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Cloudflare Integration

Overview​

Cloudflare is a leading content delivery network (CDN) and security provider that helps protect and accelerate websites. This integration enables automatic domain management between Ultimate Multisite and Cloudflare, particularly for subdomain multisite installations.

Features​

  • Automatic subdomain creation in Cloudflare
  • Proxied subdomain support
  • DNS record management
  • Enhanced DNS record display in the Ultimate Multisite admin

Requirements​

The following constants must be defined in your wp-config.php file:

define('WU_CLOUDFLARE_API_KEY', 'your_api_key');
define('WU_CLOUDFLARE_ZONE_ID', 'your_zone_id');

Setup Instructions​

1. Get Your Cloudflare API Key​

  1. Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard
  2. Go to "My Profile" (click on your email in the top-right corner)
  3. Select "API Tokens" from the menu
  4. Create a new API token with the following permissions:
    • Zone.Zone: Read
    • Zone.DNS: Edit
  5. Copy your API token

2. Get Your Zone ID​

  1. In your Cloudflare dashboard, select the domain you want to use
  2. The Zone ID is visible in the "Overview" tab, in the right sidebar under "API"
  3. Copy the Zone ID

3. Add Constants to wp-config.php​

Add the following constants to your wp-config.php file:

define('WU_CLOUDFLARE_API_KEY', 'your_api_token');
define('WU_CLOUDFLARE_ZONE_ID', 'your_zone_id');

4. Enable the Integration​

  1. In your WordPress admin, go to Ultimate Multisite > Settings
  2. Navigate to the "Domain Mapping" tab
  3. Scroll down to "Host Integrations"
  4. Enable the Cloudflare integration
  5. Click "Save Changes"

How It Works​

Subdomain Management​

When a new site is created in a subdomain multisite installation:

  1. The integration sends a request to Cloudflare's API to add a CNAME record for the subdomain
  2. The subdomain is configured to be proxied through Cloudflare by default (this can be changed with filters)
  3. When a site is deleted, the integration will remove the subdomain from Cloudflare

DNS Record Display​

The integration enhances the DNS record display in the Ultimate Multisite admin by:

  1. Fetching DNS records directly from Cloudflare
  2. Displaying whether records are proxied or not
  3. Showing additional information about the DNS records

Cloudflare Custom Hostnames​

Cloudflare Custom Hostnames (previously called "Cloudflare for SaaS") is a Cloudflare feature that allows your customers to use their own domains with SSL on your multisite network. It is the recommended approach for domain-mapped multisite installations that use Cloudflare, because Cloudflare manages the SSL certificate issuance and renewal for each custom domain automatically.

How it differs from the standard Cloudflare integration​

Standard integrationCloudflare Custom Hostnames
PurposeAuto-creates DNS records for subdomainsEnables custom (mapped) domains with Cloudflare-managed SSL
Best forSubdomain multisiteDomain-mapped multisite
SSLHandled separatelyManaged by Cloudflare automatically

Setting up Cloudflare Custom Hostnames​

  1. In your Cloudflare dashboard, open the zone for your main domain.
  2. Go to SSL/TLS > Custom Hostnames.
  3. Add a fallback origin pointing to your server's IP or hostname.
  4. For each customer domain mapped in Ultimate Multisite, add a Custom Hostname entry in Cloudflare. You can automate this step using the Cloudflare API.
  5. Cloudflare issues and renews TLS certificates for each custom hostname automatically once the customer's DNS is pointed at your network.

For full API reference, see Cloudflare Custom Hostnames documentation.

Terminology update

As of Ultimate Multisite v2.6.1, this feature is referred to as Cloudflare Custom Hostnames in all plugin settings and labels. Earlier versions used the name "Cloudflare for SaaS", which is the underlying Cloudflare product name.

Important Notes​

As of Cloudflare's recent updates, wildcard proxying is now available for all customers. This means that the standard Cloudflare DNS integration is less critical for subdomain multisite installations than it used to be, as you can simply set up a wildcard DNS record in Cloudflare.

Troubleshooting​

API Connection Issues​

  • Verify that your API token is correct and has the necessary permissions
  • Check that your Zone ID is correct
  • Ensure that your Cloudflare account has the necessary permissions

Subdomain Not Added​

  • Check the Ultimate Multisite logs for any error messages
  • Verify that the subdomain is not already added to Cloudflare
  • Ensure that your Cloudflare plan supports the number of DNS records you're creating

Proxying Issues​

  • If you don't want subdomains to be proxied, you can use the wu_cloudflare_should_proxy filter
  • Some features may not work correctly when proxied (e.g., certain WordPress admin functions)
  • Consider using Cloudflare's Page Rules to bypass the cache for admin pages