If you're a regular visitor to our site, you may have noticed our pages have been loading faster for the past few weeks. That's because we switched CDN providers to StackPath. There are a number of content delivery networks (CDNs) on the market to choose from and choosing the right one is not simply about looking for the best one or the most affordable one, it's about choosing the right fit.

We researched several different CDNs considering that once we made the move, we did not want to switch for the foreseeable future – call us old fashioned, but we've been hosting with the same company for over a decade, with success.

Key aspects we considered

Support & Simplicity

We came across StackPath after their merger with MaxCDN and Highwinds CDN. We were impressed with the modern platform StackPath offered and that 24/7 support was part of the package.

We considered another major CDN provider, but it required a more technical configuration and on-going management. With StackPath, we get a more straightforward solution that we could set and forget day-to-day.

Security

Web Application Firewall (WAF) is one of the key features offered by the StackPath platform. Even though we have not enabled this yet, knowing that down the line we may need to protect from malicious traffic without adding another layer of complexity (or cost) was a big win and peace of mind for us in the long run.

"In the process of moving TechSpot to serve all the site's content via HTTPS and upgrading our overall performance, we discovered the need for a modern full-service CDN. After careful consideration, we decided StackPath was our best option. After some preparation, it literally took us days to move over and we've been happy with the decision ever since." - Julio Franco, Executive Editor, TechSpot

Performance
StackPath's dashboard gets us real-time bandwidth stats and other granular usage data that we've used to optimize our site's speed. Managing the site's static data is also straightforward which made the move to HTTPS a breeze (and without any additional fees).

In the switch to HTTPS, we also enabled HTTP/2 delivery on TechSpot which is the fastest, most robust network protocol to serve a website today.

Legacy
Looking beyond features, we also considered StackPath because it was started by the former founder and CEO of SoftLayer Technologies, whose datacenters have hosted TechSpot for over 10 years.

This is a sponsored post brought to you in collaboration with StackPath.
Choosing a CDN comes down to evaluating your content delivery needs up against what features and benefits each CDN offers. Learn more about StackPath here.