🌐 Overview
Cloudflare is fully compatible with the Search Atlas Website Builder. Many customers use Cloudflare in front of their domain for CDN caching, DDoS protection, and SSL. This article explains how the Cloudflare orange cloud (proxy) mode works with your Website Builder site and how to configure it correctly for a domain such as zatrox.com.
🟠 What Orange Cloud (Proxy) Mode Does
In your Cloudflare DNS dashboard, each DNS record has a toggle represented by a cloud icon:
- Orange cloud (Proxied): Traffic is routed through Cloudflare's network. Cloudflare provides caching, SSL, and security features, and hides your origin IP.
- Grey cloud (DNS only): Cloudflare only resolves the DNS record and passes traffic directly to the origin, with no proxying, caching, or Cloudflare SSL.
For a Website Builder site, orange cloud mode is supported and recommended for the records that point to your hosted site, because it adds performance and protection benefits.
⚙️ Recommended Configuration for zatrox.com
Follow these steps in your Cloudflare account to configure orange cloud mode correctly:
- Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard and select the zatrox.com zone.
- Open the DNS → Records section.
- Confirm that the DNS records provided by Search Atlas for your Website Builder site are entered exactly as instructed (typically A, CNAME, or ALIAS records pointing to the Search Atlas hosting endpoint).
- Set the cloud icon to orange (Proxied) for the root record (zatrox.com) and the www record that point to your Website Builder site.
- Under SSL/TLS, set the encryption mode to Full or Full (Strict). Do not use Flexible, as it can cause redirect loops with the Website Builder.
- Save your changes and allow a few minutes for propagation.
🔒 SSL and Certificate Notes
The Website Builder serves a valid origin SSL certificate. When using orange cloud mode with Full (Strict), Cloudflare validates that origin certificate end to end. If you see SSL warnings shortly after setup, wait for DNS and certificate provisioning to finish before troubleshooting further.
If assets such as CSS or JavaScript fail to load after enabling the proxy, temporarily switch that behavior off, then verify caching rules and SSL mode before re-enabling.
⚠️ Records You Should Keep on Grey Cloud
Not every DNS record should be proxied. Proxying the wrong records can break third-party services that rely on your domain.
- MX records (email) cannot be proxied and should remain grey cloud / DNS only.
- Records used for third-party tools (for example marketing automation or email platforms) should generally stay on grey cloud so their verification and delivery continue to work.
- Only proxy the records that point directly to your Website Builder site.
🧩 Common Issues and Fixes
- Redirect loop: Change Cloudflare SSL/TLS from Flexible to Full or Full (Strict).
- Site not loading: Confirm the A/CNAME records match the values Search Atlas provided and that they are proxied (orange).
- Broken styling or scripts: Purge the Cloudflare cache, then confirm no aggressive caching or minification rules are stripping assets.
- Third-party service breaks after enabling proxy: Revert only that specific record to grey cloud (DNS only).
✅ Verification Checklist
- zatrox.com and www resolve to your Website Builder site.
- The site loads over HTTPS with a valid certificate.
- CSS, JavaScript, and images all load correctly.
- Email and third-party services still function.
💬 Need More Help?
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.