No matter whether you are running a digital startup, growing an eCommerce store, or expanding a brick-and-mortar enterprise, your website will be at the forefront of your business’s digital presence. In turn, investing in high-quality hosting, cybersecurity measures, and ad hoc UX can make a difference in the chances of success of your brand.
But how can you make sure that the Content Delivery Network (CDN) you have chosen for your website will be able to deliver to the expected standards?
For those not familiar with the term CDN it stands for Content Delivery Network. When a user visits a website, data from that website’s server has to travel across the internet to reach the user’s computer. If the user is located far from that server, it will take a long time to load a large file, such as a video or website image. Instead, the website content is stored on CDN servers geographically closer to the users and reaches their computers much faster.
With Cloudflare, you can. In this guide, you’ll find all you need to know about what Cloudflare is and how adopting it can benefit your business.
What Is Cloudflare? Let’s Cover the Basics
Initially developed in 2009, Cloudflare is a CDN that relies on a global network of servers to boost website performance and mitigate the risk of cyber attacks.
By storing a copy of your website on a global network of servers, Cloudflare can help secure and optimise websites, internet applications, APIs, and networks. What’s more, Cloudflare can be used to protect employees and corporate devices from cyber attacks.
The Benefits of Adopting Cloudflare for Your Business
As it continues to upgrade and integrate new features and functionalities, Cloudflare can benefit your business in more than one way. Discover the main advantages of switching to Cloudflare below – but don’t hesitate to consult an IT specialist to understand the impact that Cloudflare can have on your business.
Boosting Your Website’s Speed
One of the critical benefits of adopting Cloudflare is the network’s ability to significantly boost your website’s speed and performance.
According to the Search Engine Journal, website speed is used as one of the ranking factors by major search engines such as Google. What’s more, consumers expect websites to load within two to three seconds, and 40% of them are likely to abandon the site if it takes longer to load.
If you are looking to boost your site’s speed, using Cloudflare can offer more than one benefit.
Generally, when a visitor requests a web page, the web server will download the information requested onto the visitor’s browser. If there is a caching mechanism in place, the user might experience faster loading times during subsequent visits.
Cloudflare streamlines this mechanism by storing a copy of your website on its global server network. When a user requests data from your website, they will be able to view and load a copy stored on their nearest server, rather than on your physical web server.
This system can reduce loading times and minimise the risk associated with caching.
Protecting Your Business from Downtime
As businesses become increasingly reliant on technology, planned or unplanned downtime can lead to major financial and productivity losses. Thanks to one of the core features of Cloudflare – Always Online™ – you can maintain your website functional and accessible even if your origin service becomes unavailable.
To provide this service, Cloudflare stores a static version of some of your website’s pages on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which allows visitors to access the information requested even when your server goes offline. To enable this exclusive service, website owners need to agree to the Supplemental Terms for Always Online.
Enhancing Your UX
Improved site speed and upgraded security standards that don’t impact usability can significantly improve the customers’ experiences while browsing your website.
What’s more, Cloudflare offers a wide range of developer tools and data storage options that allow UX designers to reduce timelines, boost productivity, and create more efficient designs.
Make Cloudflare Your DNS of Choice in 2023
If you are looking to scale up your business website in 2023 without compromising on UX, page loading speed, or security standards, Cloudflare is an essential tool you’ll need in your toolbox.
Get in touch with McGinn & Dolphin to find out how Cloudflare can work for your business as a nominated DNS. Our hosting plans start from £295+ VAT annually. Call us 01730 299890 or book an appointment through our virtual online calendar.
