Overview
This article covers specific considerations when using Cloudflare with DreamPress.
Setting up Cloudflare partner plans on DreamPress
You can sign up for Cloudflare’s plans directly at cloudflare.com. Please note that you will need to modify your nameservers and manage your DNS records yourself.
Additional setup
It is highly recommended that you install the Proxy Cache Purge plugin on your DreamPress site. While Proxy Cache Purge is installed by default on all new DreamPress sites, if you migrate an existing WordPress site to DreamPress, the plugin files might be overwritten. You can install it yourself if your DreamPress site doesn’t have the plugin:
If you have the plugin installed and activated, visit the "Proxy Cache" menu in your WP-Admin to verify that the "Set Custom IP" field uses the server IP (by default). If not, adjust the field and then click the Save IP button.
If you are noticing any strange caching or performance issues, the Cloudflare plugin, also available in the WordPress.org repository, can help optimize your site’s performance with Cloudflare. However, this plugin is not mandatory.
Pros and cons of using Cloudflare on DreamPress
Due to compatibility issues, DreamHost does NOT recommend using Cloudflare's Automatic Platform Optimizations (APO) on your DreamPress site.
DreamPress includes built-in server caching to make your pages load very quickly, which acts as a "reverse proxy" in the same way that Cloudflare does. Working on your site with Cloudflare active on DreamPress can sometimes be tricky since Cloudflare is caching a site that is already cached using the same method. You can reduce this effect by enabling Development mode on both Cloudflare and the Proxy Cache Purge plugin.
If you would like an alternative to Cloudflare to avoid possible double-caching issues, Jetpack’s Free version offers a few similar features such as an automatic static file CDN; the Jetpack Professional subscription included with DreamPress Plus and Pro plans contains additional security features that can also offer an alternative to what Cloudflare provides.
Cloudflare offers additional beneficial features besides reverse proxy caching. Many DreamPress customers successfully run their site with Cloudflare active. These features include basic DDoS protection, captcha challenge by IP or Country Code, blocking specific IPs within the Cloudflare interface, comment spam, content scraping protection, and more.
