Cloudflare and your custom domain
If your domain's DNS is managed by Cloudflare, there is one setting that decides whether your custom domain works: the proxy status on the traffic record.
Get it wrong and everything looks correct — the records are exactly the ones Clarflow gave you, spelled exactly right — but the domain never verifies. This page is the fix.
The short version
When you add the Traffic record in Cloudflare, click the orange cloud so it turns grey. Grey means DNS only. Save.
That's it. If you've already saved the record with the orange cloud on, open it, click the cloud, and save again — you don't need to delete or re-add anything.
Why the orange cloud breaks it
Cloudflare turns its proxy on by default for new records. An orange cloud means Cloudflare stops publishing the record you entered and answers your domain from its own servers instead, forwarding traffic on behind the scenes.
That causes two problems at once:
- Clarflow can't see your record. Verification works by looking up your domain and checking that it points at us. A proxied record hides that, so the check can never pass — no matter how long you wait. This is the one custom-domain failure that does not fix itself with time.
- Two proxies in a row. Clarflow already serves your funnels through its own CDN. Putting Cloudflare's proxy in front of that stacks one reverse proxy on another, which breaks the connection even once the record is visible.
DNS only doesn't turn anything off that you need. Cloudflare still manages your DNS exactly as before; it just hands visitors the address instead of standing in the middle. Your other records — your website, your email — are untouched.
Switching a record to DNS only
- Open the Cloudflare dashboard and pick your domain.
- Go to DNS → Records.
- Find the CNAME record for your funnel subdomain — the Traffic record from the Clarflow setup screen.
- Look at the Proxy status column. If it reads Proxied with an orange cloud, click it. It changes to DNS only with a grey cloud.
- Click Save.
| Proxy status | Cloud | Custom domain |
|---|---|---|
| Proxied | Orange | Never verifies |
| DNS only | Grey | Works |
What about the other record?
The SSL certificate record — the long one starting with an underscore — needs no change. Cloudflare doesn't offer to proxy that kind of record, so it's always DNS only already. Only the traffic record is ever affected.
Confirming it worked
Cloudflare applies the change within a minute or two. Go back to the domain setup screen in Clarflow and click Verify & finish.
If Clarflow can still see the record being proxied, it will say so directly rather than telling you to wait — so a warning still showing means the change hasn't taken effect yet, or it was saved on a different record. Check that you changed the record whose name matches the Traffic row on the setup screen.
Notes
- Not sure whether you're on Cloudflare? The Clarflow setup screen tells you which provider manages your DNS and links straight into it. If it says Cloudflare, this page applies.
- Someone else manages your DNS? Use Email these records on the setup screen. The email includes this warning, so whoever holds the login sees it too.
- Turning the proxy off for this one record does not affect Cloudflare's proxy on any other record, and does not change your plan, your caching, or your certificates.