# **🔎 Overview** Switching your nameservers to Cloudflare is a common step for improving site performance and security. However, the transition involves DNS propagation — a process that can temporarily affect your site's availability. When you update your nameservers, you are instructing the internet to stop using your old DNS provider and route traffic through Cloudflare instead. DNS records are cached across thousands of servers worldwide, and each of those servers must individually receive and apply the update. This process cannot be skipped or manually accelerated. This article explains what is normal, what is not, and who is responsible for resolving each type of issue. # **⏱️ How Long Does DNS Propagation Take?** After you point your domain's nameservers to Cloudflare, DNS changes must spread across servers worldwide. Here is what to expect: - **Typical range:** 30 minutes to 48 hours, depending on your domain registrar and global DNS infrastructure. - **Most cases:** Propagation completes within 2–6 hours for the majority of visitors, though some visitors may not see the updated routing for up to 12 hours. - **Full global propagation:** Can take up to 72 hours in rare circumstances, particularly for older TTL (Time to Live) settings on your previous DNS records, or in certain geographic regions with slower ISPs. During propagation, some visitors may see your old site, some may see your new Cloudflare-routed site, and a small number may experience brief intermittent access. This inconsistency is expected and temporary. Eight hours of downtime is well within the normal propagation window and does not by itself indicate a configuration problem. # **🚫 What Not to Do During Propagation** Avoid making additional DNS changes while propagation is in progress. Each edit can reset the clock and extend your downtime. Specifically: - Do not switch nameservers back to your previous provider - Do not delete or modify DNS records in Cloudflare until propagation is confirmed complete - Do not contact your domain registrar to try to speed up the process — propagation speed is determined by global DNS infrastructure, not your registrar # **🚨 When Is Downtime NOT Normal?** An 8-hour complete outage after a Cloudflare nameserver switch is **not** a standard propagation symptom. Prolonged downtime of this kind almost always points to one of the following server-side or configuration issues — none of which are caused by or controlled by Search Atlas: - **Origin server misconfiguration:** Cloudflare proxies traffic to your origin server. If the origin server's IP address, SSL certificate, or firewall rules are not correctly configured to accept Cloudflare's traffic, the site will go down. - **Missing or incorrect DNS records in Cloudflare:** After switching nameservers, Cloudflare imports your existing DNS records automatically — but this import is not always complete. A missing A record, CNAME, or MX record can cause downtime. - **SSL/TLS mode mismatch:** If your Cloudflare SSL/TLS setting (e.g. Full, Full Strict, Flexible) does not match your hosting provider's SSL configuration, the connection between Cloudflare and your origin server will fail. - **Hosting provider firewall blocking Cloudflare IPs:** Some hosting providers block traffic from Cloudflare's IP ranges by default. You may need to whitelist Cloudflare's IP addresses with your host. - **Cloudflare account or zone configuration errors:** An incomplete Cloudflare zone setup, a paused zone, or incorrect page rules can prevent your site from loading. # **🛠️ Steps to Diagnose and Resolve Extended Downtime** 1. **Check your DNS records inside Cloudflare.** Log into your Cloudflare dashboard and navigate to DNS → Records. Confirm that your A record points to the correct origin server IP address and that all other critical records (CNAME, MX, TXT) are present. 2. **Verify your SSL/TLS mode.** Go to SSL/TLS → Overview in Cloudflare. Match this setting to what your hosting provider supports. If unsure, start with **Full** and only use **Full (Strict)** if your origin has a valid SSL certificate installed. 3. **Pause Cloudflare temporarily to isolate the issue.** In your Cloudflare dashboard, go to Overview and click **Pause Cloudflare on Site**. If your site comes back online immediately, the issue is a Cloudflare configuration problem. If it remains down, the problem is with your origin server or hosting provider. 4. **Contact your hosting or server provider.** If pausing Cloudflare does not restore the site, the outage is on the server side. Contact your hosting provider directly — they have access to server logs, firewall settings, and SSL configurations that are outside Cloudflare's and Search Atlas's control. 5. **Check Cloudflare's status page.** Visit **cloudflarestatus.com** to rule out a platform-wide Cloudflare incident affecting your region. 6. **Use a DNS propagation checker.** Tools such as **dnschecker.org** and **whatsmydns.net** let you see how your nameserver changes have spread globally. Enter your domain name, select the **NS (Nameserver)** record type, and review the results by region. When all locations display Cloudflare's assigned nameservers (for example, **xxx.ns.cloudflare.com**), propagation is complete. If most locations show your Cloudflare nameservers but the site is still down, propagation is complete and the issue is configuration-related, not propagation-related. # **🏗️ Does This Affect Search Atlas or Website Studio?** Search Atlas and Website Studio (accessible from the left sidebar under **Website Studio**) operate independently of your domain's nameserver configuration. Any error messages or toast notifications you see inside the Search Atlas platform relate to platform-specific actions — such as API connections, content generation, or project settings — and are **not** indicators of your Cloudflare or DNS status. If you see an error toast inside Search Atlas while also experiencing site downtime, these are two separate issues. Do not assume one caused the other. Address your DNS and hosting issues directly with Cloudflare and your hosting provider, then separately troubleshoot any Search Atlas-specific errors. Once propagation is confirmed complete, go to **Left sidebar → Website Studio** and confirm that your custom domain is still correctly connected to your project. In some cases, a domain re-verification step may be required inside the platform following a nameserver change. # **📋 Quick Reference: Normal vs. Not Normal** - **Normal:** Site intermittently accessible for some visitors during the first 2–12 hours after switching nameservers. - **Normal:** Full propagation taking 24–48 hours on average, up to 72 hours in rare cases or isolated regions. - **Normal:** Different visitors seeing different versions of your site during propagation. - **Not normal:** Complete, uninterrupted downtime lasting beyond 72 hours after switching nameservers. - **Not normal:** Site still down after DNS propagation checkers confirm your Cloudflare nameservers are fully propagated worldwide. - **Not normal:** Cloudflare's dashboard displaying a warning or error on your domain zone. - **Not normal:** Domain failing to resolve even when tested from multiple networks or devices after the 72-hour window. # **🚨 When to Escalate** Reach out for support if any of the following apply after **72 hours** have passed: - Your site remains completely inaccessible - Propagation checker tools still show old nameservers across all regions - Cloudflare's dashboard displays a warning or error on your domain - Your domain fails to resolve even when tested from multiple networks or devices If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.