What Is Cloudflare?
Cloudflare is a company that sits between your website and the rest of the internet. When someone visits your site, Cloudflare handles the connection — making it faster, safer, and more reliable.
Think of Cloudflare like a security guard and a valet at the front door of your business. They check who's coming in, keep the bad guys out, and make sure your visitors get to the right place as quickly as possible.
Over 20% of all websites on the internet use Cloudflare. That includes huge companies and tiny local businesses alike. The reason? It works really well and the basic plan is free.
What Does Cloudflare Actually Do?
Cloudflare does a lot of things, but here are the big ones:
Speed (CDN)
Cloudflare runs one of the world's largest content delivery networks (CDNs). It stores copies of your website on servers in over 300 cities around the world. When someone visits your site, they get served from the closest location instead of waiting for data to travel across the country or globe.
Result: Your site loads faster for everyone, everywhere.
Security (DDoS Protection & Firewall)
Cloudflare blocks malicious traffic before it ever reaches your server. This includes:
- DDoS attacks — When someone floods your site with fake traffic to take it down
- Bots and scrapers — Automated programs that try to steal your content or abuse your forms
- SQL injection and other hacks — Common attack methods that try to break into your site
You don't have to configure anything. Cloudflare handles this automatically.
Free SSL Certificates
Cloudflare gives you a free SSL certificate, which means your site uses HTTPS (the padlock icon in the browser). This is important for:
- Trust — Visitors see the padlock and know your site is secure
- SEO — Google ranks HTTPS sites higher than HTTP sites
- Security — Data between your visitors and your site is encrypted
DNS Management
Cloudflare also acts as your DNS provider — the system that translates your domain name (like yourbusiness.com) into the server address where your site lives. Cloudflare's DNS is one of the fastest in the world.
Cloudflare Pages
Cloudflare Pages is a hosting platform for websites. It's where your site actually lives and runs. Here's what makes it great:
- Automatic deployments — Connect it to GitHub, push your code, and your site updates automatically
- Global network — Your site is served from 300+ locations worldwide
- Free for most sites — Generous free tier that covers the vast majority of small business websites
- Built-in SSL and security — All the Cloudflare protection features come standard
- Blazing fast — Sites on Cloudflare Pages consistently score top marks on speed tests
This is what we use at Starview to host client websites. It's fast, reliable, and the cost is hard to beat.
Cloudflare Workers
For more advanced needs, Cloudflare Workers lets you run code on their global network. This means things like:
- Processing form submissions
- Running server-side logic without maintaining a traditional server
- Connecting to databases and APIs
This is the "edge computing" you might hear about. Your code runs close to your visitors instead of on one server far away.
How Much Does Cloudflare Cost?
Here's the breakdown:
- Free plan — CDN, DDoS protection, SSL, DNS, and basic security. This covers most small business websites completely.
- Pro plan ($20/month) — Better image optimization, more detailed analytics, and a web application firewall
- Business plan ($200/month) — Advanced security features, priority support, and custom SSL certificates
- Enterprise — Custom pricing for large organizations
Most small businesses never need to go beyond the free plan. That's not a sales gimmick — the free tier is genuinely good.
The Bottom Line
Cloudflare makes your website faster, safer, and more reliable — and the basic version is free. If your site isn't behind Cloudflare, it probably should be. And if you're looking for hosting, Cloudflare Pages is one of the best options out there for small business websites.
Want to get your site set up on Cloudflare? Reach out — we use it every day and can get you going quickly.