How to add a domain and free SSL on Cloudways

To use your own domain on Cloudways, add it to the application in Domain Management and make it primary, create an A record at your DNS provider pointing to the server's public IP, then install a free Let's Encrypt certificate covering both example.com and www.example.com. The order matters: the certificate can only be issued once your DNS points at the server. Most people are done within an hour.

This guide covers the standard set-up, multiple domains, wildcard certificates, sites behind Cloudflare, and what to check when a step fails.

Add the domain to your application

1. Open the application on its server and go to Domain Management.
2. Add your domain, for example example.com. You can add several domains to one application, such as an old brand name that should load the same site.
3. Make it primary. Use the menu next to the domain and choose Make Primary. For WordPress, this is the address the site uses for its own links.

Until DNS changes, the site still answers on its temporary address ending in cloudwaysapps.com, so nothing your visitors see changes yet. After you set the primary domain, check WordPress's Settings, General screen shows the new address for both the WordPress Address and Site Address.

Point your DNS at the server

Find the server's Public IP on its main page in the Cloudways dashboard. Then, at whoever hosts your domain's DNS (your registrar, Cloudflare, or another DNS service), create these records:

Remove any older A or AAAA records for @ and www that point elsewhere, but do not touch MX records, which handle email. If you lowered the TTL beforehand, the change usually shows within minutes; otherwise allow a few hours. A tool such as dnschecker.org shows when the new IP is visible around the world.

Install the Let's Encrypt certificate

1. Open SSL Certificate in the application.
2. Choose Let's Encrypt, enter an email address for renewal notices, and add example.com.
3. Add www.example.com as a second domain. Leaving it off is the most common mistake: anyone who types www gets a security warning.
4. Install the certificate. It takes a few minutes. Accept the prompt to force HTTPS, which redirects every http:// request to https://.
5. Leave auto-renewal on. Let's Encrypt certificates last 90 days and Cloudways renews them automatically.

A certificate can list up to 100 domains and subdomains, so an application with several domains can share one. Each application holds one certificate, and installing a new one replaces the old, so include every name the application answers on. Our WordPress setup guide puts these steps in order with the rest of a new site's set-up.

Wildcard certificates

A wildcard certificate covers example.com and every subdomain, which suits sites that add subdomains often, or WordPress Multisite. In the Let's Encrypt screen, enter the bare domain without www and choose Apply Wildcard. Let's Encrypt then checks ownership through DNS instead of through the website: you add a CNAME record named _acme-challenge pointing to your application's temporary cloudwaysapps.com address, wait for it to be visible, and verify.

Because the check happens in DNS, a wildcard certificate can be issued and renewed even while a proxy such as Cloudflare sits in front of the site, which makes it the practical choice for proxied domains.

Domains on Cloudflare

Many sites use Cloudflare's free plan for DNS and caching. Its proxy (the orange cloud) answers requests in place of your server, which stops Let's Encrypt checking the site. Either set the @ and www records to DNS only (grey cloud) while you install the certificate, then switch the proxy back on, or use a wildcard certificate with DNS validation. With the proxy on, set Cloudflare's SSL mode to Full (strict); the Flexible mode causes redirect loops once Cloudways forces HTTPS.

The Cloudflare Enterprise add-on works differently. You point your domain at Cloudways' Cloudflare network with a CNAME to secure.cloudways.cloud instead of an A record to the server, and Cloudflare handles encryption to visitors. Cloudways describes an origin certificate as optional in that case. Our Cloudflare Enterprise review covers that set-up.

Adding a second domain or a subdomain later

To make another domain load the same site, such as a former brand name, add it in Domain Management, point its A record at the server, and reinstall the Let's Encrypt certificate with every name included, since installing a certificate replaces the old one. Then decide whether the extra domain should show the site or redirect to the primary one; for search engines, a 301 redirect to the primary domain is usually right, set in a redirect plugin, .htaccess on the Hybrid stack, or Web Rules on the Lightning Stack.

A subdomain that runs a different site, such as shop.example.com, is a separate application with its own Domain Management entry and its own certificate. Create an A record for the subdomain pointing at the server that hosts that application.

Changing a site's domain

When a business renames, add the new domain as primary, point its DNS at the server and issue a certificate covering it. WordPress's stored URLs follow the primary domain, but content written with full links to the old domain does not, so run a search-and-replace on the database from the old address to the new one, testing with a dry run first. Keep the old domain on the application with a 301 redirect for at least a year, so links and search rankings carry across.

Using a certificate you bought

If you need an organisation-validated or extended-validation certificate, which Let's Encrypt does not issue, the SSL Certificate screen also accepts your own. Generate the request, buy the certificate from your chosen authority, and paste the certificate and key in. You will need to renew it yourself.

When something goes wrong

• "Domain is not pointing to the server" during SSL install. DNS has not updated yet, the A record has a typo, or a proxy is answering. Check the record resolves to your server's IP, then retry.
• The www version shows a warning. It was left off the certificate, or www has no DNS record. Add both and reinstall.
• Redirect loop after forcing HTTPS. Cloudflare's SSL mode is set to Flexible. Change it to Full (strict).
• Padlock shows a warning about insecure content. Some images or scripts still load over http://. Run a search-and-replace for http://example.com to https://example.com in the database.
• The certificate stopped renewing. Usually DNS was changed or a proxy was added after installation. Switch to a wildcard certificate or fix the records, then reinstall.

Cloudways' standard support handles domain mapping and SSL problems around the clock, so if a step does not behave, the live chat is the quickest route. For the email side of your domain, see our guide to setting up email on Cloudways.