Almost a year ago, we launched the Cloudflare Enterprise add-on to bring Enterprise-level CDN capability to your fingertips. We were delighted at being able to come up with a solution that was easy to activate while, at the same time, costing a fraction of similar solutions in the market.

Or so we thought. Customer interviews revealed that the process was time-consuming and confusing, requiring different methods for different domains.

Additionally, our analytics revealed that approximately 40% of add-on subscribers could not complete the last step of the activation process and hence could not take advantage of the value provided by the add-on, leading to many of you deactivating it.

So, we went back to the drawing board to simplify this process further. And thankfully, our efforts have finally borne fruit!

The New Integration Process

The new integration process focuses on minimizing confusion and hassle for maximum simplicity.

All you need to do is:

1. Login to your Cloudways Account.
2. Select your desired application.
3. Go to the Cloudflare option.
4. Add your domain.
5. Use the provided CNAME values to add two CNAME records to your domain registrar.

Wait a few minutes, reload, and voila! Your domain will be pointed to via our Cloudflare integration.

Wildcard SSL

We have historically offered Wildcard SSL with the Cloudflare Enterprise add-on since launch. We understand the convenience and cost-effectiveness of Wildcard SSLs for securing all your subdomains using a single certificate.

Hence being particularly useful for individuals with multisite applications.

However, a recent agreement between Wildcard SSL issuers in May 2022 means that TXT verification is now required every time SSL needs to be renewed.

This, along with Cloudflare’s replacement of DigiCert SSL certificates with Lets Encrypt certificates, means Wildcard SSLs will need to be renewed every 3 months via TXT verification for Cloudways customers, adding to the hassle.

Unfortunately, due to the reasons stated above and to simplify the integration process, we can no longer offer Wildcard SSLs on a self-serve basis since this would require TXT validation every 3 months on your part.

To make the transition as smooth as possible, the Cloudways team will gradually migrate existing customers from Wildcard SSL to standard SSL. Customers whose Wildcard certificates are expiring soon (within a week) will be migrated first, with no downtime or worry on your part.

Please note that as we migrate from Wildcard to Standard SSL, the SSL coverage will be reduced, as shared in the table below:

What If I Need a Wildcard SSL?

In case you do have a multisite or some other use case that requires a Wildcard SSL, you can still get one by opening a ticket with our customer support which will be escalated to our engineering team before execution.

However, you won’t be able to do it yourself until we get a workaround from Cloudflare in the form of a DCV delegation. Our product team is already in touch with Cloudflare and working with them to implement it as soon as possible.

At Cloudways, we’re all about making things easier for our customers, and we’re thrilled to have simplified this integration process for our customers. So, sit back, relax, and let Cloudways + Cloudflare speed up, secure, & optimize your websites.

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