🧭 Overview
You can use the Search Atlas WordPress plugin and Cloudflare CDN at the same time. The most important thing to get right is when you deactivate or reactivate the WordPress plugin relative to your Cloudflare CDN setup. Getting this order wrong is the most common reason customers see dashboard errors or data gaps when running both methods together.
⚠️ The Core Issue: Plugin Deactivation Timing
The original question behind this article is specifically about when to deactivate the WordPress plugin during a Cloudflare CDN setup. Based on confirmed customer resolutions, the key guidance is:
- Do not deactivate the WordPress plugin before your Cloudflare CDN setup is fully complete. If you deactivate the plugin too early — before Cloudflare is fully connected and your domain is proxying correctly — Search Atlas loses visibility into your site during that window, which can cause data gaps or dashboard errors.
- Keep the plugin active throughout the Cloudflare setup process. Only consider deactivating or switching methods after Cloudflare is confirmed to be working end-to-end.
- If you are not switching away from the plugin and simply want to run both simultaneously, there is no need to deactivate the plugin at any point — leave it active while you complete the Cloudflare CDN connection.
✅ Recommended Approach
- Leave the WordPress plugin active while you begin your Cloudflare CDN setup.
- Complete your Cloudflare connection — point your domain's DNS records to Cloudflare's nameservers and confirm the domain is proxying correctly inside your Cloudflare account.
- Verify your Search Atlas dashboard is loading and syncing data correctly before making any changes to the plugin.
- Only after confirming Cloudflare is fully working, decide whether you want to keep both methods running together or deactivate the plugin. If you are unsure which is right for your setup, contact our team before deactivating.
🔍 What to Check If You Already Deactivated the Plugin Too Early
If you deactivated the WordPress plugin before Cloudflare was fully set up and are now seeing dashboard issues, here is what to do:
- Reactivate the WordPress plugin from your WordPress admin area.
- Confirm your Cloudflare setup is complete and the domain is proxying correctly.
- Allow some time for data to resync, then check your Search Atlas dashboard again.
- If data gaps or errors persist after reactivating, contact support with your site URL, the approximate time you deactivated the plugin, and a description of what you are seeing in the dashboard.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.