How to Protect a CMS from DDoS Attacks
AdvancedQuick Answer
TL;DR
Use a CDN with built-in DDoS mitigation (Cloudflare, AWS CloudFront with AWS Shield), implement rate limiting on API and login endpoints, deploy a Web Application Firewall, and have a documented incident response plan. Headless CMS architectures with statically generated frontends are inherently more DDoS-resistant — the attack surface is smaller and content is served from edge nodes, not origin servers.
Key Takeaways
- CDNs absorb volumetric DDoS traffic at the edge before it reaches your origin server
- Rate limiting on API endpoints prevents application-layer (Layer 7) attacks from overwhelming your CMS
- Headless CMS with static frontends dramatically reduces DDoS exposure compared to server-rendered monolithic CMS
- Have a DDoS response plan before an attack happens — not during one