With over 4.9 billion active internet users worldwide, it’s safe to say that the World Wide Web usage has increased a lot, compared to when it was first introduced in 1989. Today, many people make use of the World Wide Web without even knowing the technologies behind its success. Well, one such technology is Content Delivery Network (CDN), which most top eCommerce companies, including Shopify, now take advantage of. That said, here’s a burning question; what exactly is CDN Shopify and how exactly does it work?
The rest of this post will introduce you to everything you need to know about CDN Shopify, including its benefits and how Flatline Agency can help you get started easily.
What exactly is CDN?
CDN or Content Delivery Network is a collection of different servers to provide website users easy access to web content. These servers are geographically distributed and interconnected, making it easier for you to access web content.
One highlighting feature of CDN is that it eliminates the need for people from different parts of the world to access a single server for a particular website. Instead, multiple servers are geographically dispersed, making it possible for users to access the website through the server closest to them.
CDN Shopify helps website owners to achieve a reduction in website wait time or network latency. This explains why most Shopify websites and apps run pretty fast, regardless of the users’ geographical location.
What is CDN (Shopify)?
One CDN question that’s common among Shopify website owners is; should I use CDN with Shopify?
Well, the simple and direct answer is you’re currently using CDN with your Shopify ecommerce website. You don’t need to look for any third-party Content Delivery Network to link with your Shopify account. That’s so because Shopify already employs the CDN system. Yes, CDN Shopify is available for every Shopify store.
But there are a few essential things you need to understand about Shopify’s CDN:
- First, you need to understand that Shopify’s CDN works the same way as other Content Delivery Networks. It works by allowing your website visitors to access your web content from the servers closest to them.
- Another thing that CDN Shopify does uniquely is “image resizing.” Image residing means CDN will help you resize your JPEG file into appropriate sizes for various visitors. It’s simple; imagine you uploaded an image file of 2048 x 2048 pixels (for example). With Shopify’s CDN, this image size will be resized into different sizes. Your visitors will only have access to a particular image size that suits their devices and internet speed. These image sizes are served directly from the URL of Shopify’s CDN.
- “Image format” is another unique feature of CDN Shopify. It’s simple; as soon as you upload your JPEG or PNG file, CDN will automatically create a copy of the image in “WebP” format. This format is served directly to users whose devices support this format.
- CDN Shopify also works as an image compressor. Yes, this technology helps Shopify to slightly compress overly large images to encourage fast load speed.
You can learn more about the benefits of CDN, including how Flatline Agency can help you get started with this technology.
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