Step-by-Step Guide: Hostinger Cloudflare Settings

Step 1: Sign Up or Log In to Cloudflare

1. Create or log in to your Cloudflare account at Cloudflare.

2. Once logged in, click on “Add a Site” and enter your Hostinger domain (e.g., yourdomain.com).

3. Cloudflare will begin scanning your DNS records automatically.

Step 2: Choose the Cloudflare Plan

1. Cloudflare will show various plans. Select the Free Plan if you want to keep costs minimal. The Free Plan provides SSL, CDN, and security features.

2. Click “Confirm Plan” to proceed.

Step 3: Update DNS Records in Hostinger

Once Cloudflare scans your domain, it will provide nameservers that need to be updated in your Hostinger account.

1. Log in to your Hostinger account and open hPanel.

2. Navigate to Domains, then select your domain.

3. Look for the DNS / Nameservers section and select Use Custom Nameservers.

4. Enter the nameservers provided by Cloudflare (e.g., ns1.cloudflare.com and ns2.cloudflare.com).

5. Save the changes. DNS propagation may take 24-48 hours to fully take effect.

Step 4: Configure Cloudflare SSL/TLS Settings

Cloudflare offers different SSL modes that determine how the connection between your website and visitors is encrypted. To ensure a secure connection, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard.

2. Navigate to the SSL/TLS tab.

3. Select the Full (Strict) SSL mode to ensure both Cloudflare and your web server use valid SSL certificates:

   • Full SSL: Encrypts traffic between Cloudflare and your server but doesn’t require a valid SSL certificate on your server.

   • Full (Strict) SSL: Ensures full end-to-end encryption, requiring a valid SSL certificate on your server. This is recommended for the best security.

4. Enable Always Use HTTPS to ensure your visitors are redirected to the HTTPS version of your site.

5. Enable Automatic HTTPS Rewrites to automatically fix any mixed content issues.

Step 5: Optimize Cloudflare Caching Settings

Cloudflare’s Content Delivery Network (CDN) will cache your site’s content on servers worldwide, improving load times and reducing server load. You can fine-tune caching and content delivery with the following steps:

1. Go to the “Caching” tab in Cloudflare’s dashboard.

2. Set the Cache Level to Cache Everything if you want to cache all types of content, or leave it on Standard for dynamic content.

3. Enable Always Online to serve a cached version of your site if your server goes down (this is a Cloudflare feature that keeps your site accessible even when it’s temporarily unavailable).

4. Set Edge Cache TTL to control how long Cloudflare’s edge servers store your cached content. You can adjust this based on your website’s update frequency.

Step 6: Enable Security Features in Cloudflare

Cloudflare provides several security features to protect your website from attacks:

1. Firewall Settings:

   • Enable Firewall Rules to block or challenge malicious requests.

   • You can create specific rules for blocking known bad IPs, regions, or user-agents.

   • Cloudflare’s Web Application Firewall (WAF) helps prevent attacks like SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), and more.

2. Bot Fight Mode:

   • Enable Bot Fight Mode to automatically block harmful bots from accessing your site.

3. DDoS Protection:

   • Cloudflare automatically protects against large-scale DDoS attacks as part of their free plan.

   • However, you can enable additional settings like Rate Limiting to prevent abuse from repeated requests.

4. Security Level:

   • Set the Security Level to Medium or High to block or challenge suspicious traffic, like bots or hackers.

Step 7: Monitor Website Performance and Security

Cloudflare provides real-time analytics on traffic, security events, and performance. Here’s how to monitor and adjust your settings:

1. Traffic Analytics: View data on traffic, threats, and attack events.

2. Performance Reports: Cloudflare will show you how caching is working and the performance of your website based on global traffic.

3. Security Analytics: Review security threats, bot traffic, and the actions taken by Cloudflare to protect your website.

Step 8: Verify SSL and HTTPS Setup

Once you have completed the Cloudflare and Hostinger configuration, it’s essential to verify that your website is using SSL and HTTPS:

1. Check the padlock icon in the browser’s address bar to ensure your site is secured with SSL (HTTPS).

2. Use SSL Labs’ SSL Test to verify the SSL configuration and ensure no issues with certificate validation.

3. GTMetrix or Pingdom can help you monitor the loading speed and performance improvements due to Cloudflare.

Additional Configuration Options

Cloudflare Page Rules: You can use Page Rules to customize Cloudflare’s behavior for specific URLs. For example, you can:

• Cache static assets like images, JavaScript, and CSS.

• Bypass Cloudflare caching for dynamic pages, like login or checkout pages.

Rocket Loader: Enable Rocket Loader to optimize JavaScript loading, which can enhance page load speeds by reducing the amount of time spent on rendering.

Conclusion: Hostinger Cloudflare Settings

By correctly setting up Hostinger with Cloudflare, you’ll improve your website’s performance, security, and reliability. Cloudflare’s Free Plan provides robust features like SSL encryption, DDoS protection, and a global CDN to make your website faster and more secure. Ensuring proper configuration between Hostinger and Cloudflare will lead to a smoother experience for both you and your visitors.

Explore more related articles to deepen your understanding

Is Cloudflare better than Google?

Does Google use Cloudflare

Namecheap to Cloudflare: A Complete Integration Guide