This blog post takes a comprehensive look at What is Cloudflare? and provides basic information on how to optimize website security and performance. It explains how Cloudflare works, how it protects against DDoS attacks, and how to speed up your website with its Content Delivery Network (CDN). It also touches on topics such as free SSL certificate management, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF), and pricing models. It walks you through the steps of setting up Cloudflare, and shows you how to read Cloudflare reports for performance monitoring and analysis. Finally, it summarizes the benefits of Cloudflare, offering practical advice for improving website security.
What is Cloudflare? A Basic Introduction for Websites
What is Cloudflare? is a question frequently asked by website owners and developers today. Cloudflare is basically a content delivery network (CDN) And security services provider. It helps protect your website from various cyber attacks while improving its performance. Cloudflare delivers your content from the closest point to your users through servers located around the world, making your website load faster and reducing your bandwidth costs.
The services offered by Cloudflare are not limited to just increasing performance. They also help your website DDoS attacks, SQL injection And cross-site scripting (XSS) It also protects against various threats such as. In this way, it ensures that your website remains constantly accessible and secure. Cloudflare's firewall (WAF) feature detects and blocks malicious traffic and protects your website's sensitive data.
- Key Benefits of Cloudflare:
- It improves website performance.
- Provides protection against DDoS attacks.
- Prevents security threats.
- Optimizes bandwidth usage.
- Provides ease of SSL certificate management.
- Increases website accessibility.
Another important advantage offered by Cloudflare is free ssl certificate The SSL certificate provides a secure connection by encrypting data communication between your website and users. This both increases user trust and helps you gain an advantage in ranking by search engines like Google. Cloudflare also provides an easy solution for users without technical knowledge by facilitating SSL certificate installation and management.
| Feature | Explanation | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| CDN (Content Delivery Network) | It caches website content on servers around the world. | Faster load times, lower bandwidth costs. |
| DDoS Protection | It protects your website from distributed denial of service attacks. | It ensures that the website remains constantly accessible. |
| WAF (Web Application Firewall) | It detects and blocks malicious traffic. | It protects the website against various security vulnerabilities. |
| SSL Certificate | It encrypts data communication between the website and users. | Secure connection, user trust, SEO advantage. |
What is Cloudflare? The answer to the question is a comprehensive solution that you can use to increase the security and performance of your website. It offers suitable options for websites of all sizes with its free and paid plans. By integrating your website with Cloudflare, you can both improve the user experience and take precautions against potential threats.
How Cloudflare Works: How Does It Protect?
What is Cloudflare? When looking for the answer to the question, it is also important to understand how this platform works. Cloudflare acts as an intermediary between your website and your visitors, passing all traffic through its own network. In this way, malicious traffic is filtered and blocked before it reaches your website. Essentially working like a reverse proxy, Cloudflare uses various technologies to increase the security and performance of your website.
To better understand how Cloudflare works, you can review the table below. This table summarizes Cloudflare's core functionality and how it provides protection.
| İşlev | Explanation | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Reverse Proxy | It stands in front of the web server and manages the requests coming to the server. | It protects the server from direct attacks and provides load balancing. |
| DDoS Protection | Detects and automatically blocks large-scale DDoS attacks. | It maintains the accessibility and stability of the website. |
| Web Application Firewall (WAF) | Prevents common attacks against web applications (SQL injection, XSS, etc.). | It closes website security vulnerabilities and prevents data breaches. |
| Content Delivery Network (CDN) | It caches website content on servers in different geographical locations (edge servers). | It makes the website load faster and reduces bandwidth costs. |
Cloudflare Working Steps:
- DNS Redirection: Your website's DNS records are directed to Cloudflare's name servers.
- Traffic Analysis: All traffic from visitors passes through the Cloudflare network and is analyzed.
- Malicious Traffic Filtering: Suspicious or malicious traffic is detected and blocked.
- Content Caching: Static content (images, CSS, JavaScript files) is cached on Cloudflare's CDN.
- Content Presentation: Visitors are served cached content from the nearest Cloudflare server.
- Continuous Security Monitoring: Website traffic is constantly monitored and protected against new threats.
Thanks to these processes Cloudflare, increases the performance of your website while also ensuring its security. It offers an effective protection mechanism, especially against DDoS attacks and other cyber threats. This versatile protection provided by Cloudflare is a great advantage for website owners.
With Cloudflare’s ever-evolving technologies, you can be sure that your website is always protected with the latest security measures. The platform is constantly updated against new threats and offers best practices to keep your website secure. This allows website owners to focus on their business without security concerns.
Effective Protection Against DDoS Attacks: The Power of Cloudflare
What is Cloudflare? When looking for the answer to the question, one of the most important features that comes to mind is the superior protection it offers against DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks. DDoS attacks, one of the biggest threats to websites today, can overload servers and make websites inaccessible. Such attacks can lead to serious reputational damage and financial losses for businesses. Cloudflare provides a multi-layered defense mechanism against such threats, ensuring that websites remain constantly accessible and secure.
DDoS attacks are typically carried out through networks of compromised computers called botnets, which send large numbers of requests to the target server simultaneously, draining its resources and causing it to be out of service. Cloudflare, detects and blocks such malicious traffic, thus ensuring that legitimate users continue to access the website without interruption. Thanks to its advanced algorithms and extensive network, it can effectively counter even the most sophisticated DDoS attacks.
| Feature | Explanation | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic Threat Detection | Cloudflare constantly analyzes network traffic to detect anomalous activity. | Prevents damage by detecting attacks at an early stage. |
| Large Scale Infrastructure | Cloudflare has a large network of servers across the world. | It prevents servers from being overloaded by distributing attack traffic. |
| Customizable Security Rules | Users can set security rules according to their own needs. | Provides protection tailored to the specific needs of the website. |
| Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting | Provides detailed reports on attack attempts and security incidents. | Helps optimize security strategies. |
Cloudflare's DDoS protection effectively blocks not only large-scale attacks but also smaller, stealthy attacks. This way, websites always remain secure and user experience is not negatively affected. This comprehensive protection from Cloudflare allows website owners to focus on their business and stay away from security concerns.
How to Prevent DDoS Attacks?
There are various methods to prevent DDoS attacks. These include techniques such as traffic filtering, rate limiting, and geo-blocking. However, each of these methods has its own limitations and may not be effective against every type of attack. Here is Cloudflare's Where it comes into play is to overcome such limitations with its comprehensive and integrated security solutions.
- DDoS Attack Types:
- Volumetric Attacks
- Protocol Attacks
- Application Layer Attacks
- DNS Amplification Attacks
- SYN Flood Attacks
Cloudflare's DDoS Protection
Cloudflare provides multi-layered protection against DDoS attacks by analyzing network traffic to detect and block malicious requests. Cloudflare's Its global network prevents servers from being overloaded by distributing attack traffic. It also prevents direct attacks by hiding users' IP addresses.
Cloudflare’s DDoS protection is backed by continuously updated threat intelligence, providing effective defense against even the latest attack techniques. Plus, customizable security rules tailored to users’ needs, so every website can get protection tailored to their specific needs.
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Speeding Up Your Website with Content Delivery Network (CDN)
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Your website speed, user experience and SEO is critical to its performance. A slow-loading website can cause visitors to leave your site quickly (bounce rate) and cause you to drop in search engine rankings. This is where a Content Delivery Network (CDN) comes in, helping to significantly increase the speed of your website. CDN, stores your website content on different servers (POP points) around the world, allowing users to access the content from the closest server. This reduces data transfer time and makes your website load faster.
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| Feature | Without Using CDN | Using CDN |
|---|---|---|
| Loading Time | 5 seconds | 1.5 seconds |
| Bounce Rate | %60 | %25 |
| Server Load | High | Low |
| Bandwidth Usage | High | Low |
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What is Cloudflare? For those looking for an answer to the question, CDN service is one of the most important advantages offered by the platform. Thanks to Cloudflare's extensive server network, your website content is optimized and served to users as quickly as possible. This not only improves the user experience, but also positively affects your website's ranking in search engines. Especially for visual and video-heavy websites, using CDN is one of the most effective ways to increase performance.
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- Benefits of CDN:
- Increases website loading speed.
- It reduces the load on the server.
- Reduces bandwidth costs.
- Improves user experience.
- Increases SEO performance.
- Increases the accessibility of the website.
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CDN In addition to improving the overall performance of your website, its use also offers advantages in terms of security. Thanks to the distributed server structure, attacks on a single server do not affect your entire website. In addition, some CDN providers also offer basic security features to protect your website from malicious traffic. To increase the speed and security of your website CDN If you are considering using it, Cloudflare By choosing a reliable provider like, you can get a comprehensive solution.
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SSL Certificate Management: Increase Security with Free SSL
What is Cloudflare? While searching for the answer to the question, the free SSL certificate management feature it offers provides a great advantage for websites. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates increase security by encrypting data communication between websites and users. Cloudflare provides all its users with a free SSL certificate, ensuring that websites operate securely over the HTTPS protocol. This helps protect users' data and makes you more reliable for search engines.
A free SSL certificate offers a great cost advantage, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. SSL certificates are normally purchased for a fee and need to be renewed regularly. Cloudflare automates this process, eliminating both costs and managing certificate renewals on your behalf. This way, your website's security is always up to date and protected.
SSL Certificate Types:
- Domain Validated (DV) SSL: It verifies domain ownership and can be acquired quickly.
- Organization Validated (OV) SSL: It verifies the company's information and offers a higher level of trust.
- Extended Validation (EV) SSL: It offers the highest level of security and verifies company information in the most comprehensive way. It ensures that your company name appears in green in the browser address bar.
- Wildcard SSL: It ensures the security of your main domain and all your subdomains with a single certificate.
- Multi-Domain (SAN) SSL: Protects multiple domains and subdomains with a single certificate.
The free SSL certificate offered by Cloudflare is generally of the DV (Domain Validated) type and provides sufficient security for most websites. However, for websites with higher security requirements or for commercial activities, more advanced SSL certificates such as OV or EV may be preferred. You can also access different SSL options from Cloudflare and choose the one that best suits your needs. SSL certificate The selection should be made carefully based on your website type, size and security requirements.
With Cloudflare SSL certificate management, in addition to increasing the security of your website, also positively affects your SEO performance. Search engines rank websites that use the HTTPS protocol higher. Therefore, Cloudflare's free SSL certificate feature helps you provide a secure experience for your users and make you more visible in search engines. Taking advantage of these features offered by Cloudflare for a secure and fast website is an inevitable necessity in today's digital world.
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What is a Web Application Firewall (WAF) and How Does It Work?
Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a security mechanism that protects your web applications and APIs from malicious attacks. Cloudflare WAF solutions, offered through platforms such as , detect and block malicious requests by examining HTTP traffic. In this way, they provide proactive defense against SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS) and other common web attacks.
WAFs typically operate using a set of predefined rules and signatures. These rules are designed to detect known attack patterns and malicious behaviors. Additionally, many WAF solutions can also protect against new and unknown threats, such as zero-day attacks, using advanced techniques such as machine learning and behavioral analysis.
| WAF Feature | Explanation | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Attack Detection | Identifies malicious requests by analyzing HTTP traffic. | It protects web applications from known and unknown attacks. |
| Virtual Patching | It closes security gaps instantly. | Provides temporary protection until software updates are made. |
| Customizable Rules | It allows creating special security policies according to needs. | Provides precise protection against specific threats. |
| Reporting and Analysis | Provides detailed information about attack attempts and security incidents. | Provides valuable insights to improve security posture. |
Cloudflare WAF continuously monitors the traffic coming to your website to identify and block potential threats. This way, it increases the security of your website without negatively affecting the user experience. WAF not only prevents attacks, but can also optimize the performance of your web application.
How to Configure WAF?
WAF configuration is typically done through the interface provided by the platform. Cloudflare You can easily configure WAF settings, add rules, and adjust security levels on platforms like . During the configuration process, it is important to make customizations that suit the needs and risk profile of your web application.
- Threats Protected by WAF:
- SQL Injection
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
- Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
- DDoS Attacks (Application Layer)
- Code Injection
- Bot Attacks
- Data Exfiltration Attempts
WAF Rules
WAF rules are instructions that determine what types of traffic will be blocked or allowed. These rules can be based on a variety of criteria, including IP addresses, HTTP headers, URLs, and other parameters. Properly configuring WAF rules is critical to the security of your web application. Incorrectly configured rules can block legitimate traffic or allow attacks to pass through.
When creating WAF rules, positive security model or negative security model You can use either or both approaches. The positive security model defines only the traffic that is allowed, while the negative security model defines the traffic that should be blocked.
Cloudflare Pricing Models: Paid and Free Options
What is Cloudflare? For many people looking for the answer to the question, pricing models are also an important topic of curiosity. Cloudflare offers a variety of plans to suit different needs and budgets. These plans are generally divided into categories such as free, pro, business and enterprise. Each plan varies in terms of the features and performance level it offers. When choosing the most suitable Cloudflare plan for your website, it is important to consider factors such as your site's traffic volume, security requirements and performance expectations.
The free plan generally offers basic protection and performance features that are sufficient for small-scale websites or personal blogs. This plan includes protection against DDoS attacks, a global CDN, a free SSL certificate, and basic web optimization features. However, for websites that require more advanced security features, priority support, and higher performance, the paid plans may be a better fit. The paid plans offer additional benefits such as more advanced WAF (Web Application Firewall) rules, priority routing, and advanced analytics tools.
- Free: Essential security and performance features, ideal for small-scale sites.
- Pro: Advanced features and support are suitable for growing businesses.
- Business: Designed for businesses with high security and performance requirements.
- Enterprise: Tailor-made solutions and top-notch support for large organisations.
The table below compares the features and costs of Cloudflare’s different pricing plans in more detail. This table can help you determine which plan is best for your website. The features offered by each plan should be evaluated based on your website’s needs. Security features, especially DDoS protection, SSL certificate, CDN performance, and WAF, play an important role in choosing a plan.
| Plan | Price | Features | Suitability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Basic DDoS protection, Global CDN, SSL | Small scale sites, Blogs |
| Pro | Monthly $20 | Advanced WAF, Optimization, Priority Routing | Growing businesses |
| Business | Monthly $200 | Enterprise-grade security, 24/7 support | E-commerce sites, Large businesses |
| Enterprise | Special Pricing | Custom solutions, Top level support | Large organizations, Critical applications |
What is Cloudflare? One of the answers to the question is that it can offer solutions suitable for websites of all sizes thanks to its flexible pricing models. Considering the needs of your website and your budget, you can start with a free plan and upgrade to paid plans with more advanced features as needed. By choosing the right plan, you can significantly increase the security and performance of your website.
Cloudflare Setup: Integration to Website Step by Step
What is Cloudflare? After finding the answer to the question and evaluating the advantages it offers, we can move on to the steps of integrating your website with Cloudflare. Although this process requires technical knowledge, it can be easily completed with step-by-step instructions. Here's how to integrate your website with Cloudflare:
Before you begin setting up Cloudflare, it’s important to back up your current DNS settings. This will allow you to easily revert to your previous settings if you experience any issues. Also, make sure you have access to your domain name during setup. Cloudflare will ask you for permission to manage your domain name’s DNS records.
| My name | Explanation | Important Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Creating a Cloudflare Account | You can choose a free or paid plan. |
| 2 | Adding Your Website | Add your domain address from the Cloudflare panel. |
| 3 | Examining DNS Records | Cloudflare automatically scans your existing DNS records. Check them and edit them if necessary. |
| 4 | Updating Cloudflare Nameservers | At your domain registrar, change the nameserver addresses to the addresses provided by Cloudflare. |
After you update your nameserver addresses, it may take a few hours for the change to take effect. During this time, your website may experience short-term access issues. You can track the propagation of DNS changes from your Cloudflare dashboard. Once the changes are complete, your website will be live on Cloudflare.
Cloudflare Setup Steps:
- Creating a Cloudflare Account: Create an account by going to the Cloudflare website. The free plan is usually sufficient for most websites.
- Adding Your Website: Once you log in to your account, add your website's domain address.
- Examining DNS Records: Cloudflare will automatically scan your existing DNS records. Check that they are correct and make any necessary edits.
- Nameserver Change: At your domain registrar (e.g. Godaddy, Namecheap), change the nameserver addresses to the addresses Cloudflare gave you. This will route your website traffic through Cloudflare.
- SSL/TLS Encryption Settings: Cloudflare offers a free SSL certificate. Configure security by choosing between Flexible, Full, or Strict modes of SSL/TLS encryption. Flexible mode is usually the easiest option.
Once setup is complete, you can configure various security and performance settings from the Cloudflare dashboard. For example, you can increase the security level, customize caching rules, and enable WAF (Web Application Firewall) features. You can also monitor the performance and security of your website using the analytics tools offered by Cloudflare.
What is Cloudflare? To fully answer the question, it is important to regularly review post-installation performance and security reports. These reports will help you understand the threats your website is facing and opportunities for performance improvement. Cloudflare is a constantly evolving platform to improve the security and speed of your website. Therefore, it is useful to regularly follow new features and updates.
Performance Monitoring and Analysis: How to Read Cloudflare Reports
What is Cloudflare? For those looking for the answer to the question, it is important to note that the platform is not just a firewall, but also offers detailed performance monitoring and analysis tools. Cloudflare reports provide comprehensive information about your website’s traffic, security, and performance, helping you make informed decisions and continuously optimize your website. Reading and interpreting these reports correctly is critical to maintaining and improving the health of your website.
The reports that Cloudflare offers are divided into different categories, each serving a specific purpose. For example, traffic reports provide information about the number of users visiting your website, their geographic distribution, and changes over time. Security reports show threats to your website, blocked attacks, and the effectiveness of firewall rules. Performance reports allow you to monitor metrics like your website’s loading speed, caching performance, and bandwidth usage.
Metrics to Track:
- Total Number of Requests: The total number of HTTP/HTTPS requests made to your website.
- Bandwidth Usage: The total amount of data transferred through your website.
- Cache Success Rate: It shows how effectively Cloudflare cache serves content. A high rate reduces server load and improves performance.
- Threats and Attacks: Blocked malicious traffic and attack attempts.
- Average Response Time: A measure of how quickly your web server responds to requests.
- Geographical Distribution: Shows which regions your visitors come from.
The table below summarizes some of the key metrics commonly encountered in Cloudflare reports and what they mean:
| Metric | Explanation | Importance |
|---|---|---|
| Total Traffic | Total number of visitors to your website | Shows your website's popularity and reach |
| Threats Blocked | Malicious requests blocked by Cloudflare | Shows that your website is secure and protected from potential attacks |
| Cache Ratio | Percentage of content served from cache | Increases your website speed and reduces server load |
| Bandwidth Saving | How much bandwidth is saved by caching | Reduces costs and improves your website performance |
While reading Cloudflare reports, trends and sudden changes It’s important to identify. For example, a sudden increase in traffic during a certain time period or an increase in security threats could be a sign of potential issues. These types of situations may require you to take a closer look and take action. Similarly, a decrease in cache success rates could indicate a problem with your caching settings or that your content is becoming difficult to cache.
Regularly monitoring and analyzing Cloudflare reports allows you to continuously improve your website’s performance and security. These reports help you identify potential issues early, optimize your website, and improve user experience.
Cloudflare reports are a valuable tool that allows you to constantly check the health of your website.
Therefore, effectively using these powerful tools from Cloudflare is a critical step to your website's success.
Increasing Website Security with Cloudflare: Recommendations and Conclusion
What is Cloudflare? We have examined the answer to this question and its advantages in detail in this article. There are several ways you can effectively use Cloudflare to improve the security and performance of your website. In this section, we will summarize what we have learned and offer practical suggestions to make your website more secure.
One of the most important advantages offered by Cloudflare is, It is the protection it provides against DDoS attacks.. Even a free plan can protect your website from many common types of attacks. However, it may be worth considering the paid plans for more advanced protection and custom rules. Remember, security is a continuous process and it’s important to stay up to date on updates.
| Feature | Explanation | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| DDoS Protection | It prevents attacks and maintains the accessibility of your website. | Use the free plan, upgrade to paid plans as needed. |
| Web Application Firewall (WAF) | Prevents specific attacks against your web applications. | Activate WAF and update its rules regularly. |
| SSL Certificate | It ensures that your website uses a secure connection (HTTPS). | Use the free SSL certificate and always keep it updated. |
| Content Delivery Network (CDN) | It increases the speed of your website by storing its content on different servers. | Enable CDN and optimize caching settings. |
Use Cloudflare to improve your website performance CDN (Content Delivery Network) You can use its feature effectively. CDN stores your website content on servers in different geographical locations, ensuring that content is served from the closest server to your visitors. This significantly increases the loading speed of your website and improves the user experience. You can also use the caching features offered by Cloudflare to make your static content load faster.
Things that can be done:
- Use a strong password and change it regularly.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Check your website's firewall (WAF) settings regularly.
- Review security reports from Cloudflare and identify potential threats.
- Keep your SSL/TLS encryption settings up to date.
- Protect against DNS spoofing by enabling DNSSEC.
What is Cloudflare? The best answer to the question is that it is a comprehensive security and performance solution for websites. It offers options for websites of all sizes with free and paid plans. However, to take advantage of Cloudflare's full potential, it is important to configure its features correctly and monitor them regularly. Remember, your website's security and performance directly impact your visitors' experience.
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Will using Cloudflare slow down my website or vice versa?
On the contrary, Cloudflare generally increases the speed of your website. It reduces latency by serving your content from servers closest to your users with its Content Delivery Network (CDN) feature. It also improves performance with optimizations like compressed files and caching.
What restrictions does the free version of Cloudflare have compared to their paid version?
The free version of Cloudflare offers basic security and performance features. However, the paid versions provide additional benefits such as more advanced security features (for example, more advanced WAF rules), priority support, and more detailed analytics. The free version can usually be sufficient for small to medium-sized websites, while sites with larger, more complex needs may want to consider the paid version.
What settings are recommended after connecting my website to Cloudflare?
Once you connect to Cloudflare, it’s important to properly configure SSL/TLS settings, customize firewall (WAF) rules to suit your needs, optimize caching settings, and regularly monitor performance reports. You can also make additional adjustments based on your website’s specific needs.
How does Cloudflare protect against DDoS attacks? Is it guaranteed to block attacks completely?
Cloudflare filters out DDoS attacks using a large network of distributed servers. It analyzes incoming traffic and blocks suspicious requests, ensuring only legitimate traffic reaches your web server. While it’s not guaranteed to completely block attacks, it significantly reduces the impact of most DDoS attacks and keeps your website accessible.
How does Cloudflare's SSL certificate management work? Can I use my existing SSL certificate?
Cloudflare offers free SSL certificates, allowing you to easily increase the security of your website. You can also use your existing SSL certificate. Cloudflare allows you to install and manage the certificate. With the flexible SSL option, you can encrypt the traffic between your server and Cloudflare, and with the full SSL option, you can encrypt the traffic between your users and your server end-to-end.
What does a Web Application Firewall (WAF) do and how to configure Cloudflare's WAF?
A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is designed to block common attacks against your web applications (e.g. SQL injection, XSS). Cloudflare’s WAF works through predefined rules and customizable security policies. You can configure your WAF settings, enable or disable rules, and review attack logs via the Cloudflare dashboard.
How do I monitor my website's performance after installing Cloudflare? What metrics should I track?
The Cloudflare dashboard provides detailed reports on your website’s performance. The most important metrics include bandwidth usage, page load times, cache hit ratio, security events (for example, blocked attacks), and DNS query times. By monitoring these metrics regularly, you can identify performance issues and make improvements.
Is there anything special I should be aware of when using Cloudflare? For example, does it have an SEO impact?
When using Cloudflare, make sure your DNS settings are configured correctly and that your website’s robots.txt file is not blocking access to Cloudflare bots. In terms of SEO, Cloudflare can have an indirect positive effect by increasing the speed and security of your website. Additionally, features like CDN and SSL offered by Cloudflare can also improve your SEO performance.
