Accelerating Dynamic Content
What is Dynamic Content?
When it comes to content delivery, there are two primary categories: static and dynamic. Static content remains the same for every user, delivered without server processing. It's fast and easy on server resources. On the other hand, dynamic content is generated for each request, involving database queries and extensive code execution. Delivering dynamic content can be resource-intensive.
Our intelligent microcaching system allows to cache dynamic web content or API responses for even a second, reducing the load on origin servers, resulting in faster page load times and reduced bandwidth costs.
How does Dynamic Content Caching work?
Website Caching
Many websites unnecessarily regenerate content for every page view. Full Page Caching (FPC) addresses this by caching the entire HTML document of a webpage.
Website caching dramatically reduces load times, and helps to cut server load, significantly enhancing the user experience.
API Caching
Web applications often make API calls to retrieve information for users. Examples include pricing data, form auto-completion, and product catalog searches. Caching these API calls reduces server load and accelerates website responsiveness.
Important Configurations
Set a brief caching period to ensure the cache remains relatively up-to-date. While effective for busy sites, lower traffic sites may experience lower cache hit rates.
Cache Time: This parameter dictates how long the CDN retains cached content before refreshing it from the origin server. The optimal cache time depends on the nature of your content, update frequency, and the traffic patterns your website experiences.
Page Rules: Not all pages are created equal, and some dynamic or personalized content may not benefit from caching. Configuring which pages to exclude from the cache is very important. Here are some examples to exclude.
Checkout Pages:
Exclude pages in the checkout process to ensure real-time, up-to-date transaction information.
Customer/Admin Areas:
Keep personalized customer or administrative areas dynamic, avoiding potential issues with serving outdated content.
Highly Dynamic Content:
Identify pages with content that changes frequently or is highly personalized; exclude them to maintain accuracy.
Configuring these exclusions prevents the unintended caching of content that requires real-time updates, preserving the integrity of your dynamic content. Instructions for activating your Dynamic CDN Resource can be found here.