{"id":40272,"date":"2022-09-12T15:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T13:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/?p=40272"},"modified":"2022-10-05T08:41:41","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T06:41:41","slug":"how-to-set-up-cloudfare-for-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-set-up-cloudfare-for-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up Cloudflare for WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Few things are as important in digital publishing as having assets that load quickly, that are consistently up and running, and that have some level of resistance to common digital attacks. Those are things you can build upon to create an awesome online presence, which is why speed, reliability, and security are some of the most important things to check when <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-choose-wordpress-hosting-provider\/\">choosing a web host<\/a>, for example, or when measuring the performance of a website. It\u2019s also why people decide to use <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/what-is-a-cdn\/\">content delivery networks or CDNs<\/a>, and why setting up Cloudflare for WordPress is something a WordPress website admin should consider doing.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]If you\u2019re at that point when you\u2019re considering employing a <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/what-is-a-cdn\/\">CDN for your WordPress<\/a> website and you\u2019re eyeing Cloudflare for the part, this is the right place for you to be. Setting up Cloudflare is easy \u2013 and it\u2019s free \u2013 but we\u2019ll still take you through it one step at a time. So stick around and you\u2019ll get to learn:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#why-use-cloudflare-for-wordpress\">Why Use Cloudflare for WordPress?<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#set-up-cloudflare\">How to Set Up Cloudflare for Your WordPress Site<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#what-next\">What to Do Next?<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=&#8221;new-top-picks-banner&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"why-use-cloudflare-for-wordpress\"><\/a>Why Use Cloudflare for WordPress?<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Cloudflare\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>The major reason to use Cloudflare with your WordPress website is to enjoy the many features of its CDN service.<\/strong> That\u2019s not the only service Cloudflare provides, of course, but it might be of most interest to an admin of an existing WordPress website.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Cloudflare provides the basic CDN service free of charge.<\/strong> From there, you can get more from Cloudflare by employing add-on services \u2013 the Automatic Platform Optimization you get with <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/cloudflare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Cloudflare WordPress plugin<\/a> is a great example \u2013 or by opting for one of the paid plans.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The full list of features you get with Cloudflare is pretty extensive, <strong>but the ones that matter to its CDN the most include:<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\">A worldwide network for static and dynamic content delivery, with traffic routing for maximum speed.\n<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\">Great overview of the caching Cloudflare performs for your website, with customizable cache expiration periods and fast cache purge.\n<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\">Video-optimized content delivery capabilities, with support for MPEG-DASH, CMAF, and HLS video files.\n<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\">Support for bring-your-own-IP and http\/3.\n<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Cloudflare\u2019s CDN service is consistently highly rated across websites such as g2.com, TechRadar, and TrustRadius.<\/strong> You\u2019ve probably visited websites that use Cloudflare whether you knew it or not. It\u2019s one of the top CDNs on the market, with an unbeatable offering at the low cost of zero dollars, and as we\u2019ll soon see, it\u2019s fairly easy to use.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"set-up-cloudflare\"><\/a>How to Set Up Cloudflare for Your WordPress Site<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<strong>If you already have a WordPress website you want to connect to Cloudflare, your next step would be to create a Cloudflare account.<\/strong> It\u2019s as simple as visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/dash.cloudflare.com\/sign-up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">account creation page<\/a>, and entering your email address and a password \u2013 that\u2019s all you need to do. You\u2019ll be welcomed by a home screen that says that you don\u2019t have any websites. Let\u2019s see what we can do about it.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Add the Website and Choose a Plan<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-Register-New-Domain.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Cloudflare Register New Domain\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-Register-New-Domain.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-Register-New-Domain-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-Register-New-Domain-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Cloudflare-Register-New-Domain-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]On the homepage of your Cloudflare dashboard, you\u2019ll be able to see a list of the websites you\u2019ve connected to Cloudflare. If this is the first website you\u2019re connecting it to, then you should notice an \u201cAdd a Site\u201d button, which will take you to a page where you can enter your website\u2019s address. <strong>Keep in mind that you don\u2019t need the \u201cHTTP\u201d part of the address and that you should link to root domains, not subdomains.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]After adding a site, you\u2019ll be forwarded to the page where you can select the plan you want to use with this website. This is a great place to check out the offering.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"661\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Select-a-Plan.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Select a Plan\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Select-a-Plan.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Select-a-Plan-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Select-a-Plan-768x524.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Select-a-Plan-620x423.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]After picking the plan, you\u2019ll be able to move on to the next step.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Review the DNS Records<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"659\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Review-Your-DNS-Records.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Review Your DNS Records\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Review-Your-DNS-Records.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Review-Your-DNS-Records-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Review-Your-DNS-Records-768x522.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Review-Your-DNS-Records-620x422.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Cloudflare will scan for the website\u2019s DNS records after you\u2019ve added a website. <strong>You should keep in mind that the service might not be able to catch every single DNS record for your website.<\/strong> That\u2019s why you\u2019d want to review all of the records, make sure that the settings are correct but also that no records are missing. Pay special attention to the root domain, subdomain, and email records.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>In case you find some of the records missing, you\u2019ll be able to add them manually.<\/strong> The tool will let you pick the type of record and access all of the fields that are necessary for that specific type of record. Once you\u2019ve included all the DNS records, you can continue to the next step.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Change the Nameservers<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"663\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Change-Your-Nameservers.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Change Your Nameservers\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Change-Your-Nameservers.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Change-Your-Nameservers-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Change-Your-Nameservers-768x525.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Change-Your-Nameservers-620x424.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>The final step in setting up Cloudflare for your WordPress website is changing the nameservers for your website<\/strong>. Cloudflare will let you know which nameservers you need to replace, and which nameservers you need to replace them with. This will effectively ensure that your web address points towards Cloudflare, allowing it to do its job.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Changing the nameservers is something you should do either at your registrar or your website\u2019s hosting provider if you registered the address with them. <strong>There are a couple of things to keep in mind here<\/strong> \u2013 you need to make sure that you\u2019re replacing the right nameservers with their Cloudflare counterparts exactly as they\u2019ve been provided to you. You should also make sure to disable DNNSEC for your domain.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Finally, know that you need to be patient, as it takes up to a full day for the nameserver change request to be processed.<\/strong> Once it\u2019s done, you\u2019ll be notified via email by Cloudflare.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"what-next\"><\/a>What to Do Next?<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<strong>The very first thing you should do after connecting your website to Cloudflare is to go to the Cloudflare dashboard, navigate to the DNS section of the settings, and scroll down until you reach DNSSEC.<\/strong> You\u2019ll want to enable it on Cloudflare since you\u2019ve disabled it with your registrar, and it\u2019s an important security feature that protects your website from forged DNS servers.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Next, you\u2019ll probably want to check any domain settings that Cloudflare recommends you do check in their Quick Start Guide.<\/strong> You could enable automatic HTTPS rewrites or decide to always use HTTPS. The guide will also include some performance optimization steps you should look into.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>The Cloudflare WordPress plugin might be worth installing even if you don\u2019t plan to use the APO.<\/strong> It\u2019ll bring some of the Cloudflare options to your WordPress website\u2019s dashboard, probably saving you some time and click in the long run. Finally, you should wait and see how Cloudflare performs, monitor the features you have available at your subscription level, and make sure you publish some great content for your website visitors to enjoy.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking for a quick guide to bringing Cloudflare and WordPress together? We&#8217;ll show you how you can connect your site to Cloudflare in no time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9295,"featured_media":40288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[297,4,13],"class_list":["post-40272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-cloudflare","tag-tips","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9295"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}