Static Apex Domain Launches: No Nameserver Changes Required

Today we’re introducing a new way to connect domains to Headless Hostman, and it’s one of the biggest improvements we’ve made to onboarding since launching the platform.

As many of you know, Headless Hostman relies heavily on Cloudflare’s global network. We do that for a reason. Their infrastructure provides incredible performance, reliability, security, and global reach. We’ve spent years building around that network because it gives our customers the best possible foundation for a modern website.

Historically, there have been two ways to launch a site on Headless Hostman.

Please note: the following applies to using our preferred network. Customers with their own AWS set up don’t follow these steps.

1. A CNAME — Like www – Pointing to a CNAME

The first was through a CNAME record. This has always been the easy path. Point a subdomain to us and you’re live.

Easy, and non-invasive.

2. Cloudflare-managed Nameservers to Enable A Record Usage

The second was connecting a root domain using an A record, and this is where historically things became more complicated.

Cloudflare requires A Records pointing at their services to be CNAME flattened. For example, you couldn’t point https://domain.com to Cloudflare’s static service through an A Record like xx.xx.xx.xxx. It would need to be flattened to point like https://domain.com to domain.dev.

Why? Because modern edge infrastructures don’t live at a single IP address, like traditional servers. They connect through a CNAME and then utilize an anycast network that could have a rolling list of hundreds of IPs depending on where the user dials in from.

Now, if you delegate Nameserver authority to Cloudflare, they allow you to do this without much hassle.

Problem solved, right?

Not really. It’s exceedingly rare for DNS providers to provide A Record flattening. So in 99% of cases, our customers were required to either settle for a CNAME for the primary site (www) or to delegate DNS authority to Cloudflare.

The latter wasn’t that big of a deal, especially as we built a dedicated onboarding process to make super easy, and delegated you a Cloudflare access point to make your changes there going forward.

The reality, however, is some companies don’t have this luxury due to internal security processes. And we totally understand why this might be an obstacle, especially if they aren’t already on Cloudflare DNS services.

Introducing: A Record Services for Headless Hostman. No Nameserver Changes Required.

Headless Hostman now supports apex domains through a dedicated IP address that can be pointed to directly, without requiring any authoritative DNS change.

In practical terms, that means you can point your root domain A Record to a Headless Hostman dedicated IP address and connect to our platform while keeping your existing nameservers, DNS provider, and registrar exactly where they are.

In short, just like you would any other traditional hosting service, but the live site service is in fact on Cloudflare’s Static edge network without a nameserver migration or a DNS transfer.

We handle the routing to insure your domain hits the Static network.

Why It Matters

This is a significant shift because it removes one of the most common sources of friction when launching a Static site. Organizations with established DNS infrastructure, managed service providers, enterprise IT departments, and security-conscious teams can now connect domains without changing who controls their DNS.

It’s a Great New Option, But Cloudflare Nameservers are Technically Still Best

To be clear, this is now an option, not a replacement for our preferred architecture.

When possible, we still recommend allowing Cloudflare to be authoritative for DNS. It remains the most flexible, performant, and feature-rich configuration available. We’ve also introduced our own custom CNAME architecture, making domain connections easier than ever for customers who choose that route.

But we also recognize that not every organization wants to move DNS authority, and now they don’t have to.

If your DNS provider supports standard A and AAAA records, you can connect your apex domain directly to Headless Hostman and go live on our Cloudflare-backed Static live network.

For many customers, this will turn what was once a DNS project into a simple DNS update.

Point the domain. Keep your DNS where it is. Launch your site.

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