A Content Delivery Network (CDN), also known as a Content Distribution Network, is a (deep breath) geographically distributed nexus of servers, working in unison to deliver readily accessible data to internet users globally. Phew! To put it more simply, CDNs are about getting your website stored in lots of places so that, whenever anyone visits, it loads up nice and quick — from wherever they are.
Content Delivery Networks
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of servers, distributed around the world, which stores and delivers your website’s content to visitors.
This is important because the geographic distance between your origin server, where your website is hosted, and your visitors, can have a really big impact on website loading times.
Let’s say, for example, someone from the US visits your website. Without a Content Delivery Network, your website’s content will be retrieved from the origin server, which could take several seconds to deliver. While this may not sound long, research has found that the likelihood of visitors leaving your website will increase by 32% as the load time goes from one second to three seconds, with the probability increasing more and more with every passing second.
With a Content Delivery Network, the servers work together to retrieve and deliver content from the server that’s closest to your visitor. That way, it will load just as fast as a website that’s hosted in the US.
Lower bandwidth consumption – Every time someone visits your website and data is transferred from your origin server, this uses bandwidth. Since this won’t have to provide as much data with a CDN, your bandwidth consumption and costs will be reduced.
Improved response to high traffic – If one of your ad campaigns goes viral and your website experiences a sudden, high volume in traffic, this can cause downtime for your website. A CDN will distribute this volume across multiple servers to prevent any of them from being overloaded.
Uptime – CDN’s are a safety net for your website, helping to make sure it remains accessible at all times. If a huge amount of traffic hits your website all at once, or if one server goes down, this can overwhelm your main website server, leading to crashes (and all sort unhappy visitors). A CDN spreads the workload across its global network of servers, handling those massive traffic surges and unexpected hiccups. This way, your website remains available and responsive, no matter how many people are knocking on the door.
Improved security – Hackers use distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to disable websites and online services by flooding their server with traffic. A CDN can mitigate this by distributing this increased volume across its network of servers.
CDNs are built on the idea of having data centres at strategic exchange points around the world. These data centres are called Points of Presence (PoPs).
Using a network like this means there’s always a server close (or closer) to any website visitor. When the user goes to a website, the CDN fetches the info from the nearest server and caches it (ie., stores a copy). The end result is speedier websites.
The basic steps are as follows:
1. User Request
➤ Imagine a user in Sydney visits your website and wants to access a file hosted on your origin server in London. Let’s say this file is “cat.jpg”. The browser makes the request for the file.
2. CDN Check
➤ After the user’s browser requests the content, the CDN works out the closest and best Point of Presence (PoP) server to make that request. It checks if a cached copy of “cat.jpg” exists on a server nearby — in this case, most likely somewhere in Australia.
3. Hit or Miss
If the requested content is found on the nearby server, that’s a cache hit. The file can be served up fast — without needing to retrieve it from the origin server.
If this is the first time the file has been requested, it’s a cache miss. The CDN edge server sends a request to your origin server for “cat.jpg.” The origin server responds with the file.
4. Delivery
➤ The CDN edge server receives “cat.jpg”, stores a copy in its cache, and then delivers the image to the user in Sydney.
‘Full page cache CDNs’ go a step further, storing fully-built versions of website’s pages. When a user visits, the CDN can quickly delivers the full webpage instead of generating it from scratch every time. This reduces load times and makes your website feel much faster.
There are different types of CDNs, each specialising in how they improve your website’s speed. Static asset cache CDNs, for example, focus on storing and delivering the elements of your website, like images, stylesheets, and code.
While commonly confused, Content Delivery Networks and Content Management Systems are very different kettles of fish.
A CMS is software that lets you create, manage, and publish website content without having to write everything in code. They offer user-friendly interfaces for adding text, images, videos, and other elements, so that you can build a website. WordPress, for example, is an example of a Content Management System.
So while very different things, they are related: Your CDN can help power your CMS.
In a way, Wikipedia deserves a shout as CMS (or almost-CMS). It’s not used to build general websites, but it does let you create content and collaborate — and it might give you a better sense of what Content Management Systems are all about
WordPress is the giant of the CMS market, powering a huge portion of websites on the internet. It’s known for its flexibility, huge community, and ease of use. WordPress makes web development really easy. Changes can be made in a few clicks, while a wide selection of themes and plugins let you customise your website without hardcore technical knowledge.
Other CMS include the e-commerce platforms popular with major retailers, such as Shopify and Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento), plus plenty of CMS platforms used in the tech industry, like Contentful, which help teams work on structured content for digital platforms.
123 Reg’s Managed WordPress plans come with a built-in Content Delivery Network (CDN). This CDN works to improve website speed and performance around the globe, storing copies of your static content — like images, CSS, and JavaScript — on worldwide servers.
Within your Managed WordPress dashboard, you’ll find easy controls for enabling or disabling the CDN. You can even clear the CDN’s cache, which can be helpful when you make major changes to your website.
Of course, a faster website translates to a better user experience, which can increase visitor engagement and reduce the chance they’ll leave your site prematurely. Plus, the CDN helps your website handle sudden traffic increases without slowing down.
But a CDN isn’t something you need to worry (or even think) about: just let it do the magic in the background. The CDN handles the process of caching and delivering your website’s content — so that you can focus on great content.
Get your UK business online with the world’s most popular web platform. WordPress is designed for users of all skill levels, with no coding or technical skills needed.
Learn More about Managed WordPress from 123 Reg
The post Superfast WordPress: What is a Content Delivery Network? appeared first on 123 Reg Blog: Small business tips, insight and advice.
Continue reading...
Content Delivery Networks
What is a Content Delivery Network?
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of servers, distributed around the world, which stores and delivers your website’s content to visitors.
This is important because the geographic distance between your origin server, where your website is hosted, and your visitors, can have a really big impact on website loading times.
Let’s say, for example, someone from the US visits your website. Without a Content Delivery Network, your website’s content will be retrieved from the origin server, which could take several seconds to deliver. While this may not sound long, research has found that the likelihood of visitors leaving your website will increase by 32% as the load time goes from one second to three seconds, with the probability increasing more and more with every passing second.
With a Content Delivery Network, the servers work together to retrieve and deliver content from the server that’s closest to your visitor. That way, it will load just as fast as a website that’s hosted in the US.
What are the advantages of a Content Delivery Network?
Lower bandwidth consumption – Every time someone visits your website and data is transferred from your origin server, this uses bandwidth. Since this won’t have to provide as much data with a CDN, your bandwidth consumption and costs will be reduced.
Improved response to high traffic – If one of your ad campaigns goes viral and your website experiences a sudden, high volume in traffic, this can cause downtime for your website. A CDN will distribute this volume across multiple servers to prevent any of them from being overloaded.
Uptime – CDN’s are a safety net for your website, helping to make sure it remains accessible at all times. If a huge amount of traffic hits your website all at once, or if one server goes down, this can overwhelm your main website server, leading to crashes (and all sort unhappy visitors). A CDN spreads the workload across its global network of servers, handling those massive traffic surges and unexpected hiccups. This way, your website remains available and responsive, no matter how many people are knocking on the door.
Improved security – Hackers use distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to disable websites and online services by flooding their server with traffic. A CDN can mitigate this by distributing this increased volume across its network of servers.
How do Content Delivery Networks work?
CDNs are built on the idea of having data centres at strategic exchange points around the world. These data centres are called Points of Presence (PoPs).
Using a network like this means there’s always a server close (or closer) to any website visitor. When the user goes to a website, the CDN fetches the info from the nearest server and caches it (ie., stores a copy). The end result is speedier websites.
The basic steps are as follows:
1. User Request
➤ Imagine a user in Sydney visits your website and wants to access a file hosted on your origin server in London. Let’s say this file is “cat.jpg”. The browser makes the request for the file.
2. CDN Check
➤ After the user’s browser requests the content, the CDN works out the closest and best Point of Presence (PoP) server to make that request. It checks if a cached copy of “cat.jpg” exists on a server nearby — in this case, most likely somewhere in Australia.
3. Hit or Miss
If the requested content is found on the nearby server, that’s a cache hit. The file can be served up fast — without needing to retrieve it from the origin server. If this is the first time the file has been requested, it’s a cache miss. The CDN edge server sends a request to your origin server for “cat.jpg.” The origin server responds with the file.4. Delivery
➤ The CDN edge server receives “cat.jpg”, stores a copy in its cache, and then delivers the image to the user in Sydney.
‘Full page cache CDNs’ go a step further, storing fully-built versions of website’s pages. When a user visits, the CDN can quickly delivers the full webpage instead of generating it from scratch every time. This reduces load times and makes your website feel much faster.
There are different types of CDNs, each specialising in how they improve your website’s speed. Static asset cache CDNs, for example, focus on storing and delivering the elements of your website, like images, stylesheets, and code.
What’s the difference between a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and a Content Management System (CMS)?
While commonly confused, Content Delivery Networks and Content Management Systems are very different kettles of fish.
A CMS is software that lets you create, manage, and publish website content without having to write everything in code. They offer user-friendly interfaces for adding text, images, videos, and other elements, so that you can build a website. WordPress, for example, is an example of a Content Management System.
So while very different things, they are related: Your CDN can help power your CMS.
In a way, Wikipedia deserves a shout as CMS (or almost-CMS). It’s not used to build general websites, but it does let you create content and collaborate — and it might give you a better sense of what Content Management Systems are all about
WordPress is the giant of the CMS market, powering a huge portion of websites on the internet. It’s known for its flexibility, huge community, and ease of use. WordPress makes web development really easy. Changes can be made in a few clicks, while a wide selection of themes and plugins let you customise your website without hardcore technical knowledge.
Other CMS include the e-commerce platforms popular with major retailers, such as Shopify and Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento), plus plenty of CMS platforms used in the tech industry, like Contentful, which help teams work on structured content for digital platforms.
Built in Content Delivery for WordPress: CDN to power your CMS!
123 Reg’s Managed WordPress plans come with a built-in Content Delivery Network (CDN). This CDN works to improve website speed and performance around the globe, storing copies of your static content — like images, CSS, and JavaScript — on worldwide servers.
Within your Managed WordPress dashboard, you’ll find easy controls for enabling or disabling the CDN. You can even clear the CDN’s cache, which can be helpful when you make major changes to your website.
Of course, a faster website translates to a better user experience, which can increase visitor engagement and reduce the chance they’ll leave your site prematurely. Plus, the CDN helps your website handle sudden traffic increases without slowing down.
But a CDN isn’t something you need to worry (or even think) about: just let it do the magic in the background. The CDN handles the process of caching and delivering your website’s content — so that you can focus on great content.
Get your UK business online with the world’s most popular web platform. WordPress is designed for users of all skill levels, with no coding or technical skills needed.
Learn More about Managed WordPress from 123 Reg
The post Superfast WordPress: What is a Content Delivery Network? appeared first on 123 Reg Blog: Small business tips, insight and advice.
Continue reading...