Why is Cloudflare essential for website security and performance?
It isn't essential for every site. Webflow already serves sites through its own CDN with SSL included. We use Cloudflare where it earns its place: DNS in one tidy account, a CDN and DDoS protection in front of a site, and logins in front of private pages.
Short answer
Cloudflare is useful, not essential. A small Webflow site with a decent host and SSL can run fine without it. We reach for it when there's a specific job for it to do.
What we use it for
- DNS: we like your domain records in one place. Where we can, we ask for the Cloudflare account to be in your name, with us added as admin.
- A CDN and DDoS protection: Cloudflare caches files close to the visitor, and its DDoS protection is unmetered and on every plan, the free one included (check Cloudflare's plan page).
- Logins for private pages: Cloudflare Access puts a login in front of staging sites and internal tools, so the tool itself needs no login code.
- Form spam: Turnstile checks form fills without making visitors solve a puzzle.
When we'd skip it
If your site is simple, the DNS is already tidy and nothing needs a login or a firewall rule, an extra layer is just one more thing to look after.
You can see how we use it on our own site on the Cloudflare tool page.
The tools in this answer
Also worth asking
Other answers about the same tools.
How do you handle compliance management for my website?
We work with your cookie consent tool, or suggest one we've worked with, and connect it to your tags so they follow the visitor's choice. How that's wired depends on the project, so we test what your tags actually do. We don't write legal text or give legal advice, so your privacy policy needs sign-off from someone qualified.
Does server-side tracking with Stape make my site faster?
On our own site, moving GTM to a same-origin loader left load time unchanged, and speed isn't why we use Stape. Server-side tracking means the page doesn't have to load a separate script for every ad platform, but the GTM container still loads in the page, so don't expect a big jump. We don't promise a speed gain.
How does Webflow handle website performance and loading speeds?
Webflow serves sites through a CDN with SSL included, minifies code when you publish, and creates responsive image sizes. It can lazy-load images too. How fast a page ends up depends mostly on what's on it, such as image sizes and third-party scripts, so those are the first things to check.
What are the potential drawbacks or limitations of using Cloudflare?
A few real ones. It's another service to set up and keep an eye on. A wrong cache or firewall rule can show old pages or block real visitors. Your site depends on Cloudflare being up. And some DNS records, such as server-side tracking ones, have to stay un-proxied.
Can Cloudflare integrate with other marketing and analytics tools?
Cloudflare doesn't plug into your marketing tools directly, but it sits next to them. It holds the DNS for tracking subdomains such as the ones Stape uses, and an n8n workflow can call its API, for example to clear the cache when a Webflow site publishes.
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