What is CNAME flattening?

The problem it solves

A CNAME record says "this name is an alias for that name". Hosted services love CNAMEs because they can move servers without you changing anything.

But the DNS standard does not allow a CNAME at the root of a domain (the "apex", like yourname.com), because the root also needs other records, like the ones for email. So you can easily point links.yourname.com at a service, but not yourname.com itself.

How flattening works

With CNAME flattening, you enter a CNAME at the root in your DNS provider. When someone looks up your domain, the provider follows the CNAME itself and answers with the final IP addresses, as if you had entered them directly. The outside world sees a normal, standards-compliant answer.

Some providers call the same idea an ALIAS or ANAME record. Cloudflare DNS flattens root CNAMEs automatically.

When you need it

Only if you want a service on the bare root domain. If a subdomain is fine, like me.yourname.com or links.yourname.com, a plain CNAME works with any DNS provider and leaves your email untouched.

If your registrar's DNS does not support flattening, you can move just your DNS to a provider that does, without moving the domain itself.

On makerhandle

makerhandle Pro supports both. The editor shows the exact records to add, checks them and issues SSL automatically. A root domain needs CNAME flattening or ALIAS support. See custom domain and a personal website for $20 a year.