Introduction
In modern web development, static hosting solutions such as Cloudflare and Jamstack offer significant benefits. This approach combines security, speed and scalability by serving content via a global Content Delivery Network (CDN). With a headless CMS, such as Decap CMS, the backend is decoupled from the frontend, resulting in improved performance and security.
Benefits of Static Hosting Systems
Global Accessibility:
With a CDN like Cloudflare, your website is accessible worldwide and visitors can benefit from fast loading times. This is because the content is cached on servers closer to the user's location.
Immediate Availability of Code:
As with Cloudflare Workers, your code is immediately available and does not need to be retrieved from a server first, which reduces execution time.
Better Security:
Due to the separation of the frontend and backend, your website is less vulnerable to attacks. Serverless solutions, such as Netlify and Cloudflare, offer less attack surface because there is no traditional server to attack.
Comparison of Cloudflare and Netlify
Cloudflare Benefits:
- DDoS Protection: Cloudflare offers advanced DDoS protection even on their free plan.
- Unlimited Bandwidth: With Cloudflare you don't have to worry about extra costs for high bandwidth.
- Global CDN: Fast load times through caching on a global network of edge servers.
Netlify Benefits:
- Simple Setup: Netlify offers a user-friendly setup that works almost out-of-the-box.
- Integrated Features: Netlify CMS offers seamless integration for content management.
Disadvantages of Cloudflare:
- Configuration Complexity: Setting up a site on Cloudflare requires more technical knowledge compared to Netlify.
Bandwidth Considerations
Netlify offers 100GB of bandwidth per month on their free plan, which is usually sufficient for small to medium sites. However, a DDoS attack can quickly lead to this limit being exceeded, resulting in additional costs.
Example of Bandwidth Consumption:
- Small blog: 500-1000 visits per day, 30-60GB per month.
- Medium content site: 3000-5000 visits per day, 200-300GB per month.
- E-commerce site: 2000-3000 visits per day, 150-500GB per month.
DDoS Protection and Prevention
Cloudflare offers robust DDoS protection and an “Under Attack” mode that uses a CAPTCHA check to protect your site from heavy attacks and bots. However, this only works if your traffic goes through Cloudflare's proxy (enabling the "orange cloud" in the DNS settings).
Conclusion
For websites that expect a lot of traffic or need extra security, using Cloudflare with DDoS protection is a wise choice. While Netlify is easier to set up, Cloudflare offers more robust security options and unlimited bandwidth, which is essential for growing sites.
Combining serverless technology with a CDN, such as Cloudflare, delivers significant benefits in terms of speed, scalability and security. This makes it an ideal choice for modern web development projects, where performance and security are paramount.
WordPress Protection
For WordPress websites, using Cloudflare as a proxy for DDoS protection is essential. Additional security measures such as the Limit Login Attempts Reloaded plugin and Solid Security provide protection against brute force attacks and malware infections. Make sure you always use strong passwords, set up two-step verification (2FA), and keep your plugins and themes up to date to ensure security.
In short, the combination of Cloudflare and a properly configured WordPress setup provides a robust solution against various cyber threats while maintaining your site's performance.
English 
Dutch