A CDN, short for content delivery network, is a group of distributed website servers that deliver webpages and content to your visitors based on geographic location.
Prior to CDNs website servers were in one physical location and visitors would receive your content from that location. This can cause slower page loading times if the visitor is across the country.
CDNs are typically found on every continent and having them placed around the globe can increase page load time regardless of where your visitors are located. But do municipality websites need to have a global reach?
Let’s Discuss Your Municipality Website Goals
3 Reasons Why You Don’t Need a Content Delivery Network
1. It Can Be Impractical For Your Town
As mentioned before, the website servers that make up the network of a CDN are strategically positioned around the world. If your target market is your town and possibly the neighboring towns then it is impractical to have a global network maintaining your content.
Instead, try improving your page load times, switch to a website hosting provider that is closer to your town or one that has SSD hard drives that spin faster than typical hard drives.
2. It Could Cost Your Town More
The pricing can be confusing for CDNs. Typically providers charge on how many gigabytes (GB) are being delivered each month versus a monthly total for unlimited usage, so the bill may fluctuate each month. We found a CDN calculator that will determine your monthly cost based on how many GBs you use.
3. Performance Issues?
I guess this can be for either website hosting option but if the provider’s performance is bad it will reflect poorly on your website. Our suggestion is to do your research, not only on each provider but do a search to read what others are saying about their company, product and support.
