If your WordPress site uses Cloudflare, your RSS feed may be cached or blocked by Cloudflare security features. This can prevent services like FeedBlitz from accessing your feed or delay updates. This guide explains how to fix both issues.
Symptoms
You may be affected if:
- Your feed is not updating in FeedBlitz
- New posts are delayed
- The feed shows a Cloudflare "Checking your browser" or challenge page
Why this happens
Cloudflare can:
- Cache your feed – which delays updates
- Challenge access to your feed – which blocks automated systems
Both must be addressed.
Step 1: Disable caching for your feed
Using Cache Rules (recommended)
- Log in to Cloudflare
- Select your website
- Go to Rules → Cache Rules
- Click Create rule
Set:
- Rule name: Bypass cache for feeds
- If: URI Path contains
/feed - Then: Cache eligibility = Bypass
Save the rule.
Using Page Rules (alternative)
If Cache Rules are not available:
- Pattern:
*yourdomain.com/*feed* - Setting: Cache Level = Bypass
Step 2: Allow access to your feed (required)
Cloudflare security features may block or challenge feed access. This must be disabled for feed URLs.
- Go to Rules in Cloudflare
- Create a new rule
Set:
- If: URI Path contains
/feed - Then: Skip or Allow security features
Disable or skip:
- Bot protection
- Managed Challenge
- WAF rules
- Rate limiting (if applied)
This ensures automated systems can access your feed normally.
Step 3: Check WordPress plugins
Caching may also happen inside WordPress.
- Log in to WordPress
- Go to Plugins
- Look for caching or performance plugins such as:
- WP Rocket
- W3 Total Cache
- LiteSpeed Cache
- WP Super Cache
- SG Optimizer
If found:
- Open settings
- Disable caching for feeds
- Exclude
/feed/from cache rules
Step 4: Check hosting or server caching
Your hosting provider may also cache content. —contact your hosting provider
Ensure feeds are excluded from:
- NGINX fastcgi_cache
- Varnish Host-level page caching
- Remove any “cache everything” rules that include feed URLs.
Step 5: Validate the fix
After making changes, confirm:
- The feed loads without a Cloudflare challenge
- The feed returns fresh content You can test using a command line tool:
curl -I https://yourdomain.com/feed/
Look for:
cf-cache-status: BYPASS
- No challenge or redirect
Important note on IP allowlisting
IP allowlisting is not a reliable solution.
- FeedBlitz uses distributed systems
- IP addresses may change
- Allowlisting can break without notice
The correct fix is to allow normal access to the feed URL without Cloudflare challenges.
Summary
To ensure your feed works correctly:
- Bypass cache for
/feed - Disable Cloudflare security challenges for
/feed - Exclude feeds from WordPress and server caching
Once complete, your feed should update and be accessible normally. As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know. You can find all of our great support resources and how to get in touch with us via email, chat or phone on our Support Page.