Load times have been a huge problem recently with the website. It hasn’t been our server, or our hosting company. It’s been the massive traffic bursts from time to time. It’s been exciting times over the last two months, watching our traffic explode like it has, but with the increased eyes comes decreased server performance.
You may have noticed on Friday that the site was painfully slow. So, we took the opportunity to implement some measures to help with server load and keep the website feeling super snappy!
We’ve installed and configured a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to help with load times. So now, instead of everyone grabbing static content from the same location, our super-awesome readers will have the content delivered from a host of servers across the US, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Basically, images and files will be delivered to your computer from the closest server to your location.
Frankly, it was time we started optimizing the site for load times. When websites like the Washington Post and Macworld start tossing Via links your way, servers are bound to have a small meltdown from time to time.
Rest assured, we take our load times very seriously, and we’re working to get them down to an acceptable level. This is a first step, and we’re glad we took it.
