The time it takes for a page to be delivered to a user is very important. The shorter the better. Sites which suffer long download times will typically have higher bounce rates and lower conversions than sites which are faster. Google has recognised the importance of a snappy site by rewarding faster sites with better search results rankings.
Having a fast site is a no brainer. The question becomes, "how do I make sure I have a fast site"?
Hosting your site on an optimised platform with well placed caching is a big part of having a fast site. However, the majority of download time experienced by a user is in fact due to waiting for resources to be downloaded and rendered in the browser. What happens on the server plays only a small role in delivering a site promptly.
The use of a Content Delivery Network, or CDN for short, allows for "heavy" resources such as videos, audio and images to be downloaded quickly from a server which is close to the user. Instead of requesting a file which may reside on the other side of the planet, a CDN will attempt to serve a file which is much closer, resulting in faster download speeds.
Morpht can easily configure your website to use a CDN if your site requires it. This will be very helpful for sites which fall into one of the following categories: heavy use of media files or many overseas visitors.The end result will be pages which are served and rendered faster for your users.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/pheanixphotos/5835605434/
