Cloudflare basics for small organisations
Cloudflare can protect and speed up small websites, but only if it is set up in a way that matches how your organisation actually works.
What Cloudflare is in plain English
Cloudflare sits between your website and the public internet. When someone visits your site, they do not talk to your hosting directly. They talk to Cloudflare’s global network first. Cloudflare then forwards the request to your hosting if needed.
If set up properly this means:
- Your site loads faster because Cloudflare can cache pages close to your visitors.
- Your real hosting is less exposed to random probes and high traffic.
- You get basic protection from common attacks without buying expensive tools.
The benefit for small organisations
Most small sites run on shared hosting or older WordPress installs. These do not handle spikes or scans well. Cloudflare absorbs most of the noise so your site doesn’t wobble.
It also gives you a reliable control panel for DNS, meaning you are no longer tied to confusing registrar dashboards.
The common mistakes
1. Enabling every feature without understanding them
Cloudflare offers a lot of switches: WAF, bot fight mode, under attack mode, minification, SSL modes, caching rules. You do not need most of them. In fact, enabling the wrong things can break contact forms or block legitimate visitors.
2. Choosing the wrong SSL mode
For small sites the only correct setting is Full (strict) with a valid certificate on your hosting. Anything lower can create security warnings or introduce mixed content problems.
3. Leaving DNS half orange and half grey
If some records are proxied through Cloudflare and others are not, you lose the benefits of protection. Many organisations do not know which records should be orange (proxied) and which must stay grey.
4. Relying on Cloudflare without maintaining the site
Cloudflare is not a substitute for backups, plugin updates, or basic maintenance. It cannot fix a broken WordPress backend or a misconfigured theme.
What small organisations should actually use
For most SMEs, charities, and community projects, these settings are enough:
- Full (strict) SSL
- Security level: medium
- Bot Fight Mode: off unless needed
- One caching rule: “Cache everything” for static sites, none for WordPress
- Basic firewall rule to block obvious junk
A simple firewall rule that helps
(not ip.geoip.country in {"GB" "IE"}) and http.request.uri.path eq "/wp-admin"This blocks access to WordPress admin pages from outside the UK and Ireland.
In plain English
- Cloudflare helps small sites stay online and load faster.
- You only need a few settings, not the full toolbox.
- The wrong configuration can cause more problems than it solves.
You can read more guides in the Ki-Ki knowledge hub.