{"id":719,"date":"2021-08-29T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.hostinger.io\/hostinger-tutorials\/uncategorized\/improving-website-performance-using-a-cdn\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T10:24:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T10:24:43","slug":"improving-website-performance-using-a-cdn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/in\/tutorials\/improving-website-performance-using-a-cdn","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up a CDN: Tips to Improve Website Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Website performance can make or break the success of your online business or project. If a site delivers a poor user experience, visitors will be more likely to leave it. One of the best ways to prevent this is by using a content delivery network (CDN).<\/p>

A CDN can boost the speed and reduce resource usage of a website. It ensures quick deployment of static content by delivering it from the closest location to your visitors.<\/p>

This article will show you how to set up a CDN to optimize your website’s performance. It will also go over the other benefits of using content delivery networks.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

What Is a CDN<\/h2>

A content delivery network (CDN)<\/a> is a collection of multiple servers outside the origin server, made up of multiple data centers worldwide called points of presence (PoPs).<\/p>

CDN servers store cached website files such as HTML<\/a> pages, images, and videos and then deliver them to visitors. By minimizing the distance between visitors and origin servers, a CDN enables the fast delivery of web content.<\/p>

How Does a CDN Work<\/h2>
\"how<\/a><\/figure><\/div>

When a user requests static website<\/a> assets for the first time, a CDN server will transfer the files from the origin server.<\/p>

It will also cache a copy of the assets in the server nearest to the user, called the edge server,<\/strong> and reuse the stored data for future requests. This way, a CDN can serve the site content to visitors much more quickly and reduce the workload of the web server.<\/p>

If your visitor is from India while your origin server is in the United States, the content delivery may take longer due to the physical distance between them.<\/p>

By using a CDN with servers located in Singapore, Australia, and the United States, for example, you’ll ensure that the web files arrive quickly to the visitor from India, as your CDN will distribute the content from Singapore – the nearest server possible.<\/p>

How to Set Up a CDN<\/h2>

The process to set up a CDN is simple, especially if your hosting provider<\/a> offers default CDN integration.<\/p>

Here are the three steps to set up a CDN:<\/p>

1. Analyze Your Site<\/h3>

Before setting up a CDN, analyze your website<\/a> and check whether a CDN is already integrated on your server using a tool such as CDN Finder<\/a> by CDN Planet.<\/p>

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/figure>

If the CDN is not activated yet, proceed to the next step.<\/p>

2. Enable the CDN<\/h3>

There are two available options – using a free CDN or investing in a paid service.<\/p>

It’s also possible to create your own CDN. However, it comes at a hefty cost as you’ll need to build your own infrastructure or rent out server space on private data centers.<\/p>

Let’s take a look at each of the methods to enable a CDN.<\/p>

Option 1 – Enabling Free CDN<\/strong><\/p>

If you run a small site with medium traffic, using a free CDN provider should be more than enough.<\/p>

Cloudflare<\/a> is one of the best free CDN services – its free plan comes with many excellent features, including distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection.<\/p>

\"The<\/a><\/figure>

If the Cloudflare CDN comes with your web hosting plan or is an additional service, it will only take a few minutes to configure it.<\/p>

To configure Cloudflare on Hostinger’s VPS hosting<\/a>, or if your web host doesn’t support this service by default, you’ll have to set up the CDN manually.<\/p>

It is pretty straightforward – create a Cloudflare account, add your domain name to it, and change the domain nameservers to Cloudflare’s.<\/p>

After configuring your domain to use CloudFlare, wait for a few hours for the changes to take full effect. Once the process is complete, you’ll receive an email confirmation.<\/p>

Note that if you set up Cloudflare<\/a> on a WordPress site, it’s also essential to install the Cloudflare plugin to manage its settings from your WP-Admin dashboard. You can also check out our review of other WordPress CDNs<\/a>.<\/p>

Option 2 – Use Paid CDN Solutions<\/strong><\/p>

If your site experiences high traffic spikes and encounters high resource usage, investing in a paid CDN service will be a better option.<\/p>

Here are a few excellent paid CDN providers to consider:<\/p>