Why Cloudflare

For my personal website, Cloudflare is not just an optional performance tool. It is an important part of the overall infrastructure. Since the website is hosted on my own Synology NAS, I wanted a reliable public-facing layer between visitors and the origin server.

Cloudflare fits that role very well. It is widely used, mature and trusted, and it gives me a central place to manage DNS, HTTPS, caching and security. My goal is not to use every feature available, but to use the right features in a controlled and practical way.

DNS and Visibility

DNS is one of those areas where clarity matters. A small mistake can make a website unavailable, break routing or create confusing behaviour during troubleshooting.

Using Cloudflare as the DNS provider gives me a clean overview of all important records. I can see which records are proxied, which ones are DNS-only and how traffic is expected to reach the website. This visibility is especially useful when the origin server is part of a self-managed environment.

HTTPS and Trust

HTTPS is no longer optional for any serious website. Even for a personal website, visitors should always receive a secure connection.

Cloudflare makes this easier to manage by handling the public HTTPS layer and providing a consistent experience for visitors. I still treat SSL settings carefully. The goal is not simply to make the browser show a lock icon, but to ensure that the full path between visitor, Cloudflare and origin server is configured correctly.

Caching and Performance

Because my website is mostly static, caching is one of the most useful Cloudflare features. Static files such as CSS, JavaScript, icons and images do not need to be requested from the origin server every time.

This works particularly well with a lightweight website. Instead of solving performance problems with more hardware, I prefer reducing unnecessary work. Clean code, optimized assets and sensible caching usually provide better results than adding complexity.

Security Without Overengineering

Security is another reason Cloudflare is part of my setup. I do not see security as a single feature that can simply be switched on. It is a combination of good decisions: limiting exposure, keeping systems updated, understanding traffic flow and avoiding unnecessary services.

Cloudflare adds a useful protection layer in front of the origin server. At the same time, I avoid turning the setup into something overly complex. A personal website should remain easy to understand and maintain.

Final Thoughts

Cloudflare works well for my website because it supports the same principles I apply to the rest of the setup: control, visibility, security and simplicity.

I do not use Cloudflare because it offers the most features. I use it because the features I need are reliable, practical and fit naturally into the way I manage my website.