When you host your application with Kinsta, you’ll need to add and point your domain to us to deliver your application to visitors.

Cloudflare vs. Non-Cloudflare Domains

Users with active Cloudflare accounts of their own will need to follow a special set of instructions to maintain compatibility between the two Cloudflare zones (their Cloudflare account and our free Cloudflare integration).

  • If your domain is already connected to Cloudflare through your own active Cloudflare account, then it is considered a “Cloudflare domain.”
  • If your domain has no connection to Cloudflare (proxy or DNS), then it is considered a “non-Cloudflare domain.”

If your application uses a Cloudflare domain, continue reading here for instructions on how to add and point your domain to Kinsta. If you don’t already use Cloudflare, see our How To Add a non-Cloudflare Domain guide for instructions on how to add and point your non-Cloudflare domain to Kinsta.

Add and Verify Your Domain in MyKinsta

Add Domain

Click Applications > appname > Domains > Add domain. Enter your domain name and click Add domain.

Add your custom domain to your application in MyKinsta.
Add your custom domain to your application in MyKinsta.

Verify Domain

Verifying your Cloudflare domain is a two-phase process. You’ll need to add a TXT record for the initial domain verification, followed by 2 more TXT records to complete the verification.

Phase One TXT Record

Add the first TXT record shown to your domain’s DNS records at Cloudflare. Back in MyKinsta, click OK, I’ve done it.

Phase one of verifying your application's domain.
Phase one of verifying your application’s domain.

Once DNS propagates (usually within 5-10 minutes for Cloudflare DNS records), the next 2 TXT records are shown.

Phase Two TXT Records

Add both TXT records to your domain’s DNS records at Cloudflare.

Phase two of verifying your application's domain.
Phase two of verifying your application’s domain.

Back in MyKinsta, click OK, I’ve done and allow another 5-10 minutes for DNS to propagate.

Point Domain

When your domain is successfully verified, you can point the domain. This shows where to point your domain’s CNAME record.

Point your application's domain.
Point your application’s domain.

Point Root Domain

At Cloudflare, remove any existing A, AAAA, or CNAME records and add the CNAME record (Name/host @) shown.

Once you’ve added the CNAME record, in MyKinsta, click OK, I’ve done it. Once DNS propagates for the CNAME record, you’ll see a checkmark next to your root domain in MyKinsta. This indicates that the root domain has been pointed to Kinsta correctly.

Point WWW Domain

In addition to the CNAME record for your root domain, we also recommend you point the www version of your domain to Kinsta (if you haven’t already). You’ll need to add the www version of the domain to MyKinsta and repeat the steps to verify and point the subdomain.

Troubleshooting the Fix Domain Error

During the domain verification process, if a Fix domain error button appears next to the domain, this means a CAA record conflict is occurring.

A CAA record is an optional DNS record that lets you specify which certificate authorities (CAs) are allowed to issue SSL certificates for your domain. If a domain has no CAA records, any CA can generate an SSL certificate for it if requested. If a domain has a CAA record, only the CA(s) specified in the CA record can generate an SSL certificate for the domain.

To resolve this error, click the Fix domain error button and update the CAA record as indicated in the modal/pop-up. Alternatively, if you do not need a CAA record on your domain, you can remove the CAA record.