What is a CDN and How Does it Help Your Website?
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) can significantly improve your website's speed and performance. This guide explains what CDNs do and how to use them with your Faciotech hosting.
What is a CDN?
A CDN is a network of servers distributed around the world that cache (store copies of) your website's static content. When a visitor accesses your site, they receive content from the nearest CDN server rather than your origin server.
Benefits of Using a CDN
Faster Load Times
Content is delivered from servers geographically closer to your visitors, reducing latency.
Reduced Server Load
Static files are served by the CDN, freeing your hosting server to handle dynamic requests.
Better Reliability
If one CDN server is unavailable, traffic automatically routes to the next closest server.
DDoS Protection
Many CDNs include protection against distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Bandwidth Savings
Less data transferred from your origin server can reduce bandwidth costs.
What Content Does a CDN Cache?
- Images - JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP files
- Stylesheets - CSS files
- JavaScript - JS files
- Fonts - Web fonts (WOFF, TTF)
- Videos - MP4, WebM files
- Downloads - PDFs, ZIPs, etc.
Popular CDN Options
Cloudflare (Recommended)
Free tier available with excellent features:
- Easy setup through DNS
- Free SSL certificates
- Built-in security features
- Page rules for customization
Other Options
- Amazon CloudFront
- Fastly
- KeyCDN
- BunnyCDN
Setting Up Cloudflare
- Sign up at cloudflare.com
- Add your domain
- Cloudflare will scan your DNS records
- Update your domain's nameservers to Cloudflare's
- Wait for propagation (up to 24 hours)
- Configure settings in Cloudflare dashboard
CDN Best Practices
- Clear cache when updating - Purge CDN cache after changing files
- Set appropriate TTLs - Balance freshness with caching efficiency
- Use versioning - Add version numbers to file URLs (style.css?v=2)
- Monitor performance - Check CDN analytics regularly
When to Use a CDN
Consider a CDN if:
- You have international visitors
- Your site has many images or media files
- You want to improve page load speed
- You need additional security
- Your hosting bandwidth is limited
Need Help?
Our team can help you set up a CDN for your website. Submit a support ticket for assistance.
