What is CDN? Do I need it?

What is CDN? Do I need it?

I’ll keep the sophisticated system description really short. CDN stands for Content Delivery Network. A CDN ‘mirrors’ the static content of your website around the world, significantly speeding up website loading times.

Real CDN Example

Your website is physically located, e.g., in the USA. You have a visitor from London, UK. Why should everything be loaded from the USA?

When you use a CDN, static content like images, videos, CSS and JS files are loaded from London to London, while only dynamic content (eg ‘PHP stuff’ ) is loaded from the USA. This is exactly how it works and why your website will be faster.

Do I Need CDN?

Example: If your webhosting (the server/data cetre) is located in USA but you do business in UK, then definitely yes.

Good for SEO and User Experience

Loading speed is important for SEO and also for your audience. The last thing you want is for somebody to say, ‘It’s so slooooow.’ A slow website is really annoying; nobody wants to wait, and you don’t want to lose your visitor or potential client.

Which CDN Provider Is Good?

I have tried many providers. Lots of them are really expensive. I use several years Amazon Cloudfront;  it’s the best choice. The first 5 GB of transfer is free, then it is cheap. The only negative aspect is their administration console; it appears quite complicated for the average person.

CDN for My Clients

I can set up a CDN service for my clients for free.