What is Cloudflare?
Cloudflare started as a content delivery network (CDN) — a global network of servers that cache and serve your website from locations close to your visitors. Over time it has grown into a full infrastructure platform. Today it handles DNS management, DDoS protection, edge computing (Workers), object storage (R2), image optimisation, and more.
When you put your domain on Cloudflare, your traffic routes through their global network before reaching your actual server. That proxy layer is where the magic happens: attacks get filtered, cached content gets served instantly, and you get detailed analytics on who is visiting your site.
Why use it?
For most vibe-coded or indie projects, the free tier alone is worth the 15-minute setup. You get:
- Instant CDN — static assets load faster for visitors worldwide
- Free DDoS protection — Cloudflare absorbs volumetric attacks automatically
- DNS management — fast, reliable, and free
- R2 storage — store files and serve them publicly without paying AWS S3's egress fees
Cloudflare Workers take things further. Workers are small JavaScript (or TypeScript) functions that run on Cloudflare's global edge network — no cold starts, no region selection. They are ideal for lightweight logic: A/B testing, auth token validation, URL redirects, or proxying requests.
Free vs Paid
| Feature | Free | Pro ($20/mo) | Business ($200/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDN & caching | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| DDoS protection | Basic | Enhanced | Advanced |
| DNS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Workers requests | 100K/day | 10M/month | 100M/month |
| R2 storage | 10GB + 1M reads | Same | Same |
| Custom SSL | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image optimisation | No | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics retention | 3 days | 7 days | 30 days |
For most small projects, the free tier is genuinely sufficient.
Step-by-step setup
- Go to cloudflare.com and create a free account
- Click Add a Site and enter your domain name
- Choose the Free plan
- Cloudflare will scan your existing DNS records — review them and click Continue
- Copy the two Cloudflare nameservers shown (e.g.
aria.ns.cloudflare.com) - Log into your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Google Domains, etc.) and replace the existing nameservers with Cloudflare's two nameservers
- Wait 5–30 minutes for DNS propagation — Cloudflare will email you when it activates
- Back in Cloudflare, go to SSL/TLS and confirm it is set to Full (strict) if your origin server has a certificate, or Flexible if not
Your site is now behind Cloudflare's network. Visitors will benefit from caching and DDoS protection immediately.
Common questions
Do I need to move my hosting to Cloudflare? No. Cloudflare sits in front of your existing host (Vercel, Netlify, a VPS, anything). You just point your DNS to them, and they proxy traffic to wherever your site actually lives.
What is R2 and when should I use it? R2 is Cloudflare's object storage — like AWS S3, but with no charges for data transfer out (egress). If your app lets users upload images, videos, or files, R2 is often the cheapest option at scale. It works with the standard S3 API so most libraries connect to it without changes.
Should I use Workers or just use Vercel functions? Workers are faster globally (no cold starts, truly distributed), but have tighter CPU and memory limits. Vercel functions are easier to set up if you are already on Vercel. Start with Vercel; move compute-heavy edge logic to Workers only if you need it.
Will Cloudflare break my site? Rarely, but caching can sometimes serve stale content. If something looks wrong after a deploy, go to Caching → Configuration and click Purge Everything to clear the cache.