What is a CDN?
A content delivery network: servers around the world that keep copies of your files close to your users.
Your website's server is in Virginia. Your user is in Tokyo. Every image has to cross the Pacific. Unless you use a CDN.
What it is
A CDN, a content delivery network, is a network of servers spread around the world that keep copies of your files close to your users.
How it works
The first time someone in Tokyo asks for an image, the nearest CDN server fetches it from your origin server and keeps a copy. The next person nearby gets it straight from that nearby server, in a fraction of the time. Images, videos, scripts and whole pages can be served this way.
Why it matters
Pages load faster everywhere, your own server handles far less traffic, and a CDN can soak up sudden spikes.
