A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a large system of servers distributed throughout the globe, at various data centers, with the goal of delivering content to users based on their geographic location. CDNs allow you to optimize the direction of traffic flow: users sending a request to your website will get a response from the server closest to their geographic location, thus ensuring the fastest possible response time and increased performance of your web applications.
WebFacility recommends that any website, service, or application with high traffic and/or a global reach consider using a CDN.
A prominent example of an industry frequently employing the use of CDNs is the streaming industry – Netflix, YouTube, and music streaming applications server content to user globally. However, all types of mobile content, video content, voice content, and even ecommerce transactions can benefit from such a setup.
In fact, studies show that reducing page load time from 8 seconds to 2 seconds on ecommerce websites increased user conversion rates (meaning, the number of users who purchase something from said website) by a whopping 74 percent, and lowered shopping cart abandonment by 25 percent.
Faster load time contributes to your SEO rankings
A CDN is a performance booster – it optimizes the speed at which content is delivered to a user. Faster page and resource loading time and less downtime are contributors to higher SERPs. Make sure to consult with a WebFacility specialist to ensure you’re keeping in mind SEO best practices for using a CDN.
Security
Because of their large scale, CDNs are able to hide users’ origin server, thus neutralizing potential Denial of Service (DOS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) ATTACKS. CDNs can also be accompanied by a DNS Failover solution to create a fault-redundant system to ensure maximum uptime.
Cost Savings
Rather than having to pay for foreign, often high-priced hosting, and investing in infrastructure via several separate service providers, signing up for a singular global CDN will offer you a unified platform to spread your global reach.
Reduced Server Load
Because traffic arriving at your web switch will be directed to the optimum web server, this comes with the advantage of load balancing server traffic. Decreased server load will also lead to fewer network outages or problem nodes, ensuring maximum uptime. Read more about Load Balancing here.
Reduced Bandwidth Requirements
CDNs, when appropriate, use web caching techniques, where web caches store content closer to the user.