Security and speed are key factors in managing a website. Fortunately, there are several easy steps to ensure that a website is fast and secure. One of them is by leveraging Cloudflare. What is Cloudflare?
The following article will explain this widely used tool in Content Delivery Networks. Additionally, we will explain how to use Cloudflare and integrate it effortlessly.
Without further ado, let's dive into the complete explanation!
What is Cloudflare?
Cloudflare is one of the most popular Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers in the world. A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network that functions to deliver content from servers to websites.
In other words, Cloudflare acts as a proxy between the website and its visitors. Cloudflare has numerous servers distributed across various countries, making website loading faster.
In simple terms, Cloudflare acts as a connector between visitors and the website's server. Its purpose is to protect the website from harmful attacks carried out by website visitors. Now, website visitors are divided into three types:
- Visitors: Regular website visitors.
- Robots: Programs that scan every page of a website, consuming server bandwidth.
- Attackers: Individuals or entities seeking to launch attacks on the website.
By utilizing Cloudflare's services, your website is guaranteed to be safe from various attacks and activities that could harm its performance.
In addition, Cloudflare handles all requests to the website and can offer more useful services compared to other CDNs. What are they?
Here are some features you will get by using Cloudflare:
- DDoS attack mitigation
- Analytics for all requests made to the website
- Easier SSL certificate installation
- Network gateway for protocols
To enjoy the above features, you need to choose a plan for your Cloudflare account. There are four plans available: Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Free. The differences lie in the number of features provided in each plan.
Now that you know what Cloudflare is, let's learn more about its functions.
Functions of Cloudflare
When Cloudflare is enabled on your website, the nameservers will automatically follow Cloudflare's nameservers. This allows all activities within the website to be filtered and accessed faster.
Here are some essential functions of Cloudflare:
- Directing visitors to the fastest connection. Cloudflare will direct visitors to the nearest data center, making the website accessible up to twice as fast compared to not using Cloudflare.
- Monitoring dangerous traffic on the website. Cloudflare receives access requests and analyzes whether the visitors are potentially harmful or not. This is determined by examining IP addresses, accessed resources, and the frequency of access to your site. If it appears to be a threat, Cloudflare will block it.
- Serving as a cache for static content. Cloudflare functions as a cache for static content on the website, such as images, JavaScript, CSS, and more. Cache technology stores website content as temporary data to accelerate website access.
With the various functions mentioned above, there are undoubtedly many reasons for you to start using Cloudflare for your website, including:
- Improving website performance. Cloudflare has distributed proxy servers in multiple countries, which can direct visitors to the nearest server. This enhances the loading speed of your website pages.
- Mobile device optimization. Technologies like Rocket Loader and AutoMinify make your website accessible faster and more efficiently across various devices.
- Protection against bots and threats. Cloudflare uses user and third-party data to identify whether the traffic to your website poses a threat or not, and takes measures to stop it. You can view the reports on the Cloudflare dashboard.
- Shielding your website from comment spam. Cloudflare uses third-party data to filter comments on your site.
- Alerting visitors if their computers are infected with viruses. Cloudflare can warn visitors if their computers are infected with viruses and advise them to clean them immediately. Typically, visitors will be asked to enter a CAPTCHA to access your website.
- Offline browsing mode. When your domain hosting experiences disruptions, visitors can still access your website because the website pages are already cached in Cloudflare.
- Reducing server resource usage. Server resources can diminish over time, affecting the server load, such as CPU usage on hosting. Even during visitor spikes, the server load will remain safe.
- Visitor reports. Cloudflare can display visitors, whether they are search engine robots, threats, or human visitors.
- Easy integration. Cloudflare seamlessly integrates with Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress and hosting service control panels like Niagahoster. This integration makes it easier and faster for you to access Cloudflare.
Conclusion
Cloudflare is one of the solutions for those who seek optimal website performance for their managed websites. We have provided a comprehensive explanation of what Cloudflare is and its functions so that you understand its various benefits.
One of Cloudflare's advantages lies in its ease of integration across various website platforms you may use.
We hope the information we have provided proves beneficial in making your website fast and secure.
