How is CDN Useful for eCommerce Websites?

Research has shown that customers tend to leave a site whose web pages take more than a couple of seconds to load. The speed of an eCommerce site directly influences its conversion rates, repeat business and even search engine rankings. So, while setting up an eCommerce site you not only have to ensure that it is user-friendly and easy to navigate but also that its pages load quickly. Apart from using the best web hosting for wooCommerce, you also need to incorporate features that aid in the fast loading of the pages.  One such way or feature is CDN or a Content Delivery Network.  So, when you are looking for the best web hosting for wooCommerce, do check for the inclusion of CDN in the plan.

What Is CDN and How Does It Work?

CDN or a Content Delivery Network refers to a group of connected servers that work together to optimize the delivery of static content to the visitors of a website. The network works in such a way that the content of a website is delivered to the visitors according to their location and through the use of the server nearest to them. 

A website can be connected to the CDN service by changing the nameservers of a domain name to the nameservers of the CDN service. This means that when a visitor wishes to open a website page, the browser sends a request to the DNS server which then sends the IP address of where the website is stored back to the browser. This is followed by the browser sending a request for data to the CDN server which further routes the request to the server closest to the user for processing and loading of the desired page.

Benefits of Using CDN 

Reduced Load on Server

Integrating a CDN with your managed WordPress hosting or any other hosting plan helps you bypass the delivery of static files like CSS and Java script, audio files, and images. This not only reduces the load on your origin server but also cuts down on the bandwidth usage thereby doing away with the need for frequent upgrades to your hosting plan. And since the web pages get loaded quickly, you can handle more visitors at the same time.

Ability to Handle Some Increase in Visitor Traffic-

eCommerce sites tend to witness a spike in visitor traffic during the festival season or when some promotional drive is on. And you have to be prepared to deal with this spike. This requires ensuring that your web pages load quickly and the visitors can navigate easily which helps them in making quick decisions and make purchases. The inability to handle the increased traffic may result in frequent downtime thereby hurting the reputation of your eCommerce store. 

You can make your online store or eCommerce store successful by focusing on its design, ease of navigation, and the speed of loading of the web pages by choosing the best hosting services. You can opt for managed WordPress hosting in India or go for unmanaged plans but do look out for the CDN feature. The CDN will help in hosting your server in such a way that target customers across the world can access the content on your website faster. The CDN will ensure that the server used for displaying the web pages of your site is the one closest to the visitor’s geographic location.