Finding a decent CDN provider was a hard task, but I’ve managed to find a great company. SpaceCDN offered me a network that meets my demands and is pretty cheap. I want to share my thoughts and recommendations with all starters who want to order a CDN, but have no idea how to select it.
About CDN
First, it’s important to learn what CDN is, and how it works. CDN, or content delivery network, is a system of servers located in datacenters across the world. Multiple servers that cache content are called edge servers, and the source of data – origin server. The last belongs to the user or his hosting provider. Edge servers are located in PoPs (points of presence) that can be scattered around the globe, or placed in strategic regions.
How does CDN accelerate content delivery? When a visitor makes the first request for a page and some content, it is sent to the origin server that transfers the data to the edge server which is closest to the requester. The next visitors will be sent the content directly from the edge server. The fewer miles content has to travel, the faster delivery speed will be. It’s about the simple law of physics.
I also learnt that CDN networks are mostly used to deliver static content including pictures, pre-recorded video, CSS and other scripts. But delivery of dynamic content can also be speeded up with the help of specific CDN solutions.
Does the number of PoPs matter?
Just like many beginners, I thought that the more PoPs is the better. However, after talking with SpaceCDN customer support I’ve changed my mind. The agents explained that the most important point is their location. It’s crucial to find a network that has PoPs close to your target audience, so that its infrastructure worked for your project well. Many customers overpay for the datacenters they don’t actually need. Therefore, before opting for some CDN solution, define the location of your audience and analyze where the available PoPs are situated.
Why does Website speed matter?
The need to accelerate my website appeared only when I started receiving complaints of my visitors. I created by online project three years ago, and thought that VPS hosting could supply a sufficient amount of resources. In fact, I didn’t monitor the speed of my website – it worked, and it was enough for me. But as my website was growing, the amount of users increased together with their geographic diversity. The site lacked bandwidth, and some pages loaded too slowly.
This is when I started digging into the issue and discovered that speed is one of crucial search engine ranking factors. Besides, it defines the quality of user experience. If people have to wait more than 3 seconds for a website to load, they’re likely to abandon it and go to competitor’s site. I found out that a quicker website means more traffic, overall user satisfaction, higher sales and lower bounce rate.
CDN or usual Hosting?
Another common misconception is thinking that CDN replaces usual hosting. In fact, it goes as an additional service, and host’s server is used as the origin server. When I realized that my website lacks speed, my first thought was to switch from VPS to a dedicated server. However, I needed better coverage, and CDN was the only solution that could provide it. Therefore, I would recommend SpaceCDN for website developers who want to achieve proper website acceleration in multiple regions.
How SpaceCDN helped me?
The network I ordered made my project completely different! I didn’t expect such brilliant results. There were at least six positive outcomes:
- Loading speed of my website boosted by 60-70%, and the difference was particularly noticeable in Europe, Latin America and some parts of Asia.
- Together with speed, SEO and ranking improved, and my website appeared on the first results page. Only then I discovered that Google was considering speed when ranking websites. It gave me a great advantage over the competitors.
- The number of users has grown up almost by 50% during several months, and soon will pass the mark of 3 million readers in month.
- I used to deal with DDoS attacks and hacking – my hosting provider and backups helped. But with CDN from SpaceCDN, the attacks ceased. Their firewall keeps hackers at a bay.
- After analyzing work of the origin server I came to the conclusion that it has been significantly offloaded, and there was no need to change my VPS anymore.
- Gradually, the volume of sales has grown up together with conversion rate, and I’ve managed to lower bounce rate by 90%.
With CDN service from SpaceCDN, my online business has started a new lease of life. It inspired me to develop and grow further on.
How to implement a Network?
As a beginner, I didn’t know how to deploy a CDN, but SpaceCDN team gave me a step-by-step guide that helped to set everything up (I had particular problems with pull zone and account management). I know that WordPress provides a lot of plugins for automatic CDN implementation, but it wasn’t my case. So if you’re not a tech-savvy person, I recommend ordering a network in SpaceCDN: these guys will help in with everything starting from the choice of networking and finishing by its daily maintenance.
Why SpaceCDN?
There are tens of CDN providers and hosting companies, “So why not picking up the most popular solution” – would you ask. My project had specific needs and requirements, and the budget was pretty tight, so cookie-cutter approach wouldn’t do. Free CDNs are never worth trying, because they’re mostly unreliable and not quite efficient. I needed a CDN that would be powerful and at the same time not costly.
SpaceCDN reseller has the following key advantages:
- Being partners with leading CDN providers (Verizon, HighWinds, AhCDN, UCDN), it offers a lot of different content delivery networks for the lowest prices (the cheapest network costs as low as $10 a month).
- 24/7 customer support is what most companies promise, but don’t actually provide. With SpaceCDN, I always have my questions answered within a few minutes, no matter when I contact their team. Besides, I can talk to the agents in live chat, Skype, or via email.
- The company has a lot of free and paid services for CDN networks.
- Up to 3 days of free trial gave me the opportunity to test the chosen CDN and make the final decision.
- The lowest prices on the market. SpaceCDN offers pretty cheap networks with excellent characteristics. Minimal payment is $10/month only! It means that any company can afford CDN decent and reliable CDN service.
Besides, SpaceCDN has PoPs in most regions: USA, Europe, Russia and CIS, Latin America. The companies that need global coverage will definitely find a suitable network on their website.
Conclusion
I’m glad that I chose SpaceCDN, because they provide me with all I need: fast CDN service, consistent level of customer support, low prices and exceptional simplicity of use. Their network is always up, and the speed of loading is high for all visitors, no matter where they are located. There hasn’t been a single instance where I users complained about downtime or inability to access a file.
I think that their pricing is more than agreeable. SpaceCDN has the whole gamut of great solutions for businesses and individuals, and I would recommend this company to all of my friends who develop online projects.
Content provided by Terry Mason