Last week, we were able to work out a deal with one of the biggest Content Delivery Networks known as MaxCDN to accelerate WPBeginner’s load time. Earlier this week, we made a few changes to WPBeginner in terms of site optimization. First of all, we switched from using WP Super Cache to W3 Total Cache Plugin. This does not mean that WP Super Cache is a bad plugin. It just means that at this stage of our site’s life, we needed something more versatile and powerful.
One of the main reasons for the switch was that W3 Total Cache is fully compatible with MaxCDN. There will be a full tutorial coming soon showing you step by step on how to use and setup W3 Total Cache Plugin in conjunction with Content Delivery Networks. The setup for W3 Total Cache is not as easy for beginners compared to WP Super Cache. So we will recommend that you wait until next week when our tutorial is out.
So why did we choose MaxCDN?
This must be the question that everybody is thinking about. We knew once our site reaches a certain amount of users, we had to make this move in order to main our site’s high performance. MaxCDN is the company that powers top sites including Mashable, Template Monster, BuySellAds etc. So we knew that the company has a great reputation, and it can be trusted.
Why use Content Delivery Network on your site?
A content delivery network or content distribution network (CDN) is a system of computers containing copies of data, placed at various points in a network so as to maximize bandwidth for access to the data from clients throughout the network. A client accesses a copy of the data near to the client, as opposed to all clients accessing the same central server, so as to avoid bottleneck near that server [Wikipedia]. In short, Content Delivery Network accelerates the page load time while decreasing our server load (hence less bandwidth cost). All of our images, theme files, and other JavaScripts are hosted on MaxCDN servers whereas the database is hosted on our own server.
By having a content delivery network like MaxCDN, we reduce the risk of our site being slowed down when experiencing heavy traffic from social media outlets.
So why exactly is site load time so important for you?
Your site’s load time significantly impacts your Search Engine Ranking Positions (SERPs). It also plays a key role in reducing bounce rate, and increasing average time spent by the user on a site.
MaxCDN Pricing and Coupon
Right now MaxCDN is running a special LIMITED time deal in which they are offering 1000GB (1TB) of Bandwidth for only $39.95. This is one heck of a deal when compared to other CDN services. On top of that, we were able to work out a coupon for you guys to use. If you use the coupon code “wpbeginner“, you will receive a 25% discount on the total price.
Lastly, we want to thank MaxCDN for partnering up with WPBeginner and accelerating our site for us and our users.
