Can Shopify be placed behind Akamai?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

Users are exploring whether Shopify storefronts can be routed through Akamai for DDoS protection and WAF services. The main technical challenge involves DNS/CNAME configuration and compatibility issues.

Key Technical Issue:

  • When routing through Akamai, Cloudflare (used by Shopify’s infrastructure) returns 403 errors
  • The conflict occurs because Cloudflare blocks requests originating from Akamai

Proposed Workarounds:

  • Sending specific headers to bypass Cloudflare’s blocking
  • Whitelisting Akamai IP addresses in Cloudflare
  • Temporarily switching CNAME records during initial setup

Current Status:

  • One user confirms the integration is possible and recommends contacting Akamai sales representatives directly
  • References Akamai as a leading WAF solution per SecureIQLab’s 2025 report
  • Discussion remains open with users seeking additional implementation options and best practices
Summarized with AI on October 25. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

We have a customer who requires their Shopify shop to be placed behind Akamai for DDOS protection and WAF services. Is this possible? has anyone tried this before?

Can the CNAME for the domain be changed to connect directly to Shopify to connect the site to the domain then switched back to Akamai?

2

+1 for this topic, is there any info on this?

3

Is there any update on this? I am currently trying to do the same thing. When routing through Akamai, Cloudflare is giving me a 403 on the Shopify side. We don’t use Cloudflare so it’s not on our side.

Cloudflare doesn’t like the requests coming from Akamai. If we would send a specific header or can whitelist certain IPs in Cloudflare that would most likely let the traffic through.

Looking for additional options to see how to make this work

4

Yes, Akamai (DDoS, WAF, Bot, etc.) + Shopify is possible–just reach out to the Akamai sales rep - and according to SecureIQLab’s 2025 Cloud WAAP CyberRisk Comparative Validation Report v4.0, Akamai is still the WAF leader.