Ever felt like your website was a little sluggish? Fastly can help, and it's totally free!
Putting your site on Fastly's CDN is like giving it a turbo boost. It speeds up your site by storing your content on servers all over the world, so it gets to your visitors faster. This means happier users who stick around longer, and fewer headaches when lots of people visit at once. Plus, Fastly keeps your site safe from online threats.
Tl;dr – it's a simple way to make your site quicker, safer, and more reliable without much fuss. So let’s throw a basic site up on Fastly and watch that time to first byte melt away like absolute ✨magic✨.
Let's get you setup for success
- Start with a Site: First things first, you need a live site with a URL. This is your starting point. If you don't have a site yet, platforms like glitch.com are a great place to create one quickly. You'll notice my Time to First Byte (TTFB) isn't that bad, at 286ms:
- Create a Fastly Account: If you're new to Fastly, your first step is to create an account. It’s straightforward and free. Just go sign up.
- Creating Your Service: Once logged in, click on “Create service”. Select “CDN” from the options. This is where the magic begins, as Fastly's CDN service is what will supercharge your site's loading time.
- Set Up Your Service: Now, input the necessary details - give your service a name, enter your domain, and specify the origin (the original server where your site is hosted). These details help Fastly connect to your site. Here, I’m using
{site-name}.global.ssl.fastly.netfor demoing purposes, but if I had a custom domain I’d use that and go take advantage of Fastly’s 2 free TLS certificates that come with your account.
- Activate and Wait: After inputting your details, hit “Activate”. It takes about 90 seconds for the changes to propagate. This brief wait is the perfect time to grab a coffee!
- Witness the Speed: Finally, the moment of truth. Click on “Test domain”. Refresh your site and watch the Time to First Byte (TTFB) drastically improve. This improvement signifies that your site is now loading much faster, thanks to Fastly’s powerful edge network. In my basic example site, I saw an almost 70% improvement in TTFB!
And there you have it! A faster, more responsive website, all thanks to Fastly's CDN - and it didn't cost you a penny. This simple yet effective upgrade can significantly enhance your site visitors' experience, leading to better engagement and satisfaction. And best of all, it's totally free 👌