Set up a custom root domain hosted by Cloudflare

Last updated: September, 2026

This article will guide you through setting up a custom root domain in your community if you are using a Cloudflare domain.

❗Important: Please note that by setting up a custom domain, you will lose Google, Facebook, and Twitter sign-in/sign-up options with Circle. Members using those sign-in methods can log in only if they have set a password for their Circle account.

If your members do not have a Circle account password, they can request a new one using this link: login.circle.so/users/password/new

To set up a custom domain in your community, ensure the CNAME records are correctly added to Cloudflare DNS.

When you enter your domain in your community’s custom domain settings, we display the CNAME record information you need to enter when adding a record in Cloudflare.

To get started:

1. Click the community name or logo (or the dropdown icon next to it) in the top-left corner and select Settings.

2. Scroll down to the Website section and select Custom domain.

1. In the Enter your custom domain field, add your domain.

   • ❗Important: For root domain setup, it is required to add www before your domain in the Enter your custom domain field. For example, if your domain is community.com, you must enter www.community.com in the field.

2. Copy Host/Name and Target/Value information displayed in the Set up a CNAME record in your DNS provider field.

3. See Step 2: Set up CNAME records in this article for the next steps.

   

In a separate browser window or tab, go to Cloudflare and set up a CNAME record as instructed below.

1. Navigate to your domain in Cloudflare.

2. Go to DNS from the left sidebar → Records.

3. Click Add record.

   

4. Transfer the Host/Name and Target/Value information from your community’s custom domain settings and paste it into Cloudflare (see points 1 and 2 in the image below).

5. Disable the proxy status and ensure it says DNS only (see point 3 in the image below).

   

6. Click Save.

You can use CNAME lookup tools such as Mxtoolbox to test the CNAME record you just added. Successful CNAME setup shows a result (DNS Record found) similar to the one shown below.

To confirm the custom domain set up in your community:

1. Click the community name or logo (or the dropdown icon next to it) in the top-left corner and select Settings.

2. Scroll down to the Website section and select Custom domain.

3. Make sure you have entered the domain in the Enter your custom domain.

4. Click Setup domain in the top-right corner..

5. Important: If your DNS already has CAA records, you will also need to add a new CAA record to successfully set up the custom domain in your community. Once you click Setup domain, it will automatically check for this and prompt you with an additional step if a new CAA record needs to be added to your DNS. For a detailed guide, see the section below.

If your DNS has Certification Authority Authorization (CAA) records set for any purpose, you will need to add a new CAA record to ensure the proper setup of the custom domain in your community. 

As per the details given in step 3 of your community’s custom domain page, add a new CAA record in your DNS:

1. Head to your DNS provider account and navigate to the area where you manage your DNS records.

2. Create a new DNS record and select CAA as the record type.

3. In the record editor, enter @ in the Host/Name field.

   • ℹ️ If your DNS provider doesn't support the use of @ in the Host/Name field, you can leave it empty.

4. In the Target/Value field, select issue and then enter the following value: “pki.goog”

   • ℹ️ If your DNS provider doesn't offer the option to choose issue, simply paste the entire value into the field: 0 issue “pki.goog”

5. Save the record.

Once the CAA records are added, navigate back to your community’s custom domain page, enter your domain, and click Setup domain again. Your domain will now show up in a pending status while we verify it on our end.

After your domain is verified, your custom domain status will become active, and all the default community links will auto-direct to the new domain.

Once your domain is active in the community, you will notice when you browse through your settings, spaces, and posts, all of those URLs will match the new domain URL. 🎉

You can also test the redirect from your default community URL to your new domain by navigating to your community using the community URL.

For example, let’s assume:

• Your custom domain is www.community.com.

• Your default community URL (Circle domain) is community.circle.so.

When you use community.circle.so to access your community content, it will automatically redirect you to your new custom domain (www.community.com)!

📚 To learn about how updating your domains affects the URLs and configurations, see Key things to consider before updating the custom domain section in the Updating custom domain to a different one.

• Set up a custom subdomain

• Removing custom domain