Transitioning from Cloudflare to Bunny.net: A Step-by-Step Guide

I've been a long-time user of Cloudflare, appreciating their vast infrastructure and generous free services. However, the risk of dependency on a single company and the centralization of internet services prompted me to explore alternatives. Bunny.net, a Slovenian company, emerged as a strong contender with its competitive CDN services and European roots, which I find appealing.

While moving my blog away from Cloudflare, I faced challenges like finding a suitable European domain registrar. I settled on Porkbun, which, despite using Cloudflare infrastructure, offers better support. The main Cloudflare service I needed to replace was their 'Orange Cloud' features, including caching and origin hiding.

Setting up Bunny.net was straightforward. They offer $20 in free credits for new users, with additional credits upon providing a credit card. The pull zone setup is crucial for enabling the CDN, and I detailed the steps to configure it, from naming the pull zone to setting up pricing zones.

Once the pull zone is configured, connecting it to your domain involves adding a CNAME record and verifying SSL activation. Bunny.net's caching capabilities are robust, respecting cache-control headers by default. For those without cache headers, the Smart Cache feature is a convenient alternative.

To optimize speed, I implemented custom cache headers in my website's router, caching even HTML pages for faster load times. This requires purging the pull zone after publishing new content. Additional configurations, like enabling SSL and setting up Origin Shield, enhance security and performance.

I also set up an Edge rule to redirect requests from the pull zone domain to the actual domain, preventing crawler confusion. Bunny.net offers extensive features beyond basic setup, including advanced caching, security options, and detailed analytics. I'm excited about their upcoming S3 compatible storage and recommend giving Bunny.net a try.