WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems on the web, powering over 40% of all websites. With its widespread use comes the need for performance optimization. One of the methods commonly used to speed up a website is a Content Delivery Network (CDN). However, despite the potential benefits, using a CDN for WordPress is not always the best choice. In this article, we’ll explore why you shouldn’t use a CDN for WordPress, focusing on cost, geographical location of users, and setup.
Cost
CDNs are not free. While some providers offer free plans, they are typically limited in terms of bandwidth, storage, and features. To get the most out of a CDN, you will need to pay for a premium plan. The cost of a premium plan can be high, depending on the traffic and the amount of data transferred. Additionally, the cost of a CDN can vary depending on the provider, which can make it challenging to compare prices and choose the best option for your needs.
Geographical location of users
CDNs work by caching your website’s files on servers located in different parts of the world. When a user visits your website, the CDN will serve the cached files from the server closest to the user’s location. This can significantly reduce the loading time of your website for users in other countries or continents.
However, if your website’s traffic is mostly local or comes from a specific region, using a CDN may not be necessary. In this case, the CDN may actually slow down your website instead of speeding it up. This is because the CDN will add an extra hop to the user’s request, which can increase the loading time.
Setup
Setting up a CDN for WordPress can be a challenging task, especially for beginners. Most CDNs require you to install and configure their plugin, which can be time-consuming and may cause compatibility issues with other plugins. Additionally, some CDNs may require you to make changes to your DNS settings, which can be confusing and risky if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Wrapping it up
While CDNs can provide significant benefits to your website’s performance, they are not always the best choice for WordPress. If your website’s traffic is mostly local, or if you don’t want to deal with the cost and complexity of setting up a CDN, it may be better to focus on other performance optimization techniques, such as caching, image optimization, and code optimization. The exception to this is Cloudflare which works slightly different to a traditional CDN and includes a bunch of other benefits.
Ultimately, the decision of whether to use a CDN for WordPress depends on your website’s specific needs and the traffic you receive. Before making any decisions, it’s important to consider all the pros and cons of using a CDN and to choose the solution that works best for you.