🔍 Why There Is No Single Row Number
Many customers ask which row number to change in Cloudflare DNS. The row number is different for every account. It depends on how many records your domain has and how Cloudflare sorts them. Instead of a row number, you identify the correct row by its Type, Name, and Content values. This article shows you exactly how to do that.
📋 Before You Begin
- You need access to your Cloudflare account and the domain you connected to Website Studio.
- Open the domain connection instructions in Website Studio so you can see the DNS records your site should use.
- Point the domain at Website Studio first, and leave that record set to DNS only (grey cloud). The orange cloud blocks verification and SSL.
🎯 Which Records to Change
Do not turn on the orange cloud for the record that points your website to Website Studio. Leave it grey (DNS only).
- The root domain record: Type is usually A or CNAME, and Name is @ or your domain name (for example, yourdomain.com).
- The www record: Type is usually CNAME, and Name is www.
Match the Content value of each row to the value shown in your Website Studio connection instructions. The rows that match are the ones to change, no matter what number they appear in.
Do not change other records, such as MX (email), TXT (verification or email security), or records for other services like a mail provider or subdomain tools. Email-related records must stay DNS only (grey cloud).
🧭 Step-by-Step: Turn On the Orange Cloud
- Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard and select your domain.
- In the left menu, click DNS, then click Records.
- Find the row where Name is @ (or your root domain) and the Content matches your Website Studio instructions.
- Look at the Proxy status column for that row. If it shows a grey cloud labeled DNS only, click the cloud icon, or click Edit on the row.
- Switch Proxy status to Proxied so the cloud turns orange.
- Click Save.
- Change only the single record shown in your Website Studio instructions. If you connected the root domain, that is the root record; www is a separate domain you would connect on its own.
When you are done, both website rows should show an orange cloud with the label Proxied.
🔒 Check Your SSL/TLS Setting
After turning on the orange cloud, check your encryption mode so your site loads correctly.
- In Cloudflare, click SSL/TLS in the left menu, then click Overview.
- Set the encryption mode to Full or Full (strict).
- Avoid the Flexible mode. It can cause a redirect loop, which shows a message like Too many redirects.
✅ How to Confirm It Worked
- In Cloudflare DNS, the website rows show an orange cloud and Proxied.
- Visit your site with and without www and confirm the pages load with a secure padlock.
- Allow a few minutes for the change to take effect. In some cases it can take longer.
🛠️ Troubleshooting
- I cannot find the right row: Use the search box above the DNS table and search for @, www, or the Content value from your Website Studio instructions.
- The site shows a redirect error: Change the SSL/TLS mode to Full or Full (strict), then clear your browser cache and reload.
- The site shows an error after proxying: Turn the cloud back to grey (DNS only), save, and wait a few minutes. Then confirm the Content value matches your Website Studio instructions before trying again.
- My email stopped working: Make sure MX records and any mail-related records are set to DNS only. Do not proxy them.
- The orange cloud option is unavailable: Some record types cannot be proxied. If this happens on a record that should point to Website Studio, double-check the record Type against your connection instructions.
💬 Need Help?
If you are unsure which rows to change, send us a screenshot of your Cloudflare DNS records page so we can point to the exact rows. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team.