Cloudflare CDN is used by everyone at that time to improve loading speed and security.
A report shows that 7.5M+ websites will use Cloudflare by 2022, and that almost 3280 of the 10000 most visited websites worldwide are using Cloudflare.
If we are talking about blogger CMS, 75%+ Bloggers use Cloudflare on blogs. However, most bloggers don't understand how Cloudflare works to achieve better results.
Don't worry!
This article will discuss all major Cloudflare settings that will provide the best Cloudflare settings to your website. We will also explain which settings are recommended and why.
Let's get started!
DNS Configurations
Cloudflare is the first CDN to use. It uses DNS or Nameserver settings.
DNS Administration:
This section allows you to add records to your domain system. It lets you create subdomains and mail records, verify methods, and more.
Proxy Status -
Allow Proxy only for your domain, www and subdomains.
Cloudflare's FREE plan settings have been covered in this article. If you have a premium Cloudflare plan, you can comment below to get the next part.
TTL -
If you don't use Cloudflare proxy, keep higher TTL to ensure your DNS information is cached. Use lower TTL for migrating so you can migrate faster.
DNSSEC -
There's nothing to do.
Email Security -
If you don't use any email service provider such as Zoho to send your custom email, you can configure it and create an option 4 (Prevent illegitimate mail traffic on your domain). These records will prevent anyone from sending malicious email on your behalf.
SSL or TLS settings
SSL encryption:
Always use "FULL SSL encryption" as "Full" SSL settings will slow down all reqs and increase SSL Handshake times. If you're using blogger SSL, you can disable SSL in Cloudflare.
SSL/TLS Recommander:-
On Your Choice. It is usually enabled.
Always Use HTTPS -
Disable it if Blogger Https status is on and redirect the HTTPS setting if Enable.
HTTP Strict Transportation Security (HSTS):
This setting allows you to enforce HTTPS on your site. Although this setting is extremely secure, it can make your site unaccessible.
For best results, leave all other settings in SSL/TLS default.
Firewall settings
Everybody should be familiar with the firewall setting. It is one of the most critical settings for any website. The Overview section shows you a list of users who were blocked by Cloudflare or otherwise challenged.
Firewall Rules -
This setting allows you to control traffic and can be used to create custom rules that block or challenge certain countries, continents, IP addresses and more.
Attention!
Select Operator, Field, and Value carefully. I recommend this setting only if you get bot traffic, or want to restrict access.
Bots/Bot fly Mode:
This helps protect your website against known bots. This uses JS to do this, and it slightly slows down your website's speed.
DDoS -
Leave it as default.
Security Level -
Disable it if you get a lot of unusual traffic, but if it isn't working keep it disabled and turn on I'm under attack! After a set period, make sure to reset this setting.
Challenge Passes:-
Keep it default. It is used to challenge or show a captcha to a visitor who visits your site again.
User Agent blocking:
This is used to prevent a particular browser or app from accessing your website. Keep it off
Speed*
Cloudflare's Most Important Setting is Speed Settings. Many Bloggers make mistakes due to incorrect settings.
Bad Optimization and settings can cause many errors when using blogger.
Auto Minify -
This allows you to speed up your website by enabling all three options.
Brotli -
Keep It Enable.
Early Hints -
Although this is in beta, you should enable it.
Rocket Loader -
Disable Rocket Loader because it breaks JS Codes and is responsible for many image-related errors.
AMP URL:
This is a great feature. You must enable it if you are using AMP. It helps to show your link instead than google.
Mobile Redirect -
You can use it to redirect mobile visitors towards your preferred address.
Caching
Purge Cache -
You can purge your Cloudflare cache by clicking here. To show an updated version by Cloudflare, you must purge the cache after making changes to your website.
Caching Level -
Recommend to use Standard
BrowserCache TTL -
You can use Default for 4 hours if you site is frequently updated. If not, you can leave it for longer and it will still be beneficial for repeat visitors.
CASM Scanning Tool:
No need to configure.
Crawlers Hints, Always Online:-
Keep Allow allows your website to stay online.
Development Mode -
You don't need to enable it. However, if it temporarily bypasses the cache, you should first purge it before re-enabling it.
Network
HTTP/3 (with quic):-
You must enable, it Accelerates HTTP requests and provides greater performance and encryption than TCP and TLS.
0-RTT Connect Resumption: -
Keep it Disable
gRPC-
Keep It Disable
Web Sockets -
Always On
Crawlers Hints, Always Online:-
Keep Allow allows your website to stay online.
IP Location:-
It is up to you to enable traffic filtering and to add rules.
Scrape Shield
Cloudflare's Scrape shield protects content on your website and helps to keep our website data safe.
Email address Obfuscation -
This setting is to prevent bots from collecting your email on your site. It creates "/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection", and I know many SEO tools show warnings on this page. You can disable Email Obfuscation if you don't wish to see this page.
Server-side Excludes -
Leave it Enable.
Hotlink Security:-
If you don’t mind your content being shared freely all over the internet, keep it disabled!
Rules Page Rule:
You can create a new page rule here to add a specific rule to a specific page.
Normalize inbound URLs:-
Enable to Normalize URLs to Origin:- Recommend to disable
Apps
Cloudflare can be used on your website without restriction, but you should uninstall it.
Conclusion
I have mentioned all Cloudflare settings that are included in the free plan. I hope you find it useful.
Rocket loader is the most critical setting and must be disabled.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below We are grateful!