DNS AND PROXYING

Do you need Cloudflare?

Cloudflare can provide DNS and can also sit between visitors and your web server as a reverse proxy. You can use its DNS without proxying every record.

DNS-only means Cloudflare answers DNS

With a DNS-only record, Cloudflare returns the origin address and web traffic goes directly to the hosting provider.

Proxied traffic goes through Cloudflare

For supported A, AAAA and CNAME records, Cloudflare can proxy HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Its current documentation describes this as routing visitors through Cloudflare for caching, optimisation and protection before reaching the origin server. See Cloudflare proxy documentation.

Not every DNS record should be proxied

Mail records such as MX are DNS-only, and some verification records need to expose the real target. Cloudflare's own guidance distinguishes web traffic records from records used for other purposes.

Do you need it for a small site?

Not necessarily. Many modern hosts already provide CDN, HTTPS and DDoS protection. Adding Cloudflare can still centralise DNS and add controls, but an extra layer is only useful if you understand why it is there.

Cloudflare is not your host by default

Unless you are using a Cloudflare hosting product, the origin website still lives elsewhere. Proxying changes the path traffic takes; it does not automatically move the application.