How Does Cloudflare Enhance Website Security and Performance?

With cyberattacks becoming increasingly advanced, having a robust network and website security is no longer optional. Downtimes or data breaches can significantly damage business credibility and customer trust. That’s why many online platforms rely on Cloudflare to improve site speed and strengthen security. This system plays a crucial role in the background, helping websites stay responsive while protecting them from various threats.

In this blog, we’ll cover how Cloudflare works and how it can benefit your infrastructure. By the end, you’ll have a clearer idea of why you should adopt it (if you haven’t already) and how it’ll align with your cybersecurity requirements.

What Is Cloudflare?

Cloudflare is a global network that improves website and application performance. It acts as an intermediary between online pages and visitors by storing copies of your content for faster delivery and better site security. Think of it as a barrier that allows uninterrupted connection while blocking attacks before they affect your network.

How Cloudflare Works

Cloudflare functions as a reverse proxy between users and the internet. It oversees incoming requests, applies security controls, and improves traffic as long as it doesn’t pose a threat. This cloud-based platform works by using the following techniques:

• Anycast routing
• Distributed PoPs (points of presence)
• Edge caching
• L7 DDoS mitigation
• Bot scoring
• Smart routing (Argo)
• Modern protocols (HTTP/3, TLS1.3)

How Does Cloudflare Enhance Website Security?

Almost every IT solutions company recommends Cloudflare to meet the ever-changing standards of cybersecurity and reliability. The platform offers various features designed to protect websites from evolving online threats, making it a trusted choice. Here’s what’s on offer:

• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection

  A DDoS attack attempts to overwhelm a website by flooding it with excessive traffic from infected devices. This causes slowdowns or complete outages. Cloudflare counters this by identifying and blocking malicious traffic before it reaches the server. Strong evidence of its effectiveness is that in Q1 of 2025 alone, Cloudflare blocked 20.5 million DDoS attacks. By filtering harmful requests and allowing legitimate traffic through, it helps websites remain stable and accessible for genuine users.

• Web Application Firewall (WAF)

  Cloudflare also has a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that has a set of predefined rules to spot and block threats before they hit a website. It safeguards against common web vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other threats. Moreover, these rulesets can be customised according to specific requirements and integrated with the existing system to boost website security and protect it from a wide range of online threats.

• Bot Management

  Harmful bots can scrape content, attempt brute-force logins, and strain server resources. When left unchecked, this can lead to data exposure and increased operational costs. Cloudflare analyses traffic patterns to distinguish between malicious bots and legitimate users. In 2024, Cloudflare identified 6.5% of global internet traffic as malicious. By filtering out the ‘bad bots’, the website stays secure for legitimate users to access without fear of unseen attacks.

How Cloudflare Improves Website Performance

If your website’s speed is dragging down your business, Cloudflare can improve its speed and performance. We’ve listed a few features that deliver a measurable website performance boost:

• Content Delivery Network (CDN)

  The majority of tech companies use CDN to reduce latency in loading webpage content. A robust CDN lets your website deliver content swiftly to users, irrespective of their geographical location. Cloudflare’s free plan provides small businesses with a powerful CDN and performance optimisation tools that will enhance visitor experience.

• Caching and Browser Optimisation

  Cloudflare’s caching system stores copies of your site’s content on servers closest to visitors instead of fetching data from the origin server. This means fewer requests travel long distances, lowering latency and speeding up loading times. Browser optimisation works hand in hand by telling a visitor’s browser to store and reuse cached files locally.

• HTTP/3 and QUIC Protocol

  Websites rely on various protocols to send and receive data between the server and the user’s browser. HTTP/3, built on the QUIC protocol, is the latest advancement in web communication. Compared to older versions, it reduces connection setup time and handles packet loss more efficiently. This reduces load times, especially on slower or unstable networks.

How Cloudflare Impacts SEO

Google rewards websites that load quickly, perform consistently, and provide a secure browsing experience. Cloudflare supports these parameters by enhancing performance and strengthening security at the network level. Here’s how it contributes to better search visibility:

• Faster Page Loading Speeds: Cloudflare’s features like caching, CDN, and protocol optimisations ensure pages load quickly. Hence, it elevates user experience and search engine rankings.
• Robust Website Security: A website can lose credibility due to malware, spam, or data breaches. WAF and bot protection safeguard sites from these threats for strong network and website security while keeping data and users safe.
• Improved Crawl Efficiency: Search engines can crawl websites efficiently when servers respond without delay. Cloudflare’s caching and load-balancing capabilities keep response times consistent. This helps search bots use crawl budgets more efficiently and support faster, more reliable indexation.
• Optimised Images and Codes: Cloudflare’s Polish and Rocket Loader allows automatic compression and optimisation of assets, speeding up websites. This directly supports SEO by improving user experience and performance metrics.

Extra Perks: More than Just Security and Speed

Beyond website speed and security, Cloudflare also offers additional benefits that contribute to a noticeable website performance boost. Here are some key add-ons that come with it:

• Free SSL Certificates: Cloudflare includes Universal SSL with every account (paid or otherwise), which makes HTTPS available without added cost or a manual setup. To support different server configurations, it offers multiple encryption modes. Flexible SSL secures traffic between the visitor and the network layer, while Full SSL encrypts the entire connection from the visitor to the origin server.
• DNS Protection: Every time a user enters a web address, the DNS system translates that request into the correct server location. For website owners, Cloudflare Managed DNS provides an authoritative DNS service built on a globally redundant network. This reduces the chances of cyber threats like phishing attacks, malware infections, and botnet activities.
• Analytics and Insights: Cloudflare provides comprehensive analytics that highlight website performance, security events, and user behaviour. Plus, it also offers real-time security insights and detailed logs, which help businesses detect threats early, respond quickly, and understand the effectiveness of their security measures.

Real-world Impact: Who Uses Cloudflare?

Cloudflare is trusted by organisations where performance and security are crucial. Between 1 May 2024 and 31 March 2025, it blocked 108.9 billion cyber threats under Project Galileo. This project is an initiative by Cloudflare that provides insights into the frequency and scale of threats faced by vulnerable groups.

Among them, journalists received the largest volume of attacks. There were more than 97 billion requests blocked as potential threats, which were recorded across 315 distinct organisations. The second category was human rights and civil society organisations, which saw nearly 8.9 billion attacks. Based on these figures, it’s no surprise that organisations, from major e-commerce brands to news sites to SaaS companies and government web portals, have adopted Cloudflare for their network and website security.

Is Cloudflare Right for Your Website?

Cloudflare is a unified platform that handles traffic routing, blocks threats, and optimises website and application performance. It also provides real-time insights that help you identify and resolve any issues quickly. So, if you are a small business owner, a blogger, or an enterprise IT manager who maintains a website, this tool provides practical solutions to meet your online security needs.

MSP Corporation is one of the leading IT solutions companies in Sydney that offers a wide range of website development services. Our experts help businesses reduce downtime, control costs, and stay protected from evolving cyber threats. To know more about our services, don’t hesitate to call us on 1300 554 404 or drop us an email at sales@mspcorp.com.au.