CDN or Content Delivery Network, is a network of servers that deliver static website content to users based on the user’s geographic location.
Normally when a user comes to your WordPress website, they are redirected to your web host’s server (e.g. wporters.com). Your web host’s server is located in a central location in Europe. So every visitor to your website gets access to this server to view your website. Peaks in visits, can overload this server, which then causes your website to load slower or even lead to a server crash.
One solution, then, is CDN. CDN is a network of servers, but usually spread around the world. When you tap into a CDN, your static content is stored on all these servers. Static content are images, style sheets (css files), javascripts, … etc. Once a user visits your site (originating server), the CDN technology redirects this request to the nearest server.
This reduces the number of Internet hops needed to pass the static files to your end user.
And that benefits load time.
And a fast load time is positive for :
- The user experience
- A decrease in the bounce rate
- The number of pages viewed by each user increases
- SEO – Google ranks faster sites higher in search results
Need help making your WordPress website load faster? You can read more about it here.