Cloudflare Performance Optimization

Performance optimization strategies for Cloudflare infrastructure including caching, Argo Smart Routing, and edge optimization.

Caching Strategies

Cache-Control Headers

javascript

// Cache static assets aggressively
if (url.pathname.match(/\\.(jpg|png|css|js|woff2)$/)) {
  response.headers.set('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=31536000, immutable');
}

// Cache API responses briefly
if (url.pathname.startsWith('/api/')) {
  response.headers.set('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=300, s-maxage=600');
}

Cache API in Workers

javascript

const cache = caches.default;

// Check cache first
let response = await cache.match(request);
if (response) return response;

// Generate response
response = await fetch(request);

// Cache for future
await cache.put(request, response.clone());
return response;

Tiered Caching

Enable in dashboard: Caching → Tiered Cache

•Reduces origin requests by 80%
•Improves cache hit ratio
•FREE on all plans

Argo Smart Routing

What it does: Routes requests through Cloudflare's fastest network paths Performance improvement: ~30% faster on average Cost: ~$0.10/GB When to use: Global audience, performance critical apps

Enable: Traffic → Argo → Enable Argo Smart Routing

Image Optimization

Polish (Automatic)

Enable: Speed → Optimization → Polish (Lossless or Lossy)

•Automatic WebP conversion
•Compression optimization
•FREE

Cloudflare Images (Paid)

javascript

// Resize and optimize on-the-fly
const url = `https://example.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=800,quality=80/image.jpg`;

Early Hints (103 Response)

javascript

// Send Early Hints for critical resources
return new Response('Loading...', {
  status: 103,
  headers: {
    'Link': '</styles.css>; rel=preload; as=style, </script.js>; rel=preload; as=script'
  }
});

Load Balancing

Configure multiple origins for:

•Geographic steering (route to nearest origin)
•Failover (automatic failback if origin fails)
•Health checks (monitor origin health)

Setup: Traffic → Load Balancing

For detailed cost analysis, see cloudflare-cost-optimization skill.