Moving from Cloudflare

1. Point your domain to us Recommended

Your domain stays at Cloudflare (you keep paying them for it). We host the new site. You just swap two settings.

Before you start: we'll email you two nameservers that look like xxxx.ns.cloudflare.com. Have that email open.

1. Cloudflare dashboard > Domains > Onboard a domain, enter the apex domain, choose a plan
2. Review/recreate DNS records (apex, www, MX/SPF/DKIM)
3. Note the two assigned nameservers (zone Overview page)
4. At your registrar turn off DNSSEC, remove old nameservers, add the two Cloudflare ones
5. Wait for Active (up to 24 hours, email sent), then re-enable DNSSEC in Cloudflare

Official help page: developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/setup/

Changes usually show up within a few hours, at most 24 to 48. Your old site keeps working until the switch finishes.

2. Move your domain to us

We take over the domain itself, so you get one bill (ours) for website, hosting and domain. It stays registered in your name and we renew it at cost.

1. Prerequisites: Cloudflare account with verified email and payment method
2. Turn off DNSSEC at the current registrar, wait 24 hours
3. In Cloudflare: Domains > Onboard a domain, add the domain, review DNS records
4. At the current registrar change nameservers to the two Cloudflare ones
5. Wait until the zone shows Active (up to 24 hours); the code cannot be entered while Pending
6. Unlock the domain at the current registrar (all locks, no clientTransferProhibited)
7. Request the auth/EPP code from the current registrar only when ready
8. Cloudflare dashboard > Transfer domains: select the domain, enter the code, confirm payment
9. Confirm contact info and click Confirm transfer
10. Approve the Form of Authorization email (always for .us) and the old registrar's approval

Timing: Domain registered/transferred 60+ days ago; registrant name/org/email unchanged for 60 days. Active work ~30 minutes; total up to 10 days (most within 5 business days). Charge at registry cost with no markup; most gTLDs include a 1-year extension; some ccTLDs (.uk) none. Domains renewed after expiring: wait 45 days past original expiry. Max registration term 10 years (.co 5).

Then send us: the authorization code (also called the EPP or transfer code). Paste it in your dashboard or reply to our email. Don't post it anywhere public.

Official help page: developers.cloudflare.com/registrar/get-started/transfer-domain-to-clo

3. Keep Cloudflare, let us in to fix or rebuild

Best if you only want fixes or a rebuild and want to stay on Cloudflare. You invite us; we never need your login.

Cloudflare calls it: Members > Invite members (permission policies) · Choose: Least privilege: scope the policy to your domain with 'Domain DNS' (edit DNS for that domain) and add 'Workers Platform Admin' (account-scoped) only if we deploy Workers/Pages in THEIR account. 'Administrator' = full account except members and billing. Inviter must be Super Administrator with a verified email.

Invite this email: hello@advancingwebsites.com

1. Open the Cloudflare dashboard > Members
2. Click Invite members and enter our email
3. Create a permission policy: choose scope (account or specific domains) and roles (e.g. Domain DNS)
4. Click Create policy, then Invite members
5. We accept the email invite (status stays Pending until accepted)
6. Policies can be changed later via ... > View & Edit permission policies; remove via ... > Remove member

Official help page: developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/manage-members/manage/

Stuck?

Reply to any email from us, or send a note with a screenshot of what you see. We'll walk you through it, or hop on a quick call.

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Steps checked against Cloudflare's official help pages in October 2026. Screens change sometimes; if something looks different, tell us and we'll update this guide.