Cloudflare DNS is a popular choice for websites around the world, providing enhanced performance and stability compared to the DNS services offered by many hosting providers or domain registrars. While Cloudflare’s CDN is widely known for accelerating page load times and protecting sites from attacks, it can sometimes lead to occasional access issues, such as 52x errors or response delays on the free plan. Fortunately, if you’d rather skip the CDN, you can still harness the power of Cloudflare by using it solely for DNS management.
Cloudflare DNS vs. Cloudflare CDN
- Cloudflare DNS: This setting enables Cloudflare for DNS management exclusively, leaving out other services.
- Cloudflare CDN: By choosing this option, you’re fully utilising Cloudflare’s complete suite, including DNS, content delivery, caching, DDoS protection, load optimisation, and anti-hacking features.
Benefits of Using Cloudflare DNS
Opting for Cloudflare DNS-only comes with a range of advantages:
Completely Free
Cloudflare DNS is entirely free to use, making it accessible for all types of websites, regardless of their size or traffic volume.
High Stability and Fast Response Times
Thanks to Cloudflare’s Anycast DNS technology, you’ll experience high stability and fast response times, ensuring a seamless user experience for your visitors.
Instant IP Updates
With Cloudflare DNS, updates to your IP address take effect almost immediately. This minimises downtime during hosting changes, so your site remains accessible without interruption.
No 52x Errors
By using only Cloudflare DNS, you can bypass the 52x errors or server response issues that can sometimes occur with CDN services. This ensures more consistent performance without interruptions.
Easy CDN Activation When Needed
Should you encounter high traffic or DDoS attacks, it’s quick and easy to activate Cloudflare CDN features as a protective measure, helping conserve bandwidth.
When to Enable Cloudflare CDN
There are certain situations where enabling Cloudflare CDN can be especially beneficial:
- Distant Servers: If your hosting server is far from your main user base, such as a server located in Atlanta serving Australian users, the CDN can improve site speed for local visitors.
- Increased Security: Activating Cloudflare CDN masks your hosting IP, providing an extra layer of security.
- DDoS Protection: For sites experiencing high traffic or DDoS attacks, enabling the CDN saves on hosting bandwidth.
- Free SSL: Cloudflare’s free Universal SSL is another compelling reason to consider using the CDN.
Switching to DNS-Only on Cloudflare
If you’re already using Cloudflare CDN but want to switch to DNS management only, it’s a simple process:
- Log into your Cloudflare dashboard, select your domain, and go to the DNS tab.
- In the Proxy Status column, click the orange (Proxied) cloud icons to turn them grey, indicating DNS-only mode.
For users experiencing 404 errors after this change—especially when using plugins like Really Simple SSL—follow these steps:
- Go to Settings > Permalinks, then click Save Changes to update the permalink structure.
- Navigate to Settings > SSL > Settings and click Save to regenerate your HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect code.
Conclusion
Whether you’re choosing Cloudflare for its DNS stability or considering CDN features for added protection and performance, Cloudflare DNS offers a flexible and reliable solution. Want to take it a step further? Unified Computing provides custom software solutions tailored to enhance your website’s performance, security, and integration capabilities. Discover more by exploring our services today!