One of the most annoying things about a website is its slow loading time. Whether you are a website designer or a simple user, a poor-performing website is what everyone dreads.
Most of the time, people blame their network when a site takes a long time to open. However, it is not always true. It is all the work of CDN or Content Delivery Network.
A good CDN Provider is a crucial part of a website. There are many providers out there, making the process of finding the right one even harder.
So, today we bring you our easy guide that will help you understand what CDN is and learn about the top 6 CDN providers in 2023. Whether you want to educate yourself or build a website, this guide will be of great help.
What is CDN?
CDN or Content Delivery Network is a group of servers that are geographically distributed & aids in the fast delivery of internet content.
In simpler terms, it is a network that keeps a cached copy of web content on various nearby servers. Generally, it retains the static content of a web page in the form of images, videos, HTML pages, CSS files, and more.
So, the next time a user accesses a website, instead of streaming the data from the primary server (which can be anywhere in the world), which takes a lot of time, the CDN delivers its stored copy from a nearby server and speeds up the entire process.
This is the reason why CDNs have gained popularity over the years. And today, almost every top website, like Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, etc., is managed via CDN networks.
Apart from this, CDN also protects your website against some common malicious attacks like DDOS attacks.
A CDN is a copy of your hosting. So, never get it confused with web hosting. A website needs its hosting to run the original content.
6 Best CDN Providers To Use In 2023
CDN is like a copy of your original server, but it can not work without the original server. People are accessing websites whose server accounts are based in another country with ease due to CDN providers.
Having a good CDN server decides the loading time of a website when it is accessed in remote locations concerning its primary server location.
Below we have listed the 6 best CDN providers you should consider if you are looking for one.
1. Uploadcare
Uploadcare is a reliable CDN. While Uploadcare can help serve many kinds of files, they specialize in image hosting.
Uploadcare offers advanced features such as image optimization, and image transformations – many of these transformations are AI-assisted.
In addition to the image-related features, Uploadcare has one of the best file uploader widgets in the industry. Uploadcare has been designed for developers and offers robust APIs, as well as excellent customer support. This CDN also offers flexible payment plans, based on what customers need.
Key Features:
- Industry-leading file uploader
- AI-assisted, automated image transformations
- Developer-friendly APIs
- Flexible payment plans
2. StackPath
When there is a talk of the best CDN provider, StackPath is the first name that made it to our list. StackPath is a US cloud service provider that acquired the popular MaxCDN in 2016.
It now provides numerous data centers across the world, making it easy for its client to have better customer reach.
StackPath CDN is user-friendly. Its precise web console makes it even easier to handle the settings. You get real-time analytics, a smart caching system, 301 redirects, and much more.
Their security services like protection from DDOS, load balancing, and firewall make this provider stand out.
Also, if you get stuck, their technical support is available via phone or live chat.
Key Features:
- Easy to set up
- Powerful security features
- Can be used on unlimited websites
- Numerous server locations across the globe
- Additional security services
- You can purchase loads of different services as per your requirements
- You get 1TB bandwidth per month with the introductory plan
3. Cloudflare
If you are looking for a CDN with expert-level features & functionality with ease of usage, Cloudflare is the one for you.
It comes with an easy setup and can help you in limiting content spam, blocking bots, safety from hackers, and DDOS attacks.
The best thing about this CDN provider is that it offers a free plan to its users. Under a free plan, you can see what Cloudflare can do. You get unlimited bandwidth and no restrictions or reminders forcing you to upgrade. However, if you want better security handling, you should go for the premium plan.
This CDN can help in boosting the website speed, performance, and security of a website with ease.
Key Features:
- User-friendly
- Free plan available
- Great performance
- 180 data centers across the globe
- REST API is a good feature for developers to handle the working of CDN
4. Sucuri
Sucuri is a supervised security service provider for websites. You can use it to improve the performance of his website. Apart from the CDN services, Sucuri can protect a website from DDOS attacks, hackers, and other malware attacks.
Sucuri can even be used as a website plugin to check a website’s security issues. However, it is only for WordPress.
With their multiple caching options, you have the best technologies to boost your website’s performance without a hassle.
Key Features:
- Security features are also available
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 24/7 customer support
- Can boost your website performance bigtime
- DNS Monitoring that alerts on any crucial changes related to the website
5. Rackspace
The next CDN provider on this list is Rackspace. Whether you own an informative website or a heavy eCommerce one, Rackspace can be of huge help.
This provider has a robust cloud infrastructure that can make your website load much faster than you can imagine.
The pricing system of Rackspace is quite different from the others mentioned on this list. You need to pay $0.16 for every GB usage of their service.
This CDN is complicated to set up, and we would not recommend it if you do not have good knowledge.
Key Features:
- 200 centers across the globe
- Cloud infrastructure
- Pay on the go- payment system
- Set up is a little complicated
6. KeyCDN
The final CDN provider on our list of top five is KeyCDN. It is a good choice if you have a low budget or you are a first-time user.
You get top features like Gzip compression, instant purge choices, real-time reports, DDOS protection, and more. Moreover, its easy guide helps you incorporate the service with WordPress and other applications.
This CDN provider bills you $0.04 per GB in its “pay to go method”. It means the bigger the traffic on your website, the more you have to pay.
KeyCDN performance may not be as good as the others on this list, but it is a good resort if you for a budget-friendly website.
Key Features:
- Effortless setup
- Affordable prices
- 24/7 free customer support
- Integration with WordPress sites is the easiest
Summing Up
High-end performance, speed, and security are the three crucial parts of a website. If a website can not offer them effortlessly to its users, it is junk.
This is why CDN is necessary. And we hope our list of the best CDN providers helps you understand what a CDN does and which one will suit your website the best.
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