For content creators and web developers who are seeking to speed up their web pages, learn more about whether CDNs or caching works for you.
In an attempt to speed up their websites, owners are ready to take various measures. When we talk about the speed of a website, most often we mean the speed of its content loading. There are two effective methods to improve the load time — data caching and using a content delivery network (CDN).
Both methods are good in their own way and are used by a variety of web resources. Our article aims to compare them in terms of speed of data load. Our task is not to point you in the right direction, but to provide enough details so that you make an informed choice.
What Is Caching and How Does It Work?
At its core, data caching is the process of storing information from a website on a computer for a specific period of time. Usually, caching employs the part of RAM that is not used. This process starts automatically after the user loads the website page for the first time. Saving content (images, banners, videos, text, and so on) has a positive effect on the speed of its load. And this, in turn, accelerates the speed of site loading. The user no longer needs to wait until they access the source server and receive a response.
This process makes sense not only in terms of improving the user experience but also from the perspective of improving the website’s rank in search engines. For example, Google ranks fast sites higher. Demand for improved caching has resulted in various widgets hitting the market. They promise to make the caching process faster and better. However, often, this only leads to slower loading.
Of course, cached content isn’t stored forever. Usually, owners of web resources set specific caching options, including how long the data should be kept. This is done to free up the RAM space for more recent data.
What Is CDN and How Does It Work?
The way you see information on a website involves several processes. It all starts with your request for data when entering the site. The request travels to the server on which the website is running. The site receives a response from the server and the information appears in front of your eyes. Fast websites ensure that this process is maintained in a second. However, the speed of content loading is affected not only by how well-optimized the site is but also by the physical distance between the user and the server. For example, if you are located in Warsaw and the website's server is in Tokyo, then the request processing may take a longer time (~ 3-4 seconds). Therefore, using CDN image hosting, you can significantly reduce this time.
At its core, CDN is a network of third-party cache servers distributed around the world. They store cached data from multiple websites. Simply put, using a CDN, the website allows its content to be stored in several places around the globe. Expanding on the case above, the request from Warsaw won’t go to Tokyo and back. Instead, it will be sent to a server in Berlin, for example. The distance is reduced significantly and site loads faster (less than a second).
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