Offset recommends that all clients route their domain's DNS through Cloudflare. This adds a dedicated security layer in front of your website that protects against attacks the Offset platform can't fully mitigate on its own.

Routing your DNS through Cloudflare is now standard practice for e-commerce sites — it adds a complementary layer of network-edge protection that pairs well with the safeguards already in place on our end. Together, they provide the kind of layered defense that's well-suited, and increasingly necessary, for the modern web.

According to Cloudflare's Q1 2025 DDoS Threat Report:

AI tools have made it dramatically easier to launch sophisticated attacks. What once required specialized knowledge now takes off-the-shelf software. A few hours of downtime during an allocation release or club processing window can mean significant lost revenue.

We recommend signing up for Cloudflare's Pro plan ($20/month) and pointing your domain's DNS to Cloudflare.

The setup takes about 15 minutes:

Pro includes the full DDoS protection available on all Cloudflare plans, plus the features that matter for a commerce site: the OWASP managed WAF ruleset, 20 custom firewall rules, Super Bot Fight Mode, and traffic analytics.

Cloudflare's free plan has solid DDoS coverage, but only 5 custom rules and no managed WAF rulesets. Pro is the right level for a site processing transactions — under $250/year.

The Business plan adds a 100% uptime SLA, advanced bot management, and a host of other advanced features to support complex IT infrastructure and sophisticated security strategies. Larger organizations with additional compliance requirements, or high-volume websites that present a higher profile for attackers, may benefit from the Business plan.

NOTE: Generally, if you don't already know why you would need the additional features of the Business plan, you most likely don't need them, and Pro is the right choice. If your needs expand in the future, upgrading is a simple process.

No. Cloudflare's setup wizard detects your existing DNS records, including MX records for email. As long as you don't remove those records during setup, everything continues working as it does today.

No. DNS changes propagate gradually. During the transition, traffic routes through either your old or new DNS path — both point to the same site.

Nameserver updates can take a few minutes to 48 hours to fully propagate, though most complete within a few hours.

Your domain and DNS are yours. They control not just your commerce site but your email, marketing site, and anything else tied to your domain — which is why ownership needs to sit with you, or an IT specialist on your team.

Once your Cloudflare account is set up, we can help configure and maintain the DNS records tied to your Offset commerce site, if you need help.

What we can't do is manage the broader domain on your behalf — email routing, your marketing site, third-party services — because those extend well beyond what we operate. The goal is keeping ownership with you while making sure the Offset-related pieces are well supported.

Cloudflare's setup is designed for non-technical users. If you have an IT team or web developer, they can handle this in minutes. If you manage your own domain and feel unsure, your domain registrar's support team can walk you through the nameserver update — it's a common, routine change.

Confirm you're on the Pro plan or higher so you have full WAF protection enabled. Upgrading from Free to Pro is a one-click change in your Cloudflare dashboard.

No. Cloudflare sits in front of your website as a protective layer. Your commerce site, admin tools, and all platform features work exactly as they do today.

Your site continues operating with the protections Offset provides at the infrastructure level. But without DNS-level protection, you're more exposed to attacks that are becoming increasingly common and automated. Certain types of attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), require a service like Cloudflare to mitigate.