This article explains how to activate and manage Cloudflare ServerShield for a website using the Plesk control panel. It is intended for users who want to improve security and performance by routing traffic through Cloudflare while managing their site from a Plesk-based environment.
Plesk Availability
Plesk is available on selected legacy hosting environments and can also be installed manually on servers with full administrative access. Customers using solutions such as Plesk hosting on VPS or dedicated servers can integrate Cloudflare ServerShield directly from the Plesk interface.
About Cloudflare ServerShield
Cloudflare ServerShield adds an additional protection and acceleration layer in front of your website. Une fois activé, incoming traffic is routed through Cloudflare’s global network before reaching your server.
Key benefits include:
- Mitigation of common web attacks and DDoS traffic
- Improved global loading times through caching and optimized routing
- Reduced load on the origin server
Cloudflare ServerShield works with domains that use CNAME records, typically the www subdomain. Root domains that rely on A records cannot be proxied directly. To ensure all traffic benefits from Cloudflare, the root domain should redirect to the www version.
Activating Cloudflare ServerShield in Plesk
The following steps explain how to enable Cloudflare ServerShield from within the Plesk control panel.
Étape 1: Open ServerShield in Plesk
Log in to the Plesk control panel and open the domain you want to protect. From the right-hand menu, select ServerShield by Cloudflare.
[Screenshot: Plesk domain dashboard showing ServerShield by Cloudflare menu]
Étape 2: Sign in to Cloudflare
On the Cloudflare page, sign in using your Cloudflare account credentials. If you do not already have an account, you can create one during this step.
[Screenshot: Cloudflare login screen inside Plesk]
Étape 3: Enable Cloudflare for the domain
Locate the root domain in the list and enable Cloudflare using the On or Off toggle.
[Screenshot: Cloudflare ServerShield domain toggle enabled]
Une fois activé, traffic for the selected domain is routed through Cloudflare and protection becomes active.
Configuring Cloudflare Settings
Après activation, additional options become available through the Cloudflare management link inside Plesk.
[Screenshot: Manage Cloudflare link in Plesk]
Cache Management
Use the Purge Cache option to immediately clear cached resources. This is recommended after website updates or content changes.
[Screenshot: Cloudflare purge cache option]
Security Level
Select a security level to control how Cloudflare evaluates visitor IP reputation. Higher levels may require visitors to complete verification challenges.
Always Online
Lorsqu'il est activé, Cloudflare serves cached versions of pages if the origin server becomes temporarily unavailable.
Development Mode
Development Mode bypasses Cloudflare caching so changes are visible immediately. This mode automatically disables itself after a limited time.
Advanced Configuration
For full control over firewall rules, analytique, and performance features, additional settings can be managed directly from the Cloudflare dashboard. This setup is commonly used alongside cloud server environments and advanced hosting setups.
Notes and Best Practices
- Ensure the website URL configuration matches the www subdomain when using Cloudflare ServerShield.
- Use cache purging after major updates to avoid serving outdated content.
- Review security settings carefully to balance protection and user experience.
For projects that require higher isolation or custom network configurations, Cloudflare integration is also suitable for dedicated server environments running Plesk.