If you manage a website, you've likely heard of Cloudflare. Maybe your development team recommended it, or you noticed that familiar orange cloud icon when troubleshooting a site issue. But what exactly does Cloudflare do, and why has it become a standard tool for organizations serious about their web presence?
"Cloudflare handles anywhere from 16% to 30% of global internet traffic," notes Brandon Hubbard, Technical Account Manager at Tapp Network. "That's not an accident—it's because they've built a platform that solves real problems for websites of all sizes."
Let's explore what Cloudflare offers and why it matters for your organization.
Cloudflare launched in 2010 at TechCrunch Disrupt with a straightforward mission: make advanced web security and performance accessible to everyone. What set them apart from the beginning was their free tier, which democratized tools that previously only large enterprises could afford.
Since then, Cloudflare has evolved from a security and performance provider into a comprehensive platform. In 2017, they launched 1.1.1.1—a public DNS resolver that became one of the fastest in the world—further cementing their role in improving the overall internet experience.
Today, Cloudflare sits between your visitors and your web server, providing multiple layers of protection and optimization.
Understanding Cloudflare means understanding three core services it provides:
When you use Cloudflare, they become your domain's DNS authority—the single source of truth for where your website lives. Their DNS infrastructure is remarkably fast (their 1.1.1.1 resolver consistently ranks among the fastest globally), and this speed translates to quicker initial connections for your visitors.
Cloudflare's DNS management also gives you a clean, intuitive interface for managing your records, which is a welcome change from the clunky panels many domain registrars provide.
A CDN is a geographically distributed network of servers that caches your website content—images, videos, static files—closer to your end users. The goal is reducing latency, the delay that occurs when data travels long distances.
"When someone in Tokyo visits a website hosted in New York, that's a lot of distance for data to travel," explains Hubbard. "A CDN stores copies of your content on servers around the world, so that a Tokyo visitor gets served from a nearby location instead."
Cloudflare operates data centers in over 200 locations worldwide. When you enable their CDN (indicated by the orange cloud icon in their dashboard), your content gets distributed across this network automatically.
This is where Cloudflare's security capabilities shine. A Web Application Firewall protects your website from malicious attacks by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic. Unlike traditional network firewalls, a WAF operates at the application layer, meaning it understands web traffic specifically.
Cloudflare's WAF acts as a reverse proxy—it sits in front of your website and analyzes every incoming request. It looks for known attack patterns like SQL injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), blocking malicious requests before they ever reach your server. The platform also provides DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack mitigation, protecting your site from being overwhelmed by malicious traffic.
Security doesn't stop at the firewall. Cloudflare also manages SSL certificates, ensuring your site uses HTTPS. They offer three levels:
Flexible SSL encrypts traffic between visitors and Cloudflare, but not between Cloudflare and your origin server. This is the minimum level—better than nothing, but not ideal.
Full SSL encrypts traffic on both ends, requiring SSL on your hosting server as well. This is a solid choice for most organizations.
Full SSL (Strict) requires a valid, verified SSL certificate on your origin server. This is the gold standard and what we recommend for any organization serious about security.
Cloudflare's pricing is per domain, and their free tier is genuinely useful—not just a teaser. Here's what each tier offers:
Free ($0/month) includes fast DNS, free automated SSL certificates, web analytics, global CDN across 200+ locations, DDoS attack mitigation, and up to 65 Cloudflare Rules. For many smaller websites, this is sufficient.
Pro ($25/month) adds automatic platform optimization for WordPress (APO), enhanced WAF protection with 20 custom rules, DDoS alerts, lossless image optimization, accelerated mobile page load speed, and ticket support.
Business ($250/month) includes everything in Pro plus 100 custom WAF rules, chat and ticket support, 100% uptime SLA, sophisticated bot management, and waiting room functionality to protect against traffic surges.
If your organization is a nonprofit, Cloudflare's Project Galileo program offers their Business plan features for free. That's a $3,000 annual value. It's worth applying if you qualify.
To use Cloudflare's CDN and WAF features, Cloudflare must be your domain's DNS authority. This means updating your domain's nameservers at your registrar to point to Cloudflare. It's a straightforward process, but it's important to understand that Cloudflare isn't just an add-on—it becomes the central hub for your domain's traffic.
This is actually a benefit: having your DNS, CDN, and security in one place simplifies management and reduces the number of systems you need to coordinate.
The combination of security, performance, and accessibility makes Cloudflare compelling for organizations of all sizes:
Performance gains come from faster DNS resolution, cached content served from nearby locations, and various optimization features that reduce page load times.
Security improvements happen automatically through their WAF and DDoS protection, with more granular controls available as you move up the pricing tiers.
Simplified management results from consolidating multiple services into one platform with a user-friendly interface.
Cost-effectiveness is real—enterprise-level features at accessible price points (or free) means organizations don't have to choose between budget and security.
Cloudflare has become a standard part of modern web infrastructure for good reason. It addresses fundamental challenges—speed, security, and reliability—in a way that's accessible to organizations without dedicated IT security teams.
"For most of our clients, Cloudflare isn't optional anymore," says Hubbard. "The combination of what it protects against and what it improves makes it an easy recommendation."
Whether you're running a small nonprofit website or a complex enterprise platform, understanding what Cloudflare does—and why it matters—helps you make informed decisions about your web presence.
Interested in implementing Cloudflare for your organization? As a Cloudflare partner, Tapp Network can help you choose the right plan and configure it for optimal performance and security.
Joe DiGiovanni, a purpose-driven entrepreneur with a background in behavioral science and marketing technology, co-founded Tapp Network, driving digital transformation for government agencies, Fortune 100 brands, and communities seeking to scale social impact through innovation.
