It is essential that customers have a positive experience when they visit your ecommerce website. Web visitors are short-attention span. Your web visitors will quickly lose interest if your web elements take too long to load, especially product images.
This is what you refer to as churn. Problem is, you don’t know how to fix it. Images are essential for ecommerce stores. They help you sell your products.
You also know that images and other downloadable elements on your website slow down your site’s load time, and can affect web experience for users who are not in close proximity to the origin server.
Fortunately, the Best CDN for eCommerce websites is here to help you out.
What is Content Delivery Network? What is Content Delivery Network?
A type of service called content delivery network solves the problem with latency. Latency is the time taken by a visitor to your website to request a page. Once the request has been received, the service responds to that request by delivering the requested elements to the visitor’s device.
All web requests are sent to the same server. This server is known as the host origin server. Every web request is received and responded to by the origin server, regardless of where it comes from.
This setup has a problem: if the web visitor is far away from the origin server, the request’s journey will take longer due to distance. It can also become overwhelmed if the host origin server is receiving too many requests. These two scenarios can result in slow loading times or even website failure.
This is unacceptable for ecommerce website owners. The success of ecommerce websites is dependent on providing customers with a fast, convenient and high-quality web experience. Failure to meet these requirements will lead to churn.
This is where content delivery network or CDN comes in.
What is the best CDN for eCommerce?
CDNs can be used to increase the reach of your eCommerce website and offer a quicker web experience for your visitors by using a number of strategically placed servers (known as Point of Presence servers).
These PoP servers cache a cached copy of your web pages elements. This includes the HTML, CSS codes and images.
A web visitor requests a page by using their browser. Instead of sending the request directly to the origin server the request is sent to the closest PoP server which will then deliver the requested web pages, elements and all.
This eliminates the problem with proximity. Web requests from distant devices don’t have to travel the long IP transmission path to reach the origin server. Instead, the nearest PoP server will be able to serve them.
The PoP server takes on many of the requests and relieves the origin server from too much traffic.
What are the benefits of Content Delivery Networks for you?
Website for eCommerce with High Performance
Your eCommerce website will be speed optimized with the best CDNs so customers have the best possible experience every time they visit it. CDNs not only optimize your website for speed but also decrease the amount of bandwidth required to load all elements on your website, including images. You can set up different paths to your web elements so the CDN can pull in the closest and fastest source.
Globally-reaching eCommerce Website
Your website will be more accessible to customers from all over the world. Customers who visit your site from other countries will experience the same speed as those who are located near the origin server. Your website can sell any time you want, because it offers a fast service no matter where the customer is located.
Google Ranking Pages
Google’s top ranking factor is its speedy load speeds. If your eCommerce website is faster than the competition, it will rank higher than theirs.
You can speed up the loading time of your WordPress website and webpages by using CDN companies. CDN companies (Content Delivery Network Companies) can help improve the performance of your website as well as user experience.
This article will compare the top CDN providers and their pros and cons. It is designed to speed up your website.
Here’s a table of contents of the CDN providers on our list:
- StackPath
- Sucuri
- Cloudflare
- KeyCDN
- Rackspace
- Google Cloud CDN
- CacheFly
- Amazon CloudFront
What is a CDN?
A Content Delivery Network (or CDN) is a network that stores a cached copy on multiple servers.
CDNs cache static content such as images, CSS files and javascript files.
It delivers the copy from servers near your site visitors’ geographical locations.
You should remember that you still require a web hosting account in order to maintain your website files. CDN providers are responsible for maintaining static resources on your website, but not hosting your original website files.
Let’s use an example to explain CDN.
Imagine that your WordPress website is hosted on Bluehost. The server for your Bluehost account is in Los Angeles. The website files of a London visitor to your site will be downloaded from the Los Angeles server.
This could affect your site’s loading speed. The site’s speed may also be affected by an increase in requests to one server. CDN providers are able to help you with this. This keeps a static copy in different places around the world of your website.
The visitor will receive a cached copy from the CDN server closest to them and not the original files from their web host. This will reduce your website’s loading time. Let’s now discuss CDN. We will take a look at some of the top CDN providers for WordPress to speed up your site.
The Best CDN Providers
Here are our top choices for reliable and fastest CDNs.
1. StackPath
StackPath is a top-rated CDN provider in the market. To strengthen their service, they acquired MaxCDN several years ago.
You can improve your website’s loading speed by connecting to multiple data centers around the globe. It also comes with an EdgeSSL certificate, which is included in the plan.
Stackpath is easy to set-up and provides real-time analytics. You can also use 301 redirects, Gzip compression, intelligent caching, and more.
StackPath, unlike other CDN providers, offers security services such as load balancing, blocking DDoS protection features, and a firewall in addition to their CDN service. You can choose to purchase the CDN service only or a bundle of services.
Pros
- You can use the unlimited website without restrictions
- With their basic plan, you get 1 TB (Terabytes) of bandwidth per month
- Private EdgeSSL certificate for free
- Multiple servers located around the world
- Additional security services available
- People in the west have great access to 14 points of presence in North America and 9 in Europe.
Cons
- They do not offer a free plan. You can however use their free one-month trial to try their service.
Price: StackPath offers a variety of bundles and services at reduced rates. Their CDN service is only available for $10 per month.
2. Sucuri
Sucuri, a well-known website security company, protects your site against hackers, DDoS attacks and malware. Their WordPress plugin can be used to scan and monitor your site for security problems.
They also offer CDN services to optimize your website’s speed. SEO optimization is crucial for many reasons, including site speed.
They only use the most advanced hardware and technology to increase the site’s performance. They offer multiple caching options to suit different websites.
For more information, you can check out the Sucuri review at our sister site IsItWP.
Pros
- Every plan comes with unlimited bandwidth
- Website uptime guaranteed
- Includes security features and CDN service
- The support team is available 24 hours a day to assist you with your problems
- DNS Monitoring alerts you when your site’s name servers or MX records change.
Cons
- StackPath is more expensive than it is costly
- Offers no free plan
Price: Start at $199 per Year for a Single Website
3. Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a popular CDN provider among professionals, bloggers, and small businesses. Cloudflare comes with a free plan that does not limit bandwidth. It is one of the top free CDN providers for WordPress.
There are more than 180 data centers worldwide. This can be a great way to increase the speed and security of your website.
Cloudflare can be easily installed on your WordPress website. Cloudflare will automatically cache your website’s resources, but you can also purge and clear them from your control panel.
Cloudflare’s drawback is that you will need to upgrade to a premium account in order to access all security features. This is unlike other CDN services such as StackPath or Sucuri.
Pros
- It is easy to set up
- Monitor the performance of the control panel easily
- There are more than 180 data centers around the world, including North America, South America and Europe.
- Developers can take complete control over the service’s operation with REST API
Cons
- The free plan has limited features
- To use their chat and phone support, you will need to upgrade to their paid plan
- Your website might not be protected from DDoS attacks, malware and spam because the free plan only offers limited security features.
Price: Free. You can upgrade to the premium plan for $20 per month if you require additional features.
4. KeyCDN
KeyCDN is another CDN provider we recommend. The CDN Enabler plugin makes it easy to integrate it into your WordPress site.
Customers can choose to pay as they go plans, meaning that you only pay what you use. This is a good option for websites with low traffic, but the monthly cost may rise if your site receives a lot of visitors.
KeyCDN features include Gzip compression and real-time reporting, instant purge options as well as two-factor authentication and DDoS protection.
Pros
- 34 data centers
- It’s easy to set up your WordPress site
- Plans that allow you to “Pay as You Go”
- Support is available 24 hours a day at no extra cost
Cons
- Offers no free plan
- There are fewer security features than others.
Price: Starting at $0.04 per GB, Pay as You Go
5. Rackspace
Rackspace is a well-known managed cloud computing service provider. Rackspace also offers CDN services to improve the performance of web applications and eCommerce websites.
It works in the same way as KeyCDN and uses the “pay-as-you go” pricing model. You’ll need to pay $0.16 per gigabyte to use their service.
Rackspace is built upon a powerful cloud infrastructure so your WordPress site will be quick. It’s also available in over 200 data centers around world.
Rackspace CDN setup is more complicated than other CDN providers.
Pros
- Cloud infrastructure that is powerful
- 200 centres around the globe
- Pricing plans that allow you to “Pay as You Go”
Cons
- DDoS Protection is not offered
- KeyCDN is more expensive than KeyCDN.
- Their service configuration is more complicated than the rest.
Price: Pay as you go starting at $0.16 perGB
6. Google Cloud CDN
Google Cloud CDN, a low-cost content delivery system that makes use of Google’s global network, is called Google Cloud CDN. There are data centers in 90 locations around the globe.
You get an SSL certificate for your website at no extra cost. It can be seamlessly integrated with the Google Cloud Platform.
You can also use the $300 trial credit for free to try their service within the next 90-days.
Pros
- 90 data centers
- Affordable pricing
- SSL Certificate Free
- Get a $300 trial credit
Cons
- It can be more difficult than others to configure.
- If you don’t have the right support, it is necessary to pay for technical support
Price: Pricing plans that allow you to pay as you go You can also try their service for free.
7. CacheFly
CacheFly is one the most established CDN providers on the market. Their service is available for both video streaming and podcast streaming with no hassle.
The interface is easy to use and understands so that you can easily manage everything. You can also get security features like DDoS protection and malware protection to protect you website from hackers.
CacheFly’s disadvantage is its high price. CacheFly’s basic plan is $295 per month, which is prohibitive for most online businesses.
Pros
- All things managed from a single dashboard
- Security features
- Great support team
Cons
- Very high prices compared to other countries
Price: Starting at $495 per month.
8. Amazon CloudFront
Amazon CloudFront, a popular CDN that Amazon Web Services offers for websites, is especially well-known because of its speed. It’s fast but also extremely advanced. It may be more suitable for developers or programmers than it is for beginners.
Pros
- Integrated with AWS
- Instant delivery of dynamic and personalized content
- There are hundreds of edge locations all over the world.
Cons
- It can be difficult to use
Price: Prices vary by location and are offered on a pay as you go basis.
Which CDN Service is Best for You?
After weighing the pros and cons, we conclude that StackPath has the best CDN provider on the market.
These features are affordable and can help speed up your WordPress website. StackPath also includes security features that protect your site against malware, spam, or bad traffic.
We also recommend Sucuri. Although Sucuri is most well-known for its security services it can also be used to improve the performance of your site using their CDN service.
In conclusion
We hope you found this article helpful in choosing the right CDN provider for your WordPress site.
You can read our article about the top managed WordPress hosting companies if you are looking for reliable web hosting services.
To receive updates from our blog, follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
