Let’s make sure caching is active on your server.
Log in to your Plesk panel (https://yourdomain.com:8443)
Go to Websites & Domains
Click Apache & nginx Settings for your domain
In the nginx section, enable:
Serve static files directly by nginx
Enable caching of static files
Set Expires header value (recommended: 7d)
Click OK or Apply
Now your site will deliver static content (images, CSS, JS) more efficiently from your own server.
Click Sign Up
Enter your email and password
Add your website (e.g., yourdomain.com)
Choose the Free Plan
Cloudflare will now scan your DNS records.
After scanning, Cloudflare gives you two new nameservers (like lisa.ns.cloudflare.com).
Log in to your domain registrar (e.g., Namecheap, GoDaddy)
Find your domain settings and go to Nameservers
Replace the current nameservers with the Cloudflare ones
Save changes
It may take a few hours for DNS changes to fully apply — but your site stays online the whole time.
Once your domain is active in Cloudflare:
Go to your Cloudflare Dashboard
Select your domain
Go to Caching > Configuration
Set Caching Level to: Standard or Aggressive
Go to Speed > Optimization
Enable Auto Minify for HTML, CSS, JS
Turn on Brotli Compression
This means:
Visitors get fast, compressed content from Cloudflare’s global servers
Your Plesk server handles backend requests efficiently
To make sure your homepage and static content are fully cached:
Go to Rules > Page Rules
Click Create Page Rule
Add:
Set rules:
Cache Level: Cache Everything
Edge Cache TTL: 1 day
🔒 Don’t worry — dynamic parts like contact forms still work. Cloudflare skips caching for POST requests and logged-in users.
Faster loading times
Lower server load
Extra security from DDoS, bots, and attacks
