Cloudflare is a popular content delivery network (CDN) that offers a variety of features to improve the performance, security, and reliability of websites. However, there are a number of common mistakes that people make when using Cloudflare. Here are 10 of the most common mistakes:
- Not using Cloudflare’s DNS. Cloudflare offers its own DNS service, which can provide a number of benefits over using your own DNS provider. For example, Cloudflare’s DNS can help to improve the performance of your website by caching DNS records and routing traffic closer to your users. It can also help to improve the security of your website by preventing DNS spoofing attacks.
- Not enabling Cloudflare’s SSL/TLS. Cloudflare offers free SSL/TLS certificates, which can help to improve the security of your website by encrypting all traffic between your users and your website. This can help to protect your users’ privacy and prevent attackers from eavesdropping on their communications.
- Not using Cloudflare’s caching. Cloudflare’s caching can help to improve the performance of your website by storing static content, such as images and CSS files, in Cloudflare’s network. This can help to reduce the amount of traffic that needs to be sent to your origin server, which can improve the performance of your website for your users.
- Not configuring Cloudflare’s security features. Cloudflare offers a number of security features, such as DDoS protection, rate limiting, and IP restrictions. These features can help to protect your website from a variety of attacks. However, these features are not enabled by default, so you need to configure them yourself.
- Not testing your website after making changes to Cloudflare. When you make changes to Cloudflare, it is important to test your website to make sure that it is still working properly. This is especially important if you are making changes to Cloudflare’s caching, security, or other settings.
- Not using Cloudflare’s API. Cloudflare offers a powerful API that can be used to automate tasks, such as managing DNS records, configuring security features, and creating custom rules. If you are using Cloudflare for a large website, then using the API can save you a lot of time and effort.
- Not using Cloudflare’s Workers. Cloudflare’s Workers are a serverless platform that can be used to run JavaScript code in Cloudflare’s network. Workers can be used to add new features to your website, such as custom error pages, image resizing, and geolocation.
- Not using Cloudflare’s CDN. Cloudflare’s CDN can be used to deliver static content, such as images and CSS files, from Cloudflare’s network. This can help to improve the performance of your website by reducing the distance that traffic needs to travel.
- Not using Cloudflare’s performance optimization features. Cloudflare offers a number of performance optimization features, such as Brotli compression, image optimization, and minification. These features can help to improve the performance of your website by reducing the size of the files that need to be downloaded by your users.
- Not using Cloudflare’s support. Cloudflare offers a variety of support options, including 24/7 support via email and chat. If you are having any problems with Cloudflare, then you should not hesitate to contact support for help.
By avoiding these common mistakes, you can get the most out of Cloudflare and improve the performance, security, and reliability of your website.
In addition to the 10 mistakes listed above, there are a few other things to keep in mind when using Cloudflare. First, it is important to understand that Cloudflare is not a magic bullet. It can help to improve the performance, security, and reliability of your website, but it cannot solve all of your problems. Second, you need to make sure that you are using Cloudflare correctly. If you configure Cloudflare incorrectly, it can actually make your website worse. Finally, you need to keep Cloudflare up to date. Cloudflare releases new features and bug fixes on a regular basis. It is important to update Cloudflare to the latest version to ensure that you are getting the most out of it.
