CDN Integration
Every image, script and download currently travels from your one server to every visitor, regardless of distance. GullySystem connects a content delivery network so files are served from a location near the visitor, with cache rules set correctly.
Why Distance Still Costs Time
A visitor in a city far from your server's location waits for every file to make that round trip before the page can finish loading, even on a fast connection. A CDN keeps copies of your images, scripts and other static files at locations spread across the country, so the trip is short regardless of where the visitor is.
What Moves to the CDN
- Images and product photographs
- JavaScript and CSS files
- Fonts
- Downloadable files such as invoices, brochures or reports
- Video, where relevant
Setting Cache Rules That Do Not Break Deployments
What Gets a Long Cache Time
Files that rarely change, or that change their name every time they do, so an old cached copy is never served under a new file's name.
What Gets a Short Cache Time or None
Pages and data that update frequently, kept off the CDN or cached briefly enough that visitors are not shown outdated content.
Cache Invalidation on Release
A way to clear specific cached files the moment you deploy a change, so an update does not sit behind a stale cached copy for hours.
Beyond Speed: What Else a CDN Changes
A CDN also absorbs a share of malicious and automated traffic before it reaches your server, and helps keep your site reachable during a spike aimed at your origin, since traffic hitting the edge network never touches your actual infrastructure. These are secondary benefits — the main reason to add one remains the time it saves your visitors.
Fitting This to Your Existing Setup
WordPress, Shopify and Magento Stores
Most platforms support a CDN through a plugin or built-in setting, and the work is mainly in choosing sensible cache rules rather than custom development.
Custom Applications
Static assets are pointed at the CDN in build configuration, and any dynamic page that should not be cached is explicitly excluded.
Existing Domain and SSL
The CDN sits in front of your existing domain, so visitors see no change beyond the site loading faster, and certificates are set up to avoid a security warning.
Frequently asked questions
Is a CDN worth it if most of our visitors are already in the same city as our server?
Less so for that audience specifically, though most businesses have some visitors outside their home city or serving area, and a CDN also helps with resilience against automated traffic regardless of geography. We would size the benefit to your actual visitor spread before recommending it.
Will a CDN work with our existing hosting provider?
Yes. A CDN sits in front of whatever hosting you already use, so it does not require moving your server or changing hosting providers — it simply intercepts and caches the parts of your traffic that benefit from being served closer to the visitor.
Can a CDN accidentally show visitors an old version of our site?
Only if cache rules are set incorrectly, which is why each type of content is assigned a deliberate cache duration and every deployment includes a step to clear the specific files that changed, rather than leaving that to expire on its own.
What determines the cost and timeline of CDN integration?
Mostly how the site or application is built — a standard platform with plugin support is quick to configure in a short session, while a custom application needs its build process and deployment pipeline updated, which takes longer and costs more, so the right files are routed to the CDN automatically.
Does this affect our SEO or existing domain setup?
No negative effect when configured correctly; a faster-loading site is generally favourable. Your domain stays the same, and redirects, SSL certificates and existing URLs are carried across without requiring visitors to see any change.
Who controls the CDN account and its settings afterwards?
You do. The CDN account, its cache rules and its billing are set up under your ownership, so you can change providers or adjust settings later without needing us involved.
What do you need from us to set this up?
Access to your DNS settings or hosting control panel, a list of which parts of the site are static versus dynamically generated, and access to the deployment process so cache-clearing can be added as a step in every release.
Tell us what you need.
Send a short brief and one of our engineers will come back to you — usually the same day.
- No obligation
- We reply the same working day
- Your details stay private