
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Enter your domain name registered with Namecheap and click Add Site.
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Cloudflare will scan your existing DNS records automatically.
Step 3: Choose a Plan
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Cloudflare offers multiple plans.
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Select the Free Plan to get started.
You can later upgrade based on your website needs. Learn more about Cloudflare plans here.
Step 4: Review Your DNS Records
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Cloudflare shows a list of DNS records fetched from your Namecheap account.
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Make sure everything looks accurate.
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If needed, you can add missing records manually.
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Click Continue once you verify everything.
Step 5: Get Cloudflare Nameservers
Cloudflare will provide you with two custom nameservers. These nameservers are important — you will need to update them in Namecheap.
Step 6: Update Nameservers in Namecheap
Now it’s time to point your Namecheap domain to Cloudflare:
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Log into your Namecheap Dashboard.
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Go to Domain List and click Manage next to your domain.
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Under the Nameservers section, select Custom DNS.
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Replace the existing nameservers with the two nameservers Cloudflare gave you.
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Click Save.
Note: DNS changes can take from a few minutes to 24 hours to propagate.
If you get stuck, feel free to contact Digitor’s support team for assistance.
Step 7: Confirm Your Setup on Cloudflare
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Go back to Cloudflare and click Done, check nameservers.
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Cloudflare will monitor your domain and send you an email once it detects the nameserver change.
Post-Setup: Optimize Cloudflare Settings
Once you successfully point Namecheap domain to Cloudflare, you can:
1. Activate SSL/TLS
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Go to the SSL/TLS tab in Cloudflare dashboard.
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Set it to Full or Full (Strict) to ensure end-to-end encryption.
2. Optimize Speed
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Enable Auto Minify for JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.
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Turn on Brotli compression for faster loading.
3. Set Page Rules
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Create page rules to cache important pages for maximum speed.
Troubleshooting Tips
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Nameserver Changes Not Reflecting: Wait up to 24 hours for full propagation.
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SSL Not Active: Ensure SSL is enabled in both Cloudflare and your hosting server.
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Site Downtime: Verify that your DNS records (A, CNAME, MX) are correct inside Cloudflare.
Conclusion
That’s it! Now you know how to point Namecheap domain to Cloudflare.
This simple setup will protect your website, make it faster, and give your visitors a safer browsing experience. It’s one of the easiest and most powerful upgrades you can make — especially if you’re just starting out.
If you need expert help or run into any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to Digitor.
