DOMAIN SETUP GUIDE
Forward your domain with Cloudflare
Our recommended setup for parked domains that only need to send visitors to a DAB sales page. Cloudflare’s Free plan is sufficient for this setup. UK and non-UK domains follow the same steps.
Already have working HTTPS forwarding with another provider? You can keep it. No Cloudflare API key needs to be shared with DAB.
Add or manage your domain →1. Add your listing to DAB
Sign in to your seller dashboard and add the domain. Use the domain alone, such as example.com, without https:// or www. Save it to receive your unique DNS ownership-verification instructions.
A redirect or nameserver change does not create a DAB listing. Sellers must verify control and receive DAB approval before their listing goes live.
2. Add the domain to Cloudflare
Add your domain to your own Cloudflare account and choose the Free plan. At your registrar, replace the current nameservers with the two nameservers assigned to this specific domain by Cloudflare. There is no shared DAB nameserver pair to use.
If the domain is already active in Cloudflare, skip this step. Before moving an existing domain, copy its required DNS records, including email MX and TXT records. Changing DNS providers without keeping these records can interrupt email or other services. If DNSSEC is enabled, follow Cloudflare’s migration instructions for the registrar’s DS record.
3. Add the forwarding DNS records
In the sale domain’s Cloudflare zone, open DNS → Records → Add record. For a domain used only for forwarding, add these records with TTL set to Auto:
| Type | Name | IPv4 address | Proxy status |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | @ | 192.0.2.1 | Proxied — orange cloud |
| A | www | 192.0.2.1 | Proxied — orange cloud |
192.0.2.1 is Cloudflare’s documented placeholder for redirect-only domains. It is not a DAB server. Cloudflare applies the redirect before an origin server is needed.
If @ or www already has a web record, review and replace conflicting records only if you intend to stop serving the existing website. Keep unrelated email and verification records. Do not apply this setup to dab.uk itself.
4. Verify your ownership
Copy the TXT record shown beside your domain in the DAB dashboard. In Cloudflare DNS, add a TXT record with name _dab-verification and the exact value supplied by DAB, beginning dab-verify=. Each listing has its own value; do not copy another seller’s token.
Return to DAB and select its verification action. If DNS has not updated yet, wait and retry. After verification, the listing goes through DAB review. Keep this TXT record when moving DNS providers.
5. Create the redirect
Once your listing is approved and live, copy its Exact forwarding destination from Forward your domain. In Cloudflare, open Rules → Overview → Create rule → Redirect Rule, or edit your existing redirect.
Choose Custom filter expression. Replace both example hostnames with your own domain:
(http.host in {"example.com" "www.example.com"})Configure the action:
- Type: Static
- Destination: the complete link copied from DAB, such as
https://dab.uk/?domain=example.com - Status: 302
- Preserve query string: off
Select Deploy. Do not append the incoming path or use masked/framed forwarding. These settings send every path on your bare domain and www hostname to the same sales page. Check for older redirect rules that could run first.
6. Check HTTPS and test
Wait for Cloudflare to show the zone as Active. Under SSL/TLS → Edge Certificates, check that Universal SSL has an active certificate covering the domain and www. Certificate issuance and nameserver changes can take time.
Test all four addresses in a private browser window: http://example.com, https://example.com, http://www.example.com and https://www.example.com. Each should reach the correct DAB listing. The address bar will show dab.uk/?domain=example.com.
If it does not work
- Domain not found: check the assigned nameservers, zone status and @/www DNS records.
- Timeout or origin error: check the orange-cloud proxy setting, hostname match and whether the redirect rule is deployed.
- HTTPS warning: check the Edge Certificate status. Do not bypass certificate warnings.
- Wrong destination or redirect loop: inspect older rules and confirm the static destination includes the exact domain after
?domain=. - DAB says unavailable: check spelling, ownership verification, approval and the listing’s sale status.
Forwarding and ownership verification are separate. Neither the DNS placeholder nor forwarding to DAB proves which account controls a domain.
Official references: Redirect-only DNS · Create a redirect rule