CDN for WordPress: Complete Guide to Speeding Up Your Site

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) serves your site's files from servers close to your visitors. This guide explains how CDNs work and how to set one up for WordPress.

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What Is a CDN?

Without a CDN, all requests go to your origin server:

Visitor (Tokyo) → Origin Server (New York) → Response
Distance: ~10,000 km
Latency: 150-200ms

With a CDN:

Visitor (Tokyo) → CDN Edge (Tokyo) → Response
Distance: ~10 km
Latency: 5-10ms

Result: Faster page loads for visitors everywhere.

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What CDNs Cache

A CDN typically caches static assets:

Asset Type

Examples

Cacheable

Images

.jpg, .png, .webp

✅

Stylesheets

.css

✅

JavaScript

.js

✅

Fonts

.woff2, .ttf

✅

Videos

.mp4, .webm

✅

HTML

.html

Depends

API responses

Dynamic

Usually ❌

For WordPress, most CDN configurations cache assets but not dynamic HTML pages.

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Popular CDN Options

Cloudflare (Recommended)

Pricing:

• Free tier available

• Pro: $20/month

• Business: $200/month

Pros:

• Free tier is excellent

• DNS + CDN + Security

• Easy setup

• DDoS protection

• SSL included

Cons:

• Full page caching requires config

• APO costs extra ($5/month)

BunnyCDN

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go (~$0.01/GB)

Pros:

• Very affordable

• Fast global network

• Simple pricing

• Good EU coverage

Cons:

• Less feature-rich than Cloudflare

• No free tier

KeyCDN

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go (starting $0.04/GB)

Pros:

• Good performance

• Real-time analytics

• Easy WordPress integration

Cons:

• Minimum $49 credit to start

• Less known than alternatives

Fastly

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go (enterprise-focused)

Pros:

• Extremely fast edge

• Instant purge

• Advanced edge computing

Cons:

• Expensive at scale

• More complex setup

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Setting Up Cloudflare

Step 1: Create Account

1. Go to cloudflare.com

2. Sign up (free)

3. Add your site

Step 2: Update Nameservers

Cloudflare provides nameservers like:

anna.ns.cloudflare.com
bob.ns.cloudflare.com

Update these at your domain registrar.

Step 3: Configure Settings

Speed → Optimization:

• Auto Minify: CSS, JavaScript, HTML

• Brotli: On

Caching → Configuration:

• Caching Level: Standard

• Browser Cache TTL: 4 hours (or respect headers)

Security → Settings:

• Security Level: Medium

• Challenge Passage: 30 minutes

Step 4: Install WordPress Plugin (Optional)

Install "Cloudflare" plugin:

1. Plugins → Add New → Search "Cloudflare"

2. Install and activate

3. Connect API key

4. Enable automatic cache purge

Step 5: Enable APO (Optional)

Automatic Platform Optimization ($5/month) caches full HTML pages:

1. Speed → Optimization → Cloudflare APO

2. Enable APO

3. Install Cloudflare plugin if not already

This is the closest to full page caching you'll get with WordPress on Cloudflare.

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Setting Up BunnyCDN

Step 1: Create Pull Zone

1. Sign up at bunny.net

2. Add credit (minimum $10)

3. Create Pull Zone:

- Origin URL: your WordPress URL

- Zone name: choose a name

Step 2: Get CDN URL

You'll receive a URL like: mysite.b-cdn.net

Step 3: Configure WordPress

Option A: Plugin

Install "BunnyCDN" plugin:

1. Plugins → Add New → Search "BunnyCDN"

2. Configure CDN hostname

3. Set directories to include

Option B: CDN Enabler

Use "CDN Enabler" plugin:

1. Install and activate

2. Set CDN hostname: mysite.b-cdn.net

3. Included directories: wp-content,wp-includes

Step 4: Custom Domain (Optional)

1. Create CNAME: cdn.yoursite.com → mysite.b-cdn.net

2. Add custom hostname in Bunny dashboard

3. Enable SSL

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WordPress CDN Plugins

WP Rocket (Paid)

Includes CDN integration:

• Works with any CDN

• Automatic asset URL rewriting

• Preloading

LiteSpeed Cache (Free)

For LiteSpeed servers:

• QUIC.cloud CDN included

• Full page caching

• Image optimization

W3 Total Cache (Free)

CDN integration:

• Supports many CDN providers

• Complex but powerful

• Manual configuration

Perfmatters (Paid)

Lightweight with CDN:

• Simple rewrite rules

• Works with any CDN

• Minimal bloat

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CDN Best Practices

1. Set Proper Cache Headers

In your .htaccess or server config:

Images - cache for 1 year
jpegpnggifwebpsvgico)$">
    Header set Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable"


CSS/JS - cache for 1 year (use versioning)

    Header set Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable"


Fonts - cache for 1 year
woff2ttfeot)$">
    Header set Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable"

2. Use Query Strings for Cache Busting

3. Purge Cache After Updates

After theme or content updates:

Clear CDN cache

• Clear WordPress cache

• Test the site

4. Monitor Performance

Track:

• Cache hit ratio (aim for 90%+)

• Response times

• Bandwidth usage

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Common CDN Issues

Issue: Changes Not Showing

Cause: Browser or CDN cache serving old content

Fix:

1. Clear CDN cache

2. Clear browser cache

3. Check cache TTL settings

Issue: Mixed Content Warnings

Cause: Some assets loaded over HTTP

Fix:

1. Force HTTPS in WordPress settings

2. Update hardcoded HTTP URLs

3. Use relative URLs or //

Issue: 404 Errors on CDN

Cause: CDN can't reach origin

Fix:

1. Verify origin URL is correct

2. Check firewall isn't blocking CDN

3. Verify SSL on origin

Issue: Slow First Load

Cause: Cache is cold (not populated)

Fix:

1. Pre-warm cache by visiting pages

2. Use CDN preload feature if available

3. Accept that first hits are slower

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CDN vs. Modern Hosting

Here's the interesting thing: modern static hosting includes CDN by default.

Traditional WordPress + CDN

1. Request comes in
2. CDN checks cache
3. If miss, request goes to origin
4. WordPress generates HTML (PHP + MySQL)
5. Response returns through CDN
6. CDN caches for next time

Complexity: High. Multiple layers to configure.

Static Site on Modern Hosting

1. Request comes in
2. Edge server returns pre-built HTML
3. Done.

With Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages:

• No CDN configuration needed

• Files are at the edge by default

• Pre-built = always fast

• No cache warming required

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Comparison

Aspect

WordPress + CDN

Static on Edge

Setup

Complex

Automatic

First request

Slow (origin hit)

Fast (pre-built)

Cache management

Manual

None needed

Cache invalidation

Tricky

Automatic on deploy

Cost

CDN + hosting

Usually free tier

Global performance

Good

Excellent

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When You Need a CDN

WordPress without CDN is acceptable for:

• Small/local audience

• Low traffic sites

• Server geographically near users

WordPress needs a CDN for:

• Global audience

• High traffic

• Image-heavy sites

• E-commerce

You don't need to configure a CDN for:

• Static sites on Vercel/Netlify/Cloudflare Pages

• Edge-hosted applications

• JAMstack sites

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FAQ

Q: Is Cloudflare free good enough?

Yes for most sites. Free tier includes CDN, DDoS protection, and SSL. APO ($5/month) adds full page caching for WordPress.

Q: Can I use multiple CDNs?

Technically yes, but usually unnecessary and adds complexity.

Q: How do I know if CDN is working?

Check response headers for CDN-specific headers (like cf-cache-status: HIT for Cloudflare). Use tools like curl -I or browser dev tools.

Q: Will CDN help my SEO?

Faster sites rank better, so yes. CDN improves Core Web Vitals metrics. Learn more about Core Web Vitals →

Q: What about image optimization?

CDNs help deliver images faster, but you should still compress them. See our image optimization guide →

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Conclusion

CDNs significantly improve WordPress performance, but require configuration and management:

CDN

Best For

Price

Cloudflare

Most sites

Free-$20/mo

BunnyCDN

Budget-conscious

~$1-5/mo

KeyCDN

Simple setup

Pay-as-you-go

For the simplest experience, consider static hosting where CDN is automatic. No configuration, no cache purging, no complexity.

Related guides:

• Vercel vs Netlify vs Cloudflare Pages

• Speed Up WordPress: 25 Proven Techniques

• Why WordPress Is Slow (And How to Fix It)

Learn about modern hosting alternatives →