[chunky]

Hello folks!
I recently noticed that many unexperienced devs tend to host files by themselves rather than using a CDN. So I just thought it might be worth mentioning CDNs do exist. Feel free to suggest additional advantages and disadvantages.

What is a CDN?
A CDN (content delivery network) is a network of servers that deliver content to a user, based on the location of the user, the location of the webserver and the location of the content delivery server. The idea behind such a system is that static content such as CSS, JS or often used images like logos can be delivered way faster due to the content delivery server being close (in terms of the minimum amount of nodes between the server and the user) to the user.

Advantages of using a CDN
- Accelerate site load times (due to caching and the close distance to the content delivery server)
- Reduce bandwidth (big public CDNs like the bootstrap CDN are used on many websites so the chances of the content it delivers already being cached is very high)

Disadvantages of using a CDN
- Content isn't hosted and managed by the website developer in case it's a public CDN like bootstrap (unannounced changes may result in issues on your website)
- Setting up/Running your own CDN can be very complex and expensive depending on your needs

[mothered]

I'm actually glad you've created this thread. It's well documented and straight to the point.

I've come across quite a few devs who have very little knowledge of CDNs.

[chunky]

Thanks.
I mean you don’t even have to run your own one but you should definitely use it for often used stuff like JQuery.

[mothered]

I mean you don’t even have to run your own one but you should definitely use it for often used stuff like JQuery.

I certainly wouldn't run my own.

Too many variables to cover.

[chunky]

I mean you don’t even have to run your own one but you should definitely use it for often used stuff like JQuery.

I certainly wouldn't run my own.

Too many variables to cover.

Yea it makes no sense for private/small projects anyways. It's only worth it when running a website that's being accessed from all over the world.