Getting your website online

You'll create a free Cloudflare account, buy your domain inside it and give me access. That's everything you need to do. The domain, the hosting and the account are all in your name, so you own everything. It takes about 15 minutes.

Before you start

You'll need: An email address you check, your phone, and a bank card that works for online payments in US dollars.
Cost: Only the domain, paid yearly to Cloudflare. A .com is US$10.46 a year, rising to US$11.17 on 1 November 2026. Cloudflare charges the same price every year, with no cheap first year that jumps later. The hosting is free.
Time: About 15 minutes.

Want a .co.za address? Cloudflare doesn't sell .co.za domains. Tell me before you start and I'll send you instructions for a South African registrar instead.

1Create a free Cloudflare account

Go to dash.cloudflare.com/sign-up and sign up with your email address.
Open the verification email from Cloudflare and click the link. Cloudflare won't let you buy a domain until your email is verified.
Turn on two-factor authentication under My Profile → Authentication. This protects your domain if your password ever leaks.

2Buy your domain

On the Cloudflare home page, find the Domains box and click Add a domain, then choose Buy a domain.
Type your business name into the search box and press Enter.
To compare prices, click the Sort & Filter button next to the search box and choose Price ↑. This lists the cheapest endings first.
Pick your domain and click it. Choose a well-known ending such as .com, .net or .org, and check the Renews at price under each one.
Fill in Registrant information with your own name, email, phone and address. Cloudflare hides these from the public.
Check the domain is spelt correctly, because domains can't be refunded.
Leave Registration period on 1 year and Automatic renewal switched on, so you don't lose the domain if a renewal is missed.
Click Continue to pay, enter your card details and click Complete purchase.
Cloudflare then emails you asking you to confirm your contact details for the domain. Click the link in that email. If you don't, the domain is put on hold until you do.

The cheapest ending usually isn't the best deal. Sorting by price puts endings like .bid, .loan and .win at the top for about US$4. These look like spam to customers and to email filters. Some endings are also cheap for the first year only. In the example below, .fun costs US$4.99 and then US$30.20 a year after that. For a business, a .com is usually the best value.

Cloudflare Add a site page with Buy a domain highlighted — Add a domain opens this page. Choose Buy a domain.

Domain search results with the search box and the .com result highlighted — Search for your business name. The example name here is made up.

Sort and Filter menu open with Price low to high selected — Sort & Filter → Price ↑ lists the cheapest endings first.

Results sorted by price, with spam-looking endings at the top and .fun renewing at 30 dollars 20 a year — The cheapest results are endings most customers won't trust. Always check the renewal price.

Complete your registration page with the domain name and the registrant information form highlighted — Check the spelling, then fill in your own details.

Registration details with 1 year, automatic renewal on, and the Continue to pay button highlighted — Keep 1 year and automatic renewal on, then click Continue to pay.

3Give me access to Cloudflare

Instead of sharing your password, you invite me as a member of your account. I get my own login, and you can remove my access at any time.

In Cloudflare, click Manage account in the menu on the left, then Members.
Click Invite members.
In Add email addresses, type my email address and press Enter:
darren@robsonwebstudio.com
Under Add permission policies, leave the second box on Entire account. The website hosting lives at account level, so I need access to the whole account, not just the domain.
In the list of roles, switch on Administrator and nothing else. Don't switch on Super Administrator, and leave all the other toggles and sections off. Administrator already covers everything I need, but it can't change your billing or remove you from your own account.
Scroll down and click Create policy. The Invite members button only becomes clickable after this.
Check that the summary shows Entire account and Administrator, then click Invite members.

Cloudflare home page with Manage account highlighted at the bottom of the left menu — Manage account is at the bottom of the left menu.

Manage account menu opened, with Members highlighted — Click Members.

Members page with the Invite members button highlighted — Click Invite members.

Invite form with my email added, Entire account selected and only the Administrator role switched on — Add my email, keep Entire account, and switch on Administrator only.

Bottom of the roles list with the Create policy button highlighted — Scroll down and click Create policy.

Invite summary showing Entire account and Administrator, with the Invite members button highlighted — Check the summary, then click Invite members.

4Let me know

Send me a message once you've sent the invite, and include your domain name. That's all you need to do. I'll accept the invite and set up your website from there.

Please don't send me your Cloudflare password. I don't need it.

What you own

Keep this safe

Your domain: registered in your name and renewed each year from your Cloudflare account. Keep your card details up to date so it renews.
Your Cloudflare account: your website hosting and domain settings. The hosting is free, with no monthly bill.
To remove my access later: go to Manage account → Members and remove me. Your site keeps running.

If something goes wrong

The domain I want isn't in the results

If your exact name doesn't appear, someone else already owns it. Try adding your town or what you do, for example mokoenapavingjhb.com instead of mokoena.com.

Cloudflare won't let me buy a domain

Check your inbox for Cloudflare's verification email from step 1 and click the link. You can't buy a domain until your email address is verified.

I didn't get the email asking me to confirm my details

Check your spam folder for an email from Cloudflare about your new domain. If it isn't there after an hour, send me a message and I'll help you resend it.

The Invite members button is grey and won't click

You need to click Create policy at the bottom of the roles list first. After that the Invite members button turns blue.

I can't find "Members" in Cloudflare

Click Manage account at the bottom of the left menu, and Members is the first item underneath it. Cloudflare sometimes moves its menus around, so send me a screenshot if it's not there.

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