A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a geographically distributed network of servers that work together to deliver internet content (like web pages, images, videos) to users quickly and reliably.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Goal: Speed up content delivery for websites by bringing content closer to users.
- How it Works: CDNs store cached copies of website content across the globe at strategically located data centers. When a user requests content from a website, the CDN delivers it from the nearest server, reducing latency (delay).
Frameworks like Bootstrap and jQuery can be downloaded and used. However CDN can also be used to access and use these elements without necessarily downloading them. Here are some advantages of using CDN:
- Speed: CDNs store cached copies of these libraries closer to users, leading to faster loading times for your website.
- Reduced Server Load: By using a CDN, your own server doesn’t have to deliver these common libraries for every user. This frees up resources for your own website’s code.
- Reliability: CDNs are geographically distributed, meaning if one server goes down, others can still deliver the content.
Bootstrap and jQuery can be included in your HTML code using <link> and <script> tags, respectively. These tags can point to the CDN location of the libraries.