Lookit Cloudflare Cache Purge

Description

Most Cloudflare integrations for WordPress give you only one option: purge everything. That is the nuclear option, and it is more expensive than it looks.

What happens when you purge everything

When you purge the entire cache in Cloudflare, every cached page is cleared at once — but Cloudflare does not rebuild those caches for you. A page is only re-cached after the next time someone requests it. That first request following a purge is a cache miss: it travels all the way back to your origin server, which is slow to render, and that visitor waits for the full render. Only the next visitor to the same page gets the fast, cached copy.

The catch is traffic. Busy pages re-cache almost immediately. But pages that are visited infrequently can sit uncached for hours or even days, and the first person to land on each one pays the slow-render penalty. There is no way inside Cloudflare to warm the cache ahead of time or speed this up — re-caching happens only on demand, page by page, as real traffic trickles in.

Lookit® Cloudflare Cache Purge gives you granular control. Instead of wiping everything and forcing your whole site back to origin speed, you clear only the page you actually changed — and every other page keeps its cache intact.

From any page in WordPress — whether you are editing a post in wp-admin or viewing the live site while logged in — a lightweight CF Purge menu (☁) appears in the admin bar with three options:

• Purge This URL — clears only the page you are currently on or editing
• Purge Entire Site — full cache purge when you genuinely need it (with a confirmation dialog so it is never accidental)
• Or enter any URL — type any URL on the site and purge it directly, without navigating to that page first

The manual URL field is especially useful for URLs that do not correspond to a standard WordPress post or page — such as custom archive paths, Events Calendar URLs, or other custom post type archives.

Why this plugin exists

If you manage WordPress sites on Cloudflare with a caching plugin like WP Rocket, you have likely run into this problem: WP Rocket’s Cloudflare integration only supports full-site purge. The official Cloudflare WordPress plugin is heavyweight and touches your zone settings. Neither gives you a simple, context-aware button to clear just one URL.

This plugin does exactly that — nothing more, nothing less. It connects to Cloudflare via a scoped API token, adds a clean menu to the admin bar, and stays completely out of your Cloudflare zone configuration.

Features

• Context-aware: automatically detects the URL of the post or page you are editing or viewing
• Works in both the wp-admin editor and the frontend (when logged in)
• Manual URL field for purging arbitrary URLs without navigating to them
• Full-site purge option with confirmation dialog
• Lightweight — no zone settings, no DNS, no SSL toggles, no bloat
• Secure — uses a scoped API token with minimum required permissions
• Compatible with WP Rocket, the official Cloudflare plugin, and any other caching setup

Requirements

• A Cloudflare account with your site’s domain active
• A Cloudflare API Token with Zone / Cache Purge / Purge and Zone / Zone / Read permissions
• Your Cloudflare Zone ID (found on the domain’s Overview page in the Cloudflare dashboard)

Setup

1. Install and activate the plugin
2. Go to Settings → CF Purge Settings
3. Paste your Cloudflare API Token and Zone ID
4. Click Test Cloudflare Connection to verify
5. The ☁ CF Purge menu will now appear in your admin bar

Creating a Scoped API Token

In your Cloudflare dashboard: My Profile → API Tokens → Create Token → Create Custom Token

Set these permissions:

• Zone / Cache Purge / Purge
• Zone / Zone / Read

Set Zone Resources to the specific zone for this site. This keeps the token scoped and secure.

Do not use your Global API Key. A scoped token is always the correct approach.

Documentation and support

• Full documentation: https://lookitdesign.com/software/cloudflare-cache-purge/
• Support: https://lookitdesign.com/cloudflare-purge-support-form/

Lookit® is a registered trademark of ZENOVA CORP. Cloudflare is a registered trademark of Cloudflare, Inc.; this plugin is an independent integration and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Cloudflare.

External Services

This plugin connects to the Cloudflare API to purge cached files from the Cloudflare CDN. This is required for the core functionality of the plugin — without it, no cache purging can occur.

What data is sent and when:

When you trigger a cache purge (manually or via the Test Connection button), this plugin sends the following data to Cloudflare’s API:

• Your Cloudflare Zone ID (to identify which zone to purge)
• Your Cloudflare API Token (for authentication)
• The specific URL(s) to purge, or a full-site purge flag

No visitor data, personal information, or site content is ever transmitted. API credentials are stored in your WordPress database and are only sent directly to Cloudflare’s API endpoint (https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4).

This service is provided by Cloudflare, Inc.:

• Terms of Service: https://www.cloudflare.com/terms/
• Privacy Policy: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/