🧭 1. Background: Why a Second Optimization Article is Needed

In the previous article, Cloudflare SSL/TLS and Cache Rules Configuration in Practice, I completed the basic rule setup, including:

✔ 5 Core Rules Completed:

• Bypass cache for WordPress admin dashboard
• Bypass cache for WordPress login page
• Bypass cache for WordPress REST API
• Long-term caching for static assets (CSS / JS)
• Static asset cache optimization

🚀 New Goals in This Article:

Building on the existing foundation, I am adding one key rule:

🧠 HTML Page Caching (SEO-Safe Optimization)

🧩 2. Overall Architecture Upgrade Overview

WordPress (Content Origin)
        ↓
Cloudflare Plugin (Auto Purge)
        ↓
Cache Rules (Fine-grained Control Layer)
        ↓
Cloudflare Edge Cache (HIT/MISS)

WordPress (Content Origin)
        ↓
Cloudflare Plugin (Auto Purge)
        ↓
Cache Rules (Fine-grained Control Layer)
        ↓
Cloudflare Edge Cache (HIT/MISS)

⚙️ 3. Cloudflare Recommended Configuration (Apply Recommended)

📌 Figure 1: WordPress Cloudflare Plugin Settings Entry

📌 Figure 2: Clicking Apply Recommended Cloudflare Settings for WordPress

🧠 Key Notes (Important Correction)

This action:

❗ Does not enable all available settings
❗ Does not override Cache Rules

📌 Figure 3: Prompt indicating “All available settings are enabled”

🧠 Key Conclusions:

• Recommended configuration ≠ enabling everything; I manually enabled all settings in the Cloudflare dashboard myself
• Recommended configuration = Zone Settings API write

🚨 4. Cloudflare Plugin Exception (Key Pitfall)

📌 Figure 4: WordPress Cloudflare Settings Page Loading Exception (Forbidden)

❌ Symptom:

• Page stuck on Loading
• Console error:

Forbiddenr.body.result is null

Forbiddenr.body.result is null

🧠 Analysis Process:

Via API call:

/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=cloudflare_proxy

/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=cloudflare_proxy

Returns:

{
  "result": null,
  "success": false,
  "message": "Forbidden"}
}

{
  "result": null,
  "success": false,
  "message": "Forbidden"}
}

🔍 Root Cause Analysis:

Missing Cloudflare API permissions

✔ Resolution Process:

Gradually added permissions:

• Zone Read
• Zone Settings Read/Write
• Cache Purge
• DNS Read (auxiliary API)

📌 Figure 5: Plugin returns to normal after permission fix, final permission configuration

⚙️ 5. Cloudflare Dashboard Recommended Configuration Verification

📌 Figure 6: Speed page configuration takes effect

📌 Figure 7: Caching page update time record

📌 Figure 8: Security page update record

🧠 Key Conclusions:

• Apply Recommended actually modifies Zone Settings
• Speed / Caching / Security are all written to

🚀 6. Auto Purge Content On Update (Key Configuration)

📌 Figure 9: Auto Purge Content On Update enabled

🧠 Purpose:

• Publish article → auto purge
• Update article → auto refresh cache
• Comment → trigger cache update

🧩 7. New Core Rule: HTML Page Caching (SEO-Safe)

📌 Figure 10: New rule added in Cache Rules

🧠 Rule Details:

(not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/wp-admin/")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/wp-login.php")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/wp-json/")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/feed/")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/xmlrpc.php")
and not http.cookie contains "wordpress_logged_in")

(not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/wp-admin/")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/wp-login.php")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/wp-json/")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/feed/")
and not starts_with(http.request.uri.path, "/xmlrpc.php")
and not http.cookie contains "wordpress_logged_in")

🧠 Rule Explanation:

✔ Cache HTML pages (SEO optimization)

❌ Excluded:

• Admin dashboard
• Login page
• REST API
• Feed
• XML-RPC

❗ Key Point:

wordpress_logged_in

wordpress_logged_in

Used for:

🧠 Bypassing cache for logged-in users

🧠 8. Final Cache Strategy Closed Loop

📌 Figure 11: cf-cache-status = HIT

📌 Figure 12: Comments take effect in real time

🔄 9. Complete Cache Flow

User visits page
        ↓
Cloudflare Cache Rules evaluation
        ↓
Logged-in user → bypass
Logged-out user → cache HTML
        ↓
Edge returns HIT
        ↓
WordPress triggers update via purge

User visits page
        ↓
Cloudflare Cache Rules evaluation
        ↓
Logged-in user → bypass
Logged-out user → cache HTML
        ↓
Edge returns HIT
        ↓
WordPress triggers update via purge

🚨 10. Key Pitfalls Summary

❌ 1. Misunderstanding Apply Recommended

Reality:

Does not enable all configurations
Does not modify Cache Rules

❌ 2. Plugin Forbidden Issue

Cause:

• Incomplete API Token permissions

❌ 3. Mistakenly Believing Cache Rules Can Be Omitted

Reality:

🧠 Cache Rules are the core control layer for the WordPress CDN

🧠 11. Final Architecture Summary

Cloudflare Recommended Configuration (Base Layer)
        ↓
Cache Rules (Business Control Layer)
        ↓
WordPress Auto Purge (Trigger Layer)
        ↓
Edge Cache (Performance Layer)

Cloudflare Recommended Configuration (Base Layer)
        ↓
Cache Rules (Business Control Layer)
        ↓
WordPress Auto Purge (Trigger Layer)
        ↓
Edge Cache (Performance Layer)

🎯 12. Final Conclusion

🟢 Cloudflare Recommended Configuration:

✔ Provides baseline optimization
✔ Does not replace Cache Rules

🟢 Cache Rules:

✔ Controls login state / API / HTML caching

🟢 Auto Purge:

✔ Ensures real-time content updates

💡 Final One-Sentence Summary

🧠 The Cloudflare recommended configuration handles the “performance baseline,” Cache Rules handle “business correctness,” and Auto Purge handles “data consistency”