Connecting Your Domain or Subdomain to SchoolsFocus
How to Connect Your Custom Domain to SchoolsFocus
To use your own domain name (for example, www.myschool.com) with your SchoolsFocus portal, please follow the steps below.
Important Notice
As part of our infrastructure and security policy, all custom domains connected to SchoolsFocus must have their DNS managed through Cloudflare.
If your domain is not yet on Cloudflare, please complete the Cloudflare setup first before proceeding.
Step 1: Add Your Domain to Cloudflare
- Create a Cloudflare account if you do not already have one.
- Click Add a Site and enter your domain name.
- Follow the Cloudflare onboarding process.
- Cloudflare will provide two nameservers.
- Log in to your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Whogohost, QServers, DomainKing, etc.) and replace your existing nameservers with the ones provided by Cloudflare.
- Wait for Cloudflare to verify and activate your domain. This may take a few minutes to a few hours.
Step 2: Locate Your SchoolsFocus Portal Address
Identify your existing SchoolsFocus portal address.
Example
Current SchoolsFocus Portal:
https://myschool.schoolsfocus.net
In this example:
myschool.schoolsfocus.net
is the destination that your custom domain will point to.
Step 3: Configure DNS Records in Cloudflare
- Log in to your Cloudflare Dashboard.
- Navigate to DNS → Records.
- Locate the existing record for your root domain (
@).
Option A: Edit Existing Record
If an A Record already exists for your root domain:
- Edit the record.
- Change the record type from A to CNAME.
- Set the target to your SchoolsFocus portal address.
Example:
| Type | Name | Target |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | @ | myschool.schoolsfocus.net |
Option B: Delete and Recreate
If Cloudflare does not allow changing the record type:
- Delete the existing A Record.
- Create a new CNAME Record as follows:
| Type | Name | Target |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | @ | myschool.schoolsfocus.net |
Step 4: Configure the WWW Version
Create an additional DNS record for the www version of your domain.
| Type | Name | Target |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | www | myschool.schoolsfocus.net |
This ensures that both:
- myschool.com
- www.myschool.com
will open the same SchoolsFocus portal.
Step 5: Enable Cloudflare Proxy
For both CNAME records:
- Ensure that the Proxy Status is enabled (Orange Cloud).
This improves security, performance, SSL compatibility, and overall reliability.
Step 6: Notify SchoolsFocus
After configuring your DNS records, send the following information to the SchoolsFocus Support Team:
- Your custom domain name
- A screenshot of your Cloudflare DNS records (optional but recommended)
Example
www.myschool.com
Step 7: SchoolsFocus Domain Activation
Once we receive your domain details, our team will:
- Authorize the domain on our cloud infrastructure.
- Configure the required domain mappings.
- Verify SSL and security settings.
- Activate the domain for use with your SchoolsFocus portal.
Important
Domain activation is not automatic. A final configuration step is required by the SchoolsFocus team before the domain becomes fully operational.
Example Configuration
If your current SchoolsFocus portal is:
myschool.schoolsfocus.net
and your custom domain is:
www.myschool.com
your Cloudflare DNS records should look like this:
| Type | Name | Target |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | @ | myschool.schoolsfocus.net |
| CNAME | www | myschool.schoolsfocus.net |
After configuring the records, send:
www.myschool.com
to the SchoolsFocus Support Team for activation.
Helpful Video Tutorials
Add a Domain to Cloudflare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVHhFC5ySC8
Connect a Domain to Cloudflare (Step-by-Step)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnVK7-m0HRg
These videos explain how to add a domain to Cloudflare, update your nameservers, and manage DNS records before connecting your domain to SchoolsFocus.
Need Assistance?
If you encounter any difficulty during the setup process, please contact the SchoolsFocus Support Team and we will be happy to assist you.
