Web Development
What is a CDN (content delivery network)?
Quick answer
A CDN is a network of servers spread across the world that store copies of your website's files and serve each visitor from the location nearest them. This cuts loading time, handles traffic spikes, and reduces load on your main server, so pages feel fast no matter where users are.
When someone visits your site, static assets like images, scripts, and even whole pages can be delivered from a nearby 'edge' server instead of travelling from a single origin. Providers like Cloudflare and Fastly run these global networks.
The result is faster load times, better resilience during traffic surges, and some protection against attacks. A CDN is a standard part of a fast, modern site and directly helps performance metrics like Core Web Vitals.
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