One of the main decisions you’ll make when setting up your website is how to deliver your content. There are many different options, but not all are suited for every business. This blog post will look at some of the most popular content delivery systems and help you decide which one will work best for your needs.

What is a content delivery system?

A content delivery system is a method used to distribute your website’s content across the internet. A CDS consists of two parts: the server software and caching servers, which are used to store components of web pages that need to be quickly accessed by visitors later on. In a gist, a content delivery system is a software application that helps the website’s owner to speed up their site and reduce latency.

Different types of content delivery systems

CDN (Content Delivery Network)

A Content Delivery Network, or “CDN,” consists of multiple servers that work together to provide fast and reliable content delivery. When you sign up for a hosting account with a service like Bluehost, your website’s files are hosted on an array of servers across the world. CDN providers, however, operate their servers and can therefore place them in optimal locations for fast delivery to your visitors’ devices.

CDNs typically require a subscription or pay-per-use model rather than offering hosting services with fixed monthly costs like shared web hosts do. If you have a site that is getting millions of visitors per month, you’ll likely have to pay for the hosting service. However, if your website doesn’t get much traffic yet, and you’re just testing things out without an excessive budget, using a CDN might be overkill at this stage.

The static content delivery system

A static content delivery system is almost the opposite of a CDN. Where CDNs are fast but expensive, static content delivery systems are cheap but slow. Static web pages are stored on your server and delivered to visitors’ browsers without any additional processing or caching done by intermediary servers first. However, this does require slightly more web development on your end.

The dynamic content delivery system

A dynamic content delivery system is a popular choice for websites that get heavy traffic and need complex features like real-time activity feeds or site search functionality. A PHP engine powers the website’s source code, while MySQL creates and manages its database. This type of content delivery system is a lot faster than static systems, but it also requires more web development work and server resources.

What to consider when choosing?

When it comes down to deciding on what type of CDN or CMS you’ll be using for your website, several things should help guide your decision.

Do you need a content delivery system right now?

If your website is brand new and doesn’t get much traffic yet, it’s usually not worth the investment to use any sort of CDN. The added expense might be better saved for later on when you’re starting to see more visitors come in through search engines or referral links from social media. However, if your website is already very popular, and you’re having issues with slow loading times, a content delivery system might be just what it needs to speed things up again.

How much traffic do you get?

If your website has a thousand visitors per day or less, using a static content delivery system is going to be the cheapest and simplest way for you to go. The same goes if all of your site’s information fits onto one page in multiple text files with no user interaction at all. However, if your site is more complex and requires a dynamic content system, you’ll have to rely on the services of PHP engines or MySQL databases.

Do you want real-time updates?

If having updated information as soon as it’s published is important for your website, then using a CND might be your best bet. While some CMS like WordPress and Joomla offer real-time activity feeds, they aren’t as efficient at it as CDNs. It’s also worth noting that if your site requires a content delivery system, for this reason, you’ll probably need to use the PHP engine or MySQL database services mentioned above to make it work properly.

The content delivery system is a critical component of any digital marketing strategy. Not only does it help improve your site’s performance and increase the visibility of your brand, but it also helps you to cut costs by delivering data from servers that are geographically closer to customers. This article has listed some important considerations for choosing an appropriate system that will work best with the size and budget constraints of your organization. It’s now time to make your decision.