A CDN, or Content Delivery Network, is an important tool for improving the speed and performance of your WordPress website. CDNs use a worldwide network of servers so that users in different locations experience faster load times and better performance.
At WPBeginner, we use a CDN to improve user experience by quickly delivering content to our audience wherever they are in the world. We used WP Rocket for many years and currently use Cloudflare. This has resulted in smoother browsing and more satisfied visitors.
In this article, we will show you why you need a CDN for your WordPress blog and explain how it can help improve your site’s overall performance.
![Why Do You Need a CDN for Your WordPress Blog? [Infographic]](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/why-you-need-CDN-for-your-WordPress-blog-og-1.png "Why Do You Need a CDN for Your WordPress Blog? [Infographic]")
Infographic
To find out what a CDN is, simply click on the image above to view the infographic. You can also continue reading our article for written details.
Note: Just to clarify, a CDN is something you use in addition to having a web hosting account because it helps speed things up.
A CDN does not replace a web hosting account, as you still need to have a hosting provider like SiteGround or Bluehost.
What Is a CDN?
CDN is short for Content Delivery Network, which is a network of servers that deliver cached static content from websites to users based on the user’s geographic location.
If this sounds overwhelming, then let’s break it down in simpler words.
How Does a CDN Work?
Normally, when a user comes to your WordPress blog, their browser downloads the website from your web host’s server, such as Bluehost, SiteGround, or HostGator. Your web host’s server is located at a physical location, for example, Houston, Texas.
What this means is that every user is accessing this one server in Texas to view your WordPress website. Now, if you have a high volume of traffic, then you can overload your server, which leads to a slow-loading site or even a server crash.
This is where a CDN comes in handy. A CDN is a network of servers that are spread throughout the world. When you use a CDN, your static content is cached and stored on all these servers.
Static content includes images, stylesheets (CSS files), JavaScript, and more. When a user visits your website, the CDN technology redirects them to the closest server to their location.
For example, if your main server is hosted in Houston, TX, and someone from Durham, England, tries to access it, then they will be redirected to the closest server, which may be in London.
This limits the number of internet hops needed to transmit the static files to your end user. Because the user’s computer is closer in location to the CDN server, the files will load faster.
By having your content available on multiple servers around the world, you can make your pages load faster from the user’s perspective. In simple words, the closer the CDN server is to where your user is, the faster that user gets the content.
You may be wondering if a CDN is worth it on your website. Let’s look at why you need it for your WordPress blog.
Why Do You Need a CDN for Your WordPress Blog?
Having a CDN can impact your website’s performance and boost the user experience. Below are some of the advantages of using a CDN:
- Speed – A CDN helps improve the page load time of your site and make it faster.
- Crash Resistance – Using a CDN allows you to distribute the load to multiple servers instead of having 100% traffic to our main server, making it less likely to crash.
- Improved User Experience – With a CDN making your website faster, you will notice a decline in bounce rate on your site. It also increases the number of pages viewed by each user. Clearly, a fast site means improved user experience.
- Improvement in SEO – Google has stated that faster sites tend to rank higher in search engines. A CDN can boost your WordPress SEO and help you achieve higher keyword rankings.
Which Is the Best CDN for WordPress?
There are many WordPress CDN services on the market. We recommend Bunny.net as the best CDN provider that you use for your WordPress website. They have servers spread across the world and offer affordable pricing plans.
If you are looking for a CDN service that also provides security features, then we suggest using Cloudflare. They offer a powerful WordPress firewall and CDN to protect your site from different threats while ensuring fast load times.
Sucuri is another great option for a CDN that offers security features. However, you may want to read this post on reasons why WPBeginner switched from Sucuri to Cloudflare.
Expert Guides Related to WordPress Performance
We hope that this article helped you learn why you need a CDN for your WordPress blog. You may also want to see some other guides related to WordPress performance:
- The Ultimate Guide to Boost WordPress Speed & Performance
- How to Speed up WooCommerce Performance
- Important Metrics to Measure on Your WordPress Site
- How to Properly Run a Website Speed Test
- How to Use GTmetrix Plugin to Improve WordPress Site Performance
- Fastest WordPress Hosting (Performance Tests)
- Best WordPress CDN Services (Compared)
- How to Setup Cloudflare Free CDN in WordPress (Step by Step)
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Jiří Vaněk
Great article. I use Cloudflare’s CDN for both speed and protection against DDoS attacks. Speed is crucial for me when it comes to CDN. During website testing, the impact of the CDN was really noticeable, and by that, I mean significantly. I have users from all over the world, so it’s essential for me that they receive information from a server located in their country. Otherwise, you explained the principle of CDN excellently. There were some minor details I didn’t know, even though I use a CDN. Now, at least, I understand how it all works in detail.
Dennis Muthomi
I’m actually planning to migrate my WordPress site to a new hosting provider soon. I’m wondering…will my CDN keep my site up and running during the transition, or will things go offline until the migration is complete? I’d love to minimize any downtime, so if you’ve got any tips
WPBeginner Comments
You would have to set up the CDN for the new hosting provider.
Mrteesurez
Thanks for this explanation, actually I didn’t know what CDN is actually is and how it works but this guide has explained it in details. Thanks.
I want to ask: Does using wp super cache, total cache is sufficient for CDN features.
WPBeginner Comments
Plugins like WP Super Cache run on the website’s server, and are not a CDN.
Jiří Vaněk
A cache plugin by itself is not a CDN. A cache plugin stores data on the origin server but doesn’t send data to servers abroad within a CDN network. However, some advanced cache plugins do offer their own CDN network provided by the plugin developer, which is usually a paid service. Alternatively, you can use a free CDN, like Cloudflare, and then connect a cache plugin that supports it. Plugins like WP Rocket and WP Fastest Cache can do this. I recommend trying Cloudflare’s CDN, which is free at the basic level, and connecting your existing cache plugin to it. The difference, especially in speed, is really noticeable.
Kam
Thanks for this helpful article.
I am with Bluehost and recently I selected CDN and noticed that my website was loading much faster. But, some users could not access my website as the following message came up:
ERR_SSL_UNRECOGNIZED_NAME_ALERT
I got Bluehost to revert back to my original setting. Is their a way around this?
WPBeginner Support
You would want to reach out to BlueHost’s support and they should be able to assist.
Admin
Abdullah
Hello
will I be losing all my blog posts if I changed my host from Hostgator to CDN network?
WPBeginner Support
No, you wouldn’t lose your posts when using a CDN
Admin
Chittar
So far following great. Just have to work on it.
Thanks for the fluid writing!
WPBeginner Support
Glad you like our writing
Admin
Syed Mujtaba
you have told all about max cdn, where is Cloud fare?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Syed,
Please checkout how to setup Cloudflare free CDN in WordPress.
Admin
Jim Boult
Thank you for clarifying the purpose of a CDN. A very straightforward and easy to understand explanation. wpbeginner is a great resource and I’m starting to appreciate your value to the Wordpress community!
Gagan
Can you please compare some Free CDN service for low traffic site which can’t afford services like MAX CDN. Cloudflare, Incapsula and Amazon are offering free cdn but don’t know which one to choose.
Jen Street
Yes I would be interested in the comparison between Free CDN and MAX CDN. Thanks
Erwin
Thanks for interesting post.
If I understand it correctly CDN is useful for websites with international orientation, but not for websites with a national user base. I am located in the Netherlands (small country), and my website is focusing on people in the Netherlands. Am I correct that CDN is not going to improve loading speed for my customers?
Valerie
If a CDN is serving static content, why would one *also* need server-side and client-side caching?