What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN)?

If you’re wondering how to make your website faster, then you may want to consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN). In this article, we’ll explain what a Content Delivery Network is along with the benefits of using one.

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) Explained

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a group of geographically dispersed servers that deliver parts of your website to your visitor’s browsing device, depending on where that visitor is located in relation to those servers. When a visitor comes to your website, parts of the website may be sent to the visitor’s device from a nearby server, which reduces the amount of time it takes for your website to load.

Why Does My Company Website Need a Content Delivery Network?

Generally speaking, most people don’t enjoy waiting for websites to load. A few years ago, you probably heard the saying “every second counts.” Today, every millisecond counts. Making your website faster can ensure a better experience for the user.

Speeding up your website can also help improve your Search Engine Optimization. Search engines, like Google, know that people prefer to use fast websites, so they use website load speed as a search engine ranking factor. This means that faster websites may rank higher than slow-loading websites in the search results.

Case Study: CDN Improves Load Speed for Hotel, Restaurant, and Conference Center Website

Longfellows Hotel, Restaurant, and Conference Center was looking for ways to improve their website. Although their website was built with best practices and included Search Engine Optimization, there was another way to improve its performance: load speed optimization.

To do this, we placed Longfellows’ website on a Content Delivery Network. This had a dramatic impact on the website’s load speed, as you’ll see in the chart below:

website load speed CDN example
Page load speed improved dramatically as a result of using a Content Delivery Network.

 

Recommended Content Delivery Networks

There are a variety of Content Delivery Networks available, and we recommend CloudFlare based on the results we’ve seen with businesses who are using CloudFlare’s CDN. If you’d like to discuss Content Delivery Networks and other ways to improve your website’s performance, then feel free to contact us today.

About Sara Mannix

Sara Mannix founded Mannix in 1996 with a goal to get clients found on the web through organic search engine optimization (SEO). The company now serves over 1500 clients worldwide and employs a team of 30 specialists, operating under the tagline "Success Measured." The tagline reflects the company's focus on measurable results for every client. This multifaceted company is an industry leader, specializing in organic SEO, conversion rate optimization, SEO-friendly website design, paid advertising (PPC). Mannix Marketing has two divisions, one side is focused on lead generation for nationally competitive businesses. The other side is focused on local businesses. Mannix has one of the largest portfolios of tourism and city guides in Upstate New York. These guides, (Albany.com, Saratoga.com, LakeGeorge.com, and Adirondack.net etc), reach over 10 million visitors a year. Corresponding social media profiles for the region extend this reach to millions every month.

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