Welcome to the Vercel Community, @hmlessons23-7771!

Dealing with these traffic spikes is a challenge, but there are a few key ways to harden your setup.

First, I recommend implementing rate limiting using Upstash Redis and Vercel Edge Middleware. This intercepts malicious requests before they hit your main logic, which is the best way to protect your Contentful API limits and Vercel resources from being exhausted.

Next, focus on request validation and caching. Adding API key authentication and strict CORS headers ensures only legitimate users can trigger expensive third-party calls. You can also use Vercel Edge Config or stale-while-revalidate (SWR) patterns to serve data from the cache, creating a buffer that prevents repetitive attack requests from reaching your backend.

Finally, stay proactive by monitoring your Vercel Analytics to spot unusual patterns early. It’s also important to patch any known React vulnerabilities. Even if they aren't the primary cause of the DDoS, they can leave your site open to other exploits once it's targeted.

Let us know how you get on!

Hey there, @hmlessons23-7771! Just checking in on your DDoS issue. Have you found a solution, or do you still need help with those traffic spikes? Excited to help!