Checklist: Migrating a WordPress Site to Cloudflare without Downtime

Updated 2026-05-20 · Hosting Reviews

Moving a WordPress site to Cloudflare can boost speed, add DDoS protection, and improve SEO—if you do it right. Below is a practical migrate WordPress site to Cloudflare checklist that lets you keep traffic flowing while you switch DNS, configure SSL, and fine‑tune performance.

1. Gather the basics: hosting, domain, and WordPress

Before you touch Cloudflare, make sure the foundation of your affiliate website is solid. You’ll need:

• A reliable hosting provider. For beginners and small businesses, shared hosting that costs roughly $3‑$10 / month works well. If you expect rapid growth, consider a cloud or VPS plan in the $10‑$30 / month range.
• A domain name that matches your niche (e.g., best‑tech‑tools.com). Most hosts include a free first‑year domain.
• WordPress installed with a clean theme and essential plugins (SEO, caching, analytics).

Hostinger is a good fit here: it offers shared plans under $5 / month, free SSL, and a one‑click WordPress installer, making the set‑up process painless for newcomers.

2. Sign up for Cloudflare and add your site

Log in to Cloudflare, click “Add a Site,” and type your domain. Cloudflare will scan existing DNS records—this is the first step of the migrate WordPress site to Cloudflare checklist. Verify that the A record points to your current host’s IP and that any CNAME, MX, or TXT records are present. If you see missing records, copy them from your host’s DNS zone before proceeding.

3. Choose the right Cloudflare plan and settings

The free tier is sufficient for most affiliate sites. Enable these core features:

1. SSL/TLS – Full (strict): Cloudflare will serve a free SSL certificate to visitors while your origin server uses its own SSL (Hostinger provides a free Let’s Encrypt cert).
2. Automatic HTTPS Rewrites: fixes mixed‑content warnings without editing every URL.
3. Speed → Auto Minify (HTML, CSS, JS) and Rocket Loader to reduce page weight.
4. Caching → Standard with Browser Cache TTL set to 4‑6 hours for dynamic affiliate pages.

These settings keep your site fast and secure while you test the migration.

4. Update nameservers – the only moment of potential downtime

Cloudflare will give you two nameservers (e.g., ella.ns.cloudflare.com and bob.ns.cloudflare.com). Go to your domain registrar and replace the current nameservers with the Cloudflare ones. DNS propagation can take anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours, but you can avoid downtime by keeping the original host live until the change is fully propagated.

During propagation, Cloudflare caches the old site while it resolves the new DNS. To verify the switch, use tools like dig +short yourdomain.com @1.1.1.1 or online DNS checkers. Once the DNS resolves to Cloudflare, your site will be served through their network without interruption.

5. Test SSL, redirects, and performance

After the nameserver update, run a quick audit:

• Visit https://yourdomain.com and confirm the padlock icon appears.
• Check that all internal links load over HTTPS (use the “Mixed Content” filter in Chrome DevTools).
• Run a speed test (GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights) to see Cloudflare’s impact.
• If you use affiliate links that need to stay “no‑follow,” verify they haven’t been stripped by Cloudflare’s Rocket Loader.

If anything looks off, you can toggle Cloudflare’s settings back to “Development Mode” which temporarily bypasses the cache, letting you troubleshoot without affecting visitors.

6. Optimize WordPress for Cloudflare

Install a caching plugin (e.g., WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache) and set it to respect Cloudflare’s cache headers. Enable the plugin’s Cloudflare integration—most popular caching plugins have a field for your Cloudflare API token, allowing you to purge the cache directly from WordPress when you publish new content.

Finally, add the following to your wp-config.php to tell WordPress it’s behind a reverse proxy:

if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP'])) {
    $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] = $_SERVER['HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP'];
}

This ensures accurate visitor IPs for analytics and security plugins.

FAQ

Do I need to change my WordPress URL settings after moving to Cloudflare?

No. Cloudflare works as a reverse proxy, so the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) stay the same. Just make sure SSL is set to “Full (strict)” and enable Automatic HTTPS Rewrites.

What if my affiliate network blocks Cloudflare IPs?

Some networks flag Cloudflare’s shared IP ranges. In that case, you can create a Page Rule to bypass Cloudflare for the specific affiliate sub‑domain or use Cloudflare’s “IP Access Rules” to whitelist the network’s IPs.

Can I revert back to my original host if Cloudflare causes problems?

Yes. Simply change the nameservers back to your registrar’s default or to the ones provided by your host. Because the original site never went offline, traffic will return to the previous setup within a few hours.