Benefits
We recommend signing up for a free Cloudflare account, and utilizing it for your DNS needs. Out of the box, Cloudflare has many free speed optimizations included in their free plan. We will configure your account to take advantage of these optimizations.
There are many benefits to using Cloudflare for your DNS needs, a few of the major benefits include:
- Performance, reliability, and speed
- Advanced DDOS protection and security measures
- CNAME flattening
CNAME flattening helps obscure the IP Address of the server where your website is hosted. Traditionally, domains were pointed at hosting environments via an A record. One of the downsides of this approach is that it exposes your server’s IP Address to anyone that scans the URL. CNAME flattening works by pointing the URL to a CNAME record which then resolves to a server IP. This method never exposes your server’s IP Address, and also keeps your website online in the event that the server IP changes. Most registrars (GoDaddy, HostGator, etc) do not offer CNAME flattening, and is one of the many reasons Cloudflare is our preferred DNS manager. We find that DNS through traditional registrars is insufficient for today’s security needs.
Cloudflare Pro
The Cloudflare pro plan offers further optimizations/improvements including a free CDN and image compression settings. We recommend anyone who can afford the cost associated with the pro plan utilize it.
You can upgrade by logging into your account or using this link https://www.cloudflare.com/plans/
If you decide to upgrade your account, we will double check your settings and make sure everything is set up correctly at no additional cost to you.
