Cloudflare is a popular service which offers CDN, DNS, DDoS protection, and security tools. This service operates like a proxy server between your site visitors and hosting server.
You can find some frequently asked questions about this service below.
How can I setup Cloudflare?
Cloudflare settings depend on a plan (free or paid) and a required customization. Please look through the official guide to get started with Cloudflare.
Can I change my nameservers to use Cloudflare?
Yes, you can change your NS records to the ones provided by Cloudflare. Please keep in mind that you will need to point your hosting IP address in Cloudflare settings to make your site work. Besides, after changing NS records the DNS settings priority goes to Cloudflare service. Any DNS changes from a hosting side will not be applied when Cloudflare is enabled.
Can I enable Cloudflare Rocket?
Cloudflare Rocket option is not compatible with AliDropship plugin.
I have enabled Cloudflare service, and my site stops working.
First of all, try to disable the Cloudflare service. If the site comes alive, it means your hosting service works correctly but there was some mistake in Cloudflare settings, or some of your hosting options are incompatible with current Cloudflare version. In this case, you need to get in touch with Cloudflare support team and ask them to check your settings and provide a proper solution.
Why Tech support asks me to disable Cloudflare?
When you use Cloudflare for a website, web traffic is routed through Cloudflare network. That is why when tech team send a test request to a website, they get a reply from Cloudflare service, not website hosting service. To make a proper check of how website and hosting services communicate, tech team could ask a website owner to disable Cloudflare service.
Cloudflare service automatically optimizes the delivery of web pages by creating cache recources for each website page. It is good for perfomance, but for development process it's necessary to see changes made on your website in realtime.
Also Cloudflare service could block some plugin scripts for optimization purposes. There is a certain issue with WooCommerce-based websites when some single product pages could be displayed incorrectly and after disabling Cloudflare service the issue is fixed.
It is well known that WordPress plugins could be uncompatible with each other. Cloudflare is a complicated service with lots of settings. And to avoid uncompatibility issue with any plugins and website settings from Cloudflare side, developers ask to disable this service to test a website properly.
NB! Due to the decentralized structure of the domain name system, it can take up to 48 hours for your custom name servers to take effect everywhere after disabling Cloudflare service.