A CDN, or content delivery network, is a network of servers spread across different locations that store copies of your website's static files, such as images, CSS, and JavaScript. When a visitor requests your site, those files are served from the server geographically closest to them instead of always from your hosting server.
Why That Matters
The physical distance between a visitor and your server affects how fast your site loads. A visitor in Nairobi loading a site hosted in Europe or the US will typically see files load slower than a visitor closer to the server. A CDN reduces that distance by caching your static content in multiple regions, so more visitors are served from a nearby copy.
What a CDN Does and Doesn't Do
- Does: Speeds up loading of static assets for visitors far from your hosting server, reduces load on your hosting server itself, and can absorb some types of traffic spikes.
- Doesn't: Speed up dynamic, database-driven content that has to be generated fresh each time, such as a logged-in user's dashboard. It also doesn't fix a slow website caused by unoptimized code or a database that needs work.
Do You Need One?
It depends on where your visitors are and what kind of site you run:
- If most of your visitors are in Kenya and your site is hosted in Kenya, the distance a CDN would save is already small, so the benefit is limited.
- If you have visitors across multiple countries or continents, a CDN can noticeably improve load times for the ones furthest from your server.
- If your site is mostly static (a business brochure site, a blog with light traffic), the gains from a CDN are usually modest compared to basic optimizations like image compression and caching.
- If you get large, unpredictable traffic spikes, such as from a viral social media post, a CDN can help your site stay up under that load.
Before adding a CDN, check whether your site's slowness is actually a distance problem or something else entirely, like large uncompressed images or an unoptimized database. A CDN won't fix those.
Getting Started
Several CDN providers offer straightforward setup that involves pointing your domain's DNS through their network. If you're not sure whether it's worth it for your specific site and audience, our support team can advise based on your hosting setup and where your traffic comes from.