What proactive steps can website owners take to prepare their websites for DDoS protection provided by services like Cloudflare?

Website owners should ensure their websites are properly configured and optimized for performance, including using efficient code and caching strategies. They should also propagate DNS settings, and configure their origin servers to efficiently handle traffic. Additionally, it's beneficial to regularly monitor website traffic and security logs and have a relationship with a DDoS mitigation provider well before an attack.