Custom domain guide
How to connect a IONOS domain to Cloudflare Pages
The exact records to add at IONOS, written the way its form asks for them, for both www and the bare domain.
Checked 16 October 2026
In short
The records you'll add
- Type
- CNAME
- Host name
- Points to
Replace the capitals with your own value from the host's dashboard.
| Type | Host name | Points to |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | Replace the capitals with your own value from the host's dashboard. |
Plus a forward from the bare domain to www (step 5).
Step by step
Set it up
- 1
Add the domain in Cloudflare Pages first
In Cloudflare Pages, go to Workers & Pages→your project→Custom domains→Set up a domain and enter your domain (for example www.example.com). Add each address separately in Custom domains.
Custom domains are included on the free plan.
- 2
Open the DNS records at IONOS
Sign in, then go to Menu→Domains & SSL→⋯ next to your domain→DNS
The domain has to use IONOS nameservers.
- 3
Clear what's in the way
The bare domain usually has an A record pointing at the IONOS parking page. Edit or delete it: only one A record can be active for the main domain.
- 4
Add the record for www
Click Add record and add:
- Type
- CNAME
- Host name
- Points to
Replace the capitals with your own value from the host's dashboard.
Type Host name Points to CNAME Replace the capitals with your own value from the host's dashboard.
- 5
Point the bare domain
Cloudflare Pages can only serve a bare domain with the domain on Cloudflare's nameservers. With your DNS at IONOS, use www as the address and forward the bare domain to it.
Use IONOS's forwarding (often called URL redirect or Forwarding) to send example.com to https://www.example.com, and give Cloudflare Pages the www address.
- 6
Wait, then check
Changes at IONOS take effect within an hour, sometimes up to 24 hours. Once Cloudflare Pages sees the records, it issues the certificate for https by itself. Use the check below to see what the world sees.
Check your domain
Once the records are in, see whether the world can see them pointing at Cloudflare Pages.
Changes can take from a few minutes to a day to show up everywhere.
Good to know
Common snags
- Always add the domain under Custom domains first: a CNAME created by hand without it ends in a 522 error.
- If you have CAA records, they must allow Cloudflare's certificate authorities.
- Leave Host name empty for the bare domain.
- Before adding a CNAME for www, the www subdomain may need creating under Manage subdomains.
- Don't add http://, a trailing slash or a trailing dot to the value.
Still not working?
Questions
Before you start
Should I use www or the bare domain with Cloudflare Pages?
Add each address separately in Custom domains. www always works with a single CNAME; the bare domain depends on what IONOS offers, covered in step 5.
Why does my site show a certificate error?
The certificate is issued once Cloudflare Pages sees your records, which can take a while after DNS changes. If it stays, check for old records on the same name (parking pages, AAAA records) and, at Cloudflare, that the record is set to DNS only.
Will this affect my email?
No. Email uses MX records, which these steps don't touch. Only change the records for @ and www.
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