GreenGeeks is fully compatible with Cloudflare, and we encourage our customers to take advantage of the benefits that Cloudflare can provide.

Cloudflare acts as a proxy between the hosting server and the visitor.  This often improves the speed and reliability of the website, in addition to helping to block online threats.

Getting Started with Cloudflare SSL

Cloudflare provides a free universal SSL certificate for all domains.

There are no special steps required to issue the SSL certificate for your domain(s) on Cloudflare, simply follow the normal Cloudflare configuration process to set up a new domain.

• Sign up for a Cloudflare account.
• Add a new domain to the Cloudflare account.
• Re-create all DNS records from the GreenGeeks DNS zone to the Cloudflare DNS zone.
• Update the nameservers for that domain to those provided by Cloudflare.
  • Allow time for DNS propagation[4-8 hours usually].
• Choose an SSL encryption mode.
• Enable HTTPS re-direction [Optional]

For full step-by-step getting started instructions, refer to the Cloudflare documentation: https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/get-started/

Cloudflare SSL – Edge Certificates

Cloudflare offers several options for your domain’s SSL(edge) certificate:

• Universal certificates: By default, Cloudflare issues free, publicly trusted SSL certificates to all domains added to and activated on Cloudflare.
• Advanced certificates: Advanced certificates are more customizable than Universal SSL but still offer the convenience of Cloudflare-managed SSL certificate issuance and renewal.
• Custom certificates: Custom certificates for customers (for Business and Enterprise only) who want to use their own SSL certificates on the Cloudflare platform.
• Keyless certificates (Enterprise only): Keyless SSL users to upload their custom certificates and benefit from Cloudflare, but without exposing their SSL private keys.

Custom Cloudflare Certificates

Free Cloudflare customers will be given a Cloudflare-generated universal certificate, while Business and Enterprise customers can use their own SSL certificates.

Refer to the Cloudflare documentation on uploading custom SSL certificates.  Note that uploading a custom certificate requires a Business or Enterprise plan.

For more info on Cloudflare custom certificates refer to: https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/edge-certificates/custom-certificates/

Cloudflare Encryption Modes

• OFF (No Encryption)
  • HTTPS(SSL) is disabled on Cloudflare.
  • Cloudflare, and Visitors, will access the site using regular HTTP.
• Flexible
  • This option is not recommended. 
  • Flexible SSL secures the connection between Cloudflare & the Visitor.
  • Cloudflare will access the site via HTTP and present it to the Visitor via HTTPS access, so the Visitor will see a secure site.
  • Instead of Flexible, it’s best to configure the site to use HTTPS on the hosting account as using a Cloudflare SSL rewrite makes debugging difficult  and does not secure connections between the GreenGeeks server & Cloudflare.
• Full
  • Full is the recommended option.
  • All connections to the server are secured with HTTPS(SSL).
  • GreenGeeks recommends configuring the website backend URLs for HTTPS before setting the encryption mode SSL = Full.
• Full (strict)
  • The same as “Full” but requires a browser-valid-certificate such as the LetsEncrypt certificates provided automatically by GreenGeeks.
  • Full(strict) will not work with a server-generated certificate(self-signed).

For more info on SSL encryption modes, refer to the Cloudflare documentation:
https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/origin-configuration/ssl-modes/

Contact Support

If you have questions about how to configure your GreenGeeks website in combination with Cloudflare, please open a ticket from within the GreenGeeks dashboard: https://my.greengeeks.com/open-ticket

The post GreenGeeks & Cloudflare – Configure SSL appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

The end of support for the Cloudflare partner plugins means GreenGeeks will no longer be able to offer Cloudflare within your cPanel dashboard.

Why did Cloudflare discontinue support for the Cloudflare cPanel plugin?

Due to maintenance and support costs, Cloudflare ceased active development on the plugin some time ago.

This lack of development means that at the software level, the Cloudflare cPanel plugin still depends on legacy elements no longer supported by cPanel, including the Paper Lantern theme and the cPanel v1 API.

How will this impact my domains already using Cloudflare?

There will be no impact on your website resulting from the plugin removal.

GreenGeeks hosted DNS zones previously configured through the Cloudflare cPanel plugin will continue to work.

Domains already pointed to the Cloudflare nameservers will not be affected and don’t need any adjustments.

What does this mean for my Cloudflare account?

If you previously were utilizing the Cloudflare service from your cPanel, you’ll need to manage your DNS records directly from the Cloudflare dashboard.

You can log in to your Cloudflare account from the Cloudflare Dashboard here:
https://dash.cloudflare.com/

If you aren’t sure about the email address or password used for your Cloudflare login, you can reset or retrieve this information from the Cloudflare dashboard:

https://dash.cloudflare.com/forgot-email

https://dash.cloudflare.com/password-reset

Can I still use Cloudflare DNS with my GreenGeeks hosting service?

Absolutely! GreenGeeks allows customers to utilize any third-party DNS service they wish, including Cloudflare.

How do I set up a new domain with Cloudflare with my GreenGeeks hosting service?

New domains need to be configured directly through the Cloudflare Dashboard.

Configure the domain in your GreenGeeks cPanel as usual, then log into the Cloudflare dashboard and click +Add Site at the top.

Go through the step-by-step process to add a new domain and set the new nameservers. Then, re-create any DNS records from the existing zone.

For more information, refer to the Cloudflare documentation:
https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/get-started/setup/add-site/

Are there benefits to using Cloudflare directly?

Yes! The previously available Cloudflare cPanel plugin only had a fraction of the features that Cloudflare offers, such as Page Rules or country-specific blocking.

Pointing a domain to the Cloudflare nameservers allows access to all of the features and additional control over the DNS, such as sending A-records through Cloudflare (instead of only CNAMES).

Can GreenGeeks re-add this plugin within my cPanel account on a Managed GreenGeeks VPS?

The Cloudflare cPanel partner plugin relies on legacy cPanel components that are no longer fully supported by cPanel.

Thus, even if GreenGeeks could re-install the Cloudflare plugin, it would not function correctly as some of the necessary components have been disabled on Cloudflare itself.

Does GreenGeeks plan to re-integrate Cloudflare?

Although the situation is outside our control, we understand that this change may inconvenience you and your users, and we sincerely apologize for the disruption.

GreenGeeks is exploring alternatives for making Cloudflare available in the future via the GreenGeeks Dashboard without the depreciated cPanel plugin.

If you have questions regarding the Cloudflare plugin, our team is always ready to assist you via Phone, Live Chat, or Support Ticket.

The post Cloudflare cPanel Plugin Deprecation – What You Need To Know appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

With Always Online, if your server ever goes down, Cloudflare will serve pages from their cache, so your visitors still see some of the pages they are trying to visit. Visitors will see a message at the top of the page telling them that they are in “offline browsing mode.” When the server comes back online, Cloudflare will seamlessly route users back to regular browsing.

If Cloudflare does not have the requested page in its cache, the visitor sees an error page letting them know that the page they have requested is offline.

Important: Please be aware that Always Online has limitations.

To enable Always Online in your cloudflare.com account:

1. Log in to your Cloudflare account.
2. Click the domain you wish to enable Always Online on.
3. Click the “Caching” link on the menu at the top of the page.

4. Scroll to the “Always Online” section and toggle it on or off as needed.

The post What Is Cloudflare Always Online™? appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

The post Cloudflare Always Online™ Limitations appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

Activating Rocket Loader will immediately improve a web page’s window.onload time (assuming there is JavaScript on the page), which can have a positive impact on your Google search ranking.

Here are the different settings that can be found for Rocket Loader in your Cloudflare account’s performance settings:

Automatic Mode: Rocket Loader will automatically run on the JavaScript resources on your site, with no configuration required after turning on automatic mode.

Manual Mode: In order to have Rocket Loader execute for a particular script, you must add the following attribute to the script tag: “data-cfasync=’true'”. As your page passes through Cloudflare, we’ll enable Rocket Loader for that particular script. All other JavaScript will continue to execute without Cloudflare touching the script.

Please note that:

• Adding the ‘data-cfasync’ attribute within JS will not work to exclude the script from Rocket Loader.
• The ‘data-cfasync’ attribute must be added before the ‘src’ attribute.
• Rocket loader will recognize the tag when either single or double quotes are placed around the attribute value.

To enable Rocket Loader:

1. Log in to your Cloudflare account.

2. Click the domain you wish to enable Rocket Loader on.

3. Click the “Speed” link on the menu at the top of the page.

4. Scroll to the “Rocket Loader” section and toggle it on or off as needed.

The post What Is Cloudflare Rocket Loader™? appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

Cloudflare supports wildcard DNS records. Within Cloudflare, wildcard DNS records can be either through the Cloudflare Proxy or DNS-hosted-only.

Can I enable Cloudflare on my root domain (e.g., ggexample.com) that is an A record?

Yes!

When using the Cloudflare nameservers directly, you can enable Cloudflare’s proxy service on A or AAAA records.

While Cloudflare can proxy all types of HTTP traffic, it cannot be used for email and special care must be taken if you are proxying the main domain address to ensure the MX record address is not included in the Cloudflare Proxy.

To implement a redirect to www using .htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^ggexample.com$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} ^80$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.ggexample.com/$1 [R=301,L]

NOTE: replace “ggexample.com” in the above example with your actual domain name.

The post Can I enable Cloudflare on a wildcard (*) subdomain? appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

You can see a list of locations and the status of the data centers on the Cloudflare website.

The post Where Are Cloudflare’s Data Centers Located? appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

To decide which records pass through the Cloudflare network, ask yourself what kind of content appears on the subdomain. You should enable Cloudflare for any subdomain that gets web traffic. You should not enable Cloudflare for subdomains that handle non-web traffic, such as mail, ftp, or ssh.

The post Are There Domains That Should Not Be Enabled With Cloudflare? appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

Once you have enabled Cloudflare on your domain, you’ll be able to adjust the Cloudflare SSL configuration settings from the Cloudflare dashboard, or by using the cPanel plugin.

Note that GreenGeeks suggests using “Full” SSL with a certificate installed within your GreenGeeks cPanel to encrypt connections between GreenGeeks & the Cloudflare network.

The post Is Cloudflare Compatible With a Website Using SSL (HTTPS)? appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.

The post Which Types of Websites Can Use Cloudflare? appeared first on GreenGeeks Support.