🌐 Translation: Translated from Korean.

Domain Purchase & Cloudflare Free SSL Setup

This post is part 3 of the “Premium WordPress Blog Complete Setup Guide” series.

Series Structure:

1. Blog Starting Guide – Goal Setting & Tech Stack
2. Vultr VPS Complete Guide ← Previous
3. [Current] Domain + Cloudflare Setup
4. WordPress + Avada Theme Complete Setup (Next)

Get Domain + CDN + SSL in 20 Minutes

In Part 2, we created a Vultr VPS in Seoul region and completed basic security setup. Now we’ll set up a domain for blog access, Cloudflare CDN for worldwide fast speed, and HTTPS encryption required by Google.

Why Set Up Domain Before WordPress Installation?

1. Save DNS Propagation Time: DNS propagation takes 1-24 hours globally. Pre-setup enables immediate use during WordPress installation
2. SSL Certificate Preparation: Get SSL certificate from Cloudflare in advance for instant HTTPS application
3. Cloudflare CDN: Fast speed from 300+ global data centers from the start

What You’ll Learn:

• ✅ Domain registrar comparison and why Namecheap
• ✅ Domain purchase in 4 steps ($10.98/year)
• ✅ Cloudflare free CDN + DDoS + SSL setup
• ✅ DNS nameserver change and propagation check
• ✅ DNS A record to connect VPS

Estimated Time: 20 minutes (+ 1-2 hours DNS propagation wait)

1. Domain Registrar Comparison – Why Namecheap?

A domain is your blog’s address. Choosing the right registrar is important.

Major Domain Registrar Comparison

4 Reasons to Choose Namecheap

1. Competitive Pricing

First Year Cost:

• Namecheap: $10.98
• GoDaddy: $15-20 (40-50% more expensive)
• Cloudflare: $8-9 (cheapest but no new registrations)

Renewal Cost:

• Namecheap: $12.98/year
• GoDaddy: $20-25/year (almost 2x!)
• Cloudflare: $8-9/year

Conclusion: Namecheap is slightly more expensive than Cloudflare but allows new domain registration, making it perfect for your first blog.

2. Free WHOIS Privacy

What is WHOIS?
When registering a domain, your personal information (name, email, phone, address) is registered in a public database. WHOIS privacy hides this information.

Why WHOIS Privacy Matters:

• Spam Prevention: Block email and phone spam
• Domain Scam Prevention: Block scam emails before domain expiration
• Privacy Protection: Hide name and address

Cost Comparison:

• Namecheap: Free ✅
• GoDaddy: $10/year extra ❌
• Cloudflare: Free

3. Intuitive UI

Namecheap:

• Beginners can purchase domain within 5 minutes
• Minimal unnecessary upselling (email, hosting, SSL, etc.)
• Simple DNS configuration

GoDaddy’s Problems:

• Aggressive upselling (dozens of options at checkout)
• Complex dashboard
• High renewal prices

4. Easy Cloudflare Integration

Integrating a Namecheap domain with Cloudflare is very simple:

• Nameserver change: 2 minutes
• Automatic DNS record import
• Instant CDN + SSL activation

Cloudflare Registrar Limitations

Cloudflare has offered domain registration since 2018, but:

• ❌ No new domain registration (transfer from other registrars only)
• ❌ Credit card required (no PayPal)
• ❌ 60-day lock period (cannot transfer again for 60 days)

Conclusion: For your first blog, purchase from Namecheap → transfer to Cloudflare later (optional)

2. Purchasing Domain from Namecheap (4 Steps)

Step 1: Domain Search

1. Go to https://namecheap.com
2. Enter desired domain in search bar
   • Example: myblog.com
3. Check search results:
   • ✅ Available: Ready to purchase
   • ❌ Taken: In use (check alternative suggestions)

Good Domain Selection Tips

DO (Recommended):

• ✅ .com priority: Best for SEO, trust, international recognition
• ✅ Shorter is better: Under 10 characters recommended
• ✅ Easy to remember: Easy to pronounce words
• ✅ Brandable: Unique and memorable name

DON’T (Avoid):

• ❌ Numbers: myblog123.com
• ❌ Hyphens: my-blog.com
• ❌ Korean domains: 내블로그.com (limited international scalability)
• ❌ Too long: myawesomepersonalblog.com

Step 2: Add to Cart and Select Options

When you add a domain to cart, you’ll see an additional options screen.

Required Options (Must Enable)

• ✅ WhoisGuard (WHOIS Privacy): Free, must enable ✅
• ✅ Auto-Renew: Enable (prevent domain expiration)

Unnecessary Options (All Decline)

• ❌ PremiumDNS ($4.88/year): Will use Cloudflare free DNS
• ❌ Email Hosting ($9.88/year): Gmail free is sufficient
• ❌ SSL Certificate ($8.88/year): Will use Cloudflare free SSL
• ❌ Domain Privacy ($0 – already included in WhoisGuard)

Registration Period

Recommendation: 1-year registration then extend as needed. Start blogging first and decide later.

Step 3: Create Account and Payment

1. Create Namecheap Account

   • Enter email address and password
   • Verify email (check inbox)

2. Enter Payment Information

   • Select credit card or PayPal
   • Enter billing address (Korean OK, English recommended)

3. Complete Order

   • Click “Confirm Order”
   • Receive order confirmation email

Total Cost: $10.98 (first year .com domain)

Step 4: Verify Domain

1. Namecheap dashboard → Domain List
2. Check purchased domain status: “Active” ✅
3. Verify WHOIS privacy: “Enabled” ✅

Checkpoint

Verify you’ve completed:

• Domain purchased (e.g., myblog.com)
• WHOIS privacy enabled
• Auto-renewal configured

3. Create Cloudflare Account and Connect Domain (5 Steps)

What is Cloudflare?

Cloudflare is a CDN and security service operating 300+ data centers worldwide.

Free Plan Included Services

• CDN (Content Delivery Network): Fast content delivery to global users
• DDoS Protection: Unlimited DDoS attack defense
• SSL/TLS Encryption: Free SSL certificate
• DNS Management: Ultra-fast DNS (1.1.1.1)
• Web Application Firewall (WAF): Basic firewall

Paid Plans (Reference)

• Pro: $20/month (advanced WAF, image optimization)
• Business: $200/month (priority support, advanced DDoS)

Conclusion: Free plan is sufficient! My blog beomanro.com uses the Free plan and handles 5,000 monthly visitors without issues.

Step 1: Create Cloudflare Account

1. Go to https://cloudflare.com
2. Click “Sign Up” in top right
3. Enter email address and password
4. Complete email verification

Step 2: Add Site

1. Click “Add a Site” button on dashboard
2. Enter domain (e.g., myblog.com)
3. Click “Add Site”

Step 3: Select Plan

1. Select Free plan ($0/month) ✅
2. Click “Continue”

Step 4: DNS Record Scan

Cloudflare automatically scans existing DNS records.

• First domain so no records (normal)
• Click “Continue”

Step 5: Verify Nameservers

Cloudflare displays 2 nameservers:

abcd.ns.cloudflare.com
efgh.ns.cloudflare.com

(Actual nameservers differ per account)

Important: Copy these 2 nameservers! You’ll need to enter them in Namecheap in the next section.

Checkpoint

Verify you’ve completed:

• Cloudflare account created
• Domain added (e.g., myblog.com)
• Free plan selected
• 2 nameservers copied

4. Change Nameservers and Verify DNS Propagation

Step 1: Change Nameservers in Namecheap

1. Namecheap dashboard → Domain List
2. Click “Manage” button next to domain
3. Find “Nameservers” section
4. Select “Custom DNS” from dropdown
5. Enter 2 Cloudflare nameservers:

   Nameserver 1: abcd.ns.cloudflare.com
   Nameserver 2: efgh.ns.cloudflare.com
   

6. Click ✅ checkmark (save)

Step 2: Wait for DNS Propagation

After nameserver change, DNS propagation takes time:

• Fast: 5-10 minutes
• Average: 1-2 hours
• Maximum: 24 hours (very rare)

How to Verify DNS Propagation

Method 1: dig command (Mac/Linux)

dig myblog.com NS

# Example output:
# ;; ANSWER SECTION:
# myblog.com.  3600  IN  NS  abcd.ns.cloudflare.com.
# myblog.com.  3600  IN  NS  efgh.ns.cloudflare.com.

Method 2: nslookup command (Windows)

nslookup -type=NS myblog.com

# Verify Cloudflare nameservers in output

Method 3: Online Tools

• Go to https://dnschecker.org
• Enter domain → Select NS record → Check
• Verify Cloudflare nameservers from DNS servers worldwide

Step 3: Verify in Cloudflare

1. Cloudflare dashboard → Overview
2. Check Status:
   • ⏳ Pending Nameserver Update: Waiting for DNS propagation
   • ✅ Active: Complete! Cloudflare is activated

Cloudflare sends email when DNS propagation completes.

Checkpoint

Verify you’ve completed:

• Nameservers changed in Namecheap
• DNS propagation verified (dig or dnschecker.org)
• Cloudflare status “Active”

5. SSL/TLS Mode Configuration and DNS A Record

SSL/TLS Mode Configuration

HTTPS encryption is essential for Google SEO and increases user trust.

4 Cloudflare SSL Modes

1. Off: No encryption (never use!) ❌
2. Flexible: User ↔ Cloudflare only encrypted (not recommended) ⚠️
3. Full: Two-way encryption, allows self-signed certificates
4. Full (strict): Two-way encryption, requires valid certificate ✅ Recommended

Configure Full (strict) Mode

1. Cloudflare dashboard → SSL/TLS
2. Overview → Encryption mode
3. Select “Full (strict)” ✅

⚠️ Note: It’s okay if VPS doesn’t have SSL certificate yet!

• In the next post (Post 4), we’ll generate Cloudflare Origin Certificate and install it on VPS
• Just select the mode for now

DNS A Record Configuration (Connect VPS IP)

Now the most important step – connecting domain to VPS.

Step 1: Verify VPS IP Address

1. Vultr dashboard → Select server
2. Copy IP Address (e.g., 123.456.78.90)

Step 2: Add Cloudflare A Record

1. Cloudflare → DNS → Records
2. Click “Add record” button
3. Configure as follows:
   • Type: A
   • Name: @ (root domain, myblog.com)
   • IPv4 address: Enter VPS IP address
   • Proxy status: ☁️ Proxied (orange cloud) ✅
   • TTL: Auto
4. Click “Save”

Step 3: Add www Subdomain (Optional)

Add CNAME record so www.myblog.com also works:

1. Click “Add record” again
2. Configure as follows:
   • Type: CNAME
   • Name: www
   • Target: @ (or myblog.com)
   • Proxy status: ☁️ Proxied
3. Click “Save”

Proxied vs DNS Only

When adding DNS A record, you must choose Proxy status:

☁️ Proxied (Recommended) ✅

• Cloudflare CDN enabled
• DDoS protection enabled
• Hide actual VPS IP (enhanced security)
• SSL/TLS applied
• Content delivered from 300+ servers worldwide

🔗 DNS Only

• Cloudflare CDN disabled
• Actual VPS IP exposed
• Direct connection (slightly slower without CDN)

Conclusion: Always use Proxied mode! ☁️

Verify DNS A Record Propagation

# Verify VPS IP
dig myblog.com A

# Example output:
# ;; ANSWER SECTION:
# myblog.com.  300  IN  A  104.21.xxx.xxx
# (Shows Cloudflare IP since in Proxied mode)

# Test actual connection
ping myblog.com
# Success if responds with Cloudflare IP!

Checkpoint

Verify you’ve completed:

• SSL/TLS mode set to “Full (strict)”
• DNS A record added (@ → VPS IP)
• Proxy status “Proxied” (☁️ orange cloud)
• www CNAME record added (optional)
• A record propagation verified with dig

Conclusion: What We’ve Accomplished

Congratulations! 🎉 You’ve perfectly configured domain + CDN + SSL in 20 minutes.

Completed Tasks

• ✅ Purchased domain from Namecheap ($10.98/year)
• ✅ Enabled WHOIS privacy (personal information protection)
• ✅ Configured Cloudflare free CDN + DDoS protection
• ✅ Set SSL/TLS mode to “Full (strict)”
• ✅ Connected VPS with DNS A record

Domain Ready!

All preparations for WordPress installation are complete. While DNS propagation completes (1-2 hours), take a break or read the next post in advance.

Next Step: WordPress + Avada Theme Complete Setup

What You’ll Learn in Part 4 (Final):

• WordOps One-Liner Installation: WordPress automation tool (EasyEngine successor)
• WordPress Site Creation: wo site create myblog.com --wp --redis
• Redis Caching Explained: FastCGI vs Object Cache difference (10x speed!)
• Cloudflare Origin Certificate: Generate 15-year SSL certificate and configure Nginx
• Avada Theme Installation: ThemeForest #1, includes Fusion Builder ($60, lifetime license)
• Performance Optimization: Achieve PageSpeed score 90+
• beomanro.com Configuration Sharing: All settings from actually running blog

Proceed After DNS Propagation Completes

Pre-checks before next task:

• DNS propagation complete (wait 1-2 hours)
• Cloudflare status “Active” verified
• VPS SSH access available: ssh root@VPS_IP
• ping myblog.com responds

Proceed to Part 4 immediately after DNS propagation completes!

Cost Summary (Through Series Part 3)

Next Part Additional Cost: Avada theme $60 (one-time, lifetime license)
Final Total Cost: $70.98

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View Entire Series:

1. Blog Starting Guide – Goal Setting & Tech Stack Selection
2. Vultr VPS Complete Guide
3. [Current] Domain + Cloudflare Setup ← Complete
4. WordPress + Avada Theme Complete Setup (Next, Final)