5 Reasons You Need a CDN for Your WordPress Website

 A CDN, or content delivery network, can be a cheap, simple, and effective way to streamline the performance of your WordPress website while simultaneously boosting conversion rates and increasing time on site.

But what are the exact reasons why CDNs are so beneficial to WordPress sites? Read on in our guide to find out!

1. Increased Performance

To start, it helps to understand the difference between your WordPress hosting provider and the services offered by a CDN.

Let’s say for example your WordPress host maintains its servers in Chicago, Illinois. While users who are physically located in the United States might see relatively quick load times for their content due to their proximity to the host, anyone connecting from outside the US will experience much slower speeds by comparison.

A CDN decreases latency and a figure known as TTFB, or “time to first byte”. By reducing the physical amount of distance between a user’s computer and the server hosting your WordPress site’s content through localized “POPs”, or “points of presence”, a WordPress site distributed through a CDN performs much better than one that isn’t.

According to some reports, users may experience load times that are nearly 100% faster when loading from a CDN than through a standard WordPress host.

2. SEO Advantages

One of the biggest changes in Google’s ranking algorithm in recent years has been the shift toward rewarding sites that reduce load times for their content.

According to Search Engine Land, although load speed does only account for a few of the 200+ factors that go into the ranking algorithm, WordPress sites that can load faster than their competitors should still see a boost in their rankings comparatively.

Using a CDN with your WordPress site means that globally users will see increased speeds, lower latency, and a smoother website experience overall. All positive factors in the eyes of the great Google algorithm.

3. Simplicity of Setup

Although this wasn’t the case until a few years ago, these days getting a CDN integrated into your WordPress site is easier than ever.

Thanks to WordPress plugins like WP Rocket and CDN Enabler, getting the CDN service of your choosing installed can take an hour or less, depending on the specific feature set you’re looking for and the amount of data you have to migrate from the original WordPress host.

Many CDN services will also offer some form of personal consultation if necessary to help you get your content and your media hosted on their network quickly and with as few interruptions to your WordPress site as possible.

4. Stronger Security

As anyone who’s ever hosted a WordPress site can tell you: DDoS attacks are the worst. All it takes is one capable, but ornery former customer who knows how to lease out a DDoS service and you can lose thousands of dollars in lost revenue and repair costs from a well-timed attack.

CDN services employ several different tools and techniques to minimize the impact of DDoS attacks, and in some cases can prevent them altogether. These tools might include web application firewalls (WAF), a tool known as an “Origin shield”, and proxy IP addresses which protect your site’s true identity from being revealed though trace route requests.

5. Reduced Bandwidth Costs

Finally, a major benefit to integrating your WordPress site with a CDN service is a reduction in bandwidth costs. This is achieved by offloading CPU and resources from your hosting server, which can prevent traffic spikes from overwhelming the host.

For example if a piece of content you host on your WordPress site goes viral and suddenly a massive influx of traffic comes in, you may be charged more for any extra bandwidth that goes over your monthly allotment by a regular WordPress host. A CDN will automatically scale to handle this increased traffic while keeping your costs at a fixed price, which means no surprise bills at the end of the month that may leave your business crippled.

Wrap Up

Our hope with this guide is to help you better understand the myriad of ways that a CDN can help your WordPress site.

Whether it’s reducing bandwidth costs, increasing security, or just getting a small boost over the competition in the eyes of Google’s ranking algorithm, it’s clear that integrating your WordPress site with a CDN comes with a whole host of benefits that in the end will create a better user experience for your customers around the globe.