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      October 2022

      12 Navigation Menu Design Tips for a Better User Experience


      While creating attractive and valuable web pages is important, your efforts can be wasted if they are unorganized. This could make it difficult for users to view and interact with your content, leading to bounces (page exits) and potentially lower search engine rankings.

      Fortunately, you can design the perfect navigation menu to help users quickly find the pages they’re looking for. With many styles and formats to choose from, you’re able to create menus that impress visitors and deliver an excellent User Experience (UX).

      In this post, we’ll introduce you to navigation menus. Then, we’ll explore twelve useful tips for designing your menus as well as share some examples to inspire you.

      Ready? Let’s get started!

      An Introduction to Navigation Menus

      Navigation menus display an organized list of all your web pages from one dedicated area. Typically, they appear across headers or sidebars, so that they’re clearly visible and accessible for your website visitors.

      Menus enable users to navigate around your site more easily, but they also help them to make sense of your content. For instance, by viewing your menu, users can better understand the relationships between your web pages:

      mega menu dropdown example

      When setting up your navigation menu, you might consider featuring submenus or local navigation menus within your overarching main menu. Then, you can add lower levels of categories to your navigation if you have lots of content on your site.

      12 Tips for Designing the Perfect Navigation Menu

      Now that you know how helpful navigation menus can be, let’s take a look at twelve useful tips for designing one.

      1. Prioritize Accessibility

      A well–designed website is one where users don’t have to work hard to find what they’re looking for. Meaning, when a visitor lands on your page, they should be able to quickly locate your menu and understand how to use it:

      stylized dropdown navigation menu

      Although you can be creative, it’s important to prioritize designing an accessible website. Therefore, try to avoid vague or complex labels that might confuse readers. Instead, opt for clear fonts, high-contrast colors, and direct language.

       

      2. Optimize the User Experience (UX) 

      Providing a quality UX can boost your conversions and reduce bounce rate. To optimize your UX, aim to keep your menu simple so users don’t have to get to grips with complex systems. There’s a lot to be said for neat, clean designs that allow visitors to breeze through your website.

      It’s a general rule of thumb that in three clicks or less, people should be able to land where they want to be on your site. That’s why websites with lots of content areas often choose mega menus:

      mega menu navigation menu design

      These mega menus are frequently used by large e-commerce stores since they make all pages accessible from one space.

      Another factor that can impact your UX is your hosting provider. DreamHost provides quality shared hosting that can set you up with customizable themes and must-have plugins for all types of websites. We also offer user-friendly interfaces plus regular updates and around-the-clock support.

      3. Stick with Straightforward Designs

      You might be tempted to fill your menus with lots of effects to impress your visitors. However, consider saving the flashy features for your overall web design. Still, you might like to include images if it assists with your navigation goals:

      navigation menu active and hover state design example

      Another option is to utilize relevant, helpful icons such as directional arrows to guide users through your sections.

      4. Appeal to Your Audience     

      You can’t design the perfect navigation menu without considering your unique target audience. With this in mind, you can choose color schemes, typefaces, and call-to-actions (CTAs) that are more likely to appeal to your market. This can make your links appear more clickable.

      For example, a hard news website is unlikely to use the same font and messaging as a quirky baking blog:

      split navigation menu design with logo at center

      When choosing headings or CTAs to feature in your menu, you’ll want to inspire users to act. Essentially, visitors need to be incentivized to read further or discover more of your content.

      5. Be Consistent

      It’s important that the format and design of your menu meets your visitors’ expectations. So, consider using the same styling options to highlight menu items. This way, users know when a link will take them to a new page or expand into a dropdown menu.

      For example, Benefit’s website uses directional arrows beside links that expand into dropdown menus:

      simple mega menu with call-to-action

      Additionally, it can be helpful to distinguish between primary and secondary headings. You might want to do this by making top-level menu items slightly larger, or applying a bold style to indicate more significance.

      6. Organize Appropriately 

      A navigation menu is an ideal way to organize your web pages. Plus, it enables users to view your content in a way that makes sense. For instance, blogs can organize posts by topics while an e-commerce website might group products by categories:

      multi-level dropdown menu design example

      Once you’ve identified the main categories of your content, you can build your navigation menu around this. It’s also useful to choose relevant headings that properly describe the page.

      7. Establish a Clear Hierarchy

      Implementing a hierarchy within your menu enables you to break content up into smaller chunks. This makes it more digestible for users. As such, try to group relevant information together.

      For some websites, it can be useful to organize information according to what is most popular or important to visitors. Then, you can make these headings stand out within your menu. Strive to achieve a balance between showing users pages of interest while also leading them towards pages that best serve your business goals.

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      8. Consider the Mobile Experience

      A responsive menu will display attractively across different size screens such as smartphones and tablets. This is important since nearly 60% of total global traffic comes from mobile phones.

      Most websites tend to opt for hamburger menus for mobile devices:

      mobile nav menu design

      Failing to build a responsive website is arguably one of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to web design. Therefore, as you are creating your menu, consider which links are most important to include in your primary menu as this is what will be seen on smaller screens.

      9. Use Familiar Web Conventions

      Designing your menu with unfamiliar conventions might require users to learn new practices, which can be inconvenient and annoying, so you’ll want to avoid this. For instance, most users are accustomed to clicking on the website logo to return to the homepage.

      If your logo leads to a signup or product page, this may confuse your visitors. Another common convention is ‘visited’ links changing color. Including these well-known practices on your website enables users to intuitively navigate your pages.

      10. Optimize for Search Engines

      In order to drive more organic traffic to your website, you can optimize your navigation headings with popular keywords. Google Analytics and Google Keyword Planner are excellent tools that enable you to identify which words and phrases users are searching:

      getting keyword ideas in Google Keyword Planner

      Then, you can include these key terms within your menu. As a result, your website may just rank higher in search engines.

      11. Choose the Right Type of Menu

      There are many types of navigation menus to consider. Dropdown menus often display when you hover or click primary categories. Then, you’re presented with a list of secondary items.

      These menus look stylish and modern. Plus, they’re a great way to conserve space:

      simple dropdown navigation menu design

      You can go a step further and design a complete mega menu. These are best used for content-rich sites, since they can present all your pages without appearing too clunky:

      menu menu navigation design example

      Horizontal menus, which list major pages in a row format, are also quite common. Alternatively, a vertical menu, listed in a column at the side of the page, assists readers with scanning, since eyes naturally move down (not across):

      stylized sidebar navigation menu design

      Vertical menus tend to be a good match for websites with longer menu labels since they offer more space. However, they can also be eye-catching, which makes them a good choice for creative service sites.

      12. Add Breadcrumbs

      Breadcrumbs enable users to see where they are within your site’s structure. Plus, they make it easy for visitors to return to high-tier pages that led them to their current location:

      sidebar navigation menu design example

      Adding breadcrumbs to your menu avoids users needing to navigate all the way back to the beginning. Instead, they can easily jump back a step or two to find what they need.

      Excellent Examples of Navigation Menus 

      Now that you know how to design the perfect menu for your site, let’s take a look at some examples.

      Mostly Serious

      Mostly Serious features a clear hamburger icon to make room for a fun animation:

      off canvas menu design default state

      When you click on the icon, it opens a vertical sidebar menu with only the primary headings displayed:

      off canvas menu design expanded active state

      Once you start scrolling past the animation, you’ll see a sticky horizontal menu that’s neat and accessible, without distracting from the experience of reading the page:

      fixed nav bar example

      In this example, each type of menu is used appropriately. On top of that, when you hover over menu items, all navigational links are highlighted in bright blue and underlined for consistency.

      Bobbi Brown

      The Bobbi Brown website features a primary horizontal menu nestled beneath the heading. This makes it one of the first things you see when you land on the page.

      Each of the main menu items features its own dropdown menu that includes text links among high-quality images, which make the menu more engaging:

      simple mega menu with images

      Additionally, the menu is organized effectively, with the most important categories appearing first such as New and Bestsellers. Even within the dropdown menus, image links prioritize the most useful customer pages, while other areas of the site are stacked vertically at the side.

      This is Amber

      This is Amber features a quirky off-canvas flyout menu in the form of tabs that expand when clicked. Then, the selected page slides across, replacing the existing page you’re viewing:

      horizontal navigation menu design

      It’s an incredibly unique way of displaying menu items. Plus, it does a great job of building a brand identity. Visitors can also access the primary links through a horizontal header menu at the top of the page.

      Blackbird Cigar

      Blackbird Cigar uses a hamburger menu, which opens a vertical menu when clicked. This is styled like a dropdown menu although links open across instead of down:

      nested sidebar navigation menu design

      Moreover, the menu features a stylish design that conveys a clear hierarchy, enabling visitors to understand the relationship between pages. For example, when visitors hover over primary links, they turn transparent, while secondary links are distinguished from top-tier pages using contrasting colors.

      French but Nice

      French but Nice is a portfolio website that uses a captivating vertical sidebar menu that organizes projects chronologically:

      brutalist sidebar navigation design

      When a user hovers over one of the links, a preview of the page appears in a lightbox. This is particularly useful for a website of this kind, since visitors can view multiple projects without leaving the menu.

      Create the Perfect Navigation Menu

      A navigation menu is a necessary part of any website, so it’s important to make sure that yours is user-friendly and effective. Otherwise, your content can be difficult to find and hard to make sense of.

      However, when you follow a few (or all) of our top tips, you’ll be able to more easily design the perfect navigation menu. For instance, you might choose a hamburger menu so that your pages can be viewed on mobile devices. Or, you could utilize strong colors, fonts, and images to make your links more clickable.

      At DreamHost, we understand the importance of getting your content online quickly. That’s why we offer Shared Hosting with SSL certificates, a domain, and privacy protection to get you set up in no time. Choose a plan today to get started!

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      How to Develop Your Own WordPress Theme (Beginner’s Guide)


      If you want something done a certain way — well, you just might have to do it yourself. Sure, while there are plenty of great WordPress themes available, finding one that meets your specific requirements may prove difficult for some. To solve for this, you might be tempted to create your own custom WordPress theme.

      Fortunately, creating a custom theme for WordPress is a relatively straightforward process. Surprisingly, it doesn’t require a ton of technical knowledge or experience with web development. Plus, building your own theme can be well worth the effort since you can get your site looking exactly the way you want it.

      An Introduction to WordPress Theme Development

      You want your site to look great and have all the functionality you need, so you check out the WordPress Theme Directory:

      WordPress theme directory

      Unfortunately, nothing you see fulfills your requirements, and you don’t want to compromise on your vision. Maybe you want something unique that will make your site stand out, but you don’t want to spend the money on a premium theme.

      At this point, you might consider creating your own theme. Fortunately, developing a theme for WordPress is not as complicated as you might think. Thanks to the platform’s user-friendly interface and the numerous tools available, almost anyone can create a custom theme.

      We’re going to take you through the process of creating your first theme. To get started, you’ll need two things:

      You’ll also benefit from having experience with local staging environments, as you’ll be using one to create your theme. Having some understanding of CSS and PHP will also be helpful (if not necessary).

      Finally, there’s one important tool you’ll want to have, which will make the process much easier: a starter theme.

      What a Starter Theme Is (And Why You Should Use One)

      A starter theme is a bare-bones WordPress theme that you can use as a basis to create your own. This enables you to build on a solid framework without having to worry about the complexities involved in coding a theme from scratch. It will also help you understand how WordPress works by showing you the basic structure of a theme and how all its parts work together.

      There are plenty of excellent starter themes out there, including Underscores, UnderStrap, and Bones (just to name a few).

      We’ll be using Underscores for our tutorial. It’s a solid choice for beginners because it only contains the basics. Plus, this starter theme is developed by Automattic (the team behind WordPress.com), which means it’s more likely to be safe, compatible, and well-supported in the long run.

      How to Develop Your First WordPress Theme (In 5 Steps)

      With the preparation out of the way, you’re finally ready to start creating your first theme. As we mentioned earlier, we’ll be using a starter theme for this walkthrough.

      However, if you want to try creating everything yourself with no template, you should feel free to do so. Bear in mind that this approach will require a lot more coding proficiency.

      Step 1: Set Up a Local Environment

      The first thing you’ll need to do is to create a local development environment. This is effectively a server that you install on your computer, which you can use to develop and manage local WordPress sites. A local site is a safe way to develop a theme without impacting your live site in any way.

      There are many ways you can create a local environment, but we’ll be using Local.This is a fast, easy way to install a local version of WordPress for free and is compatible with both Mac and Windows:

      Local WordPress development tool

      To get started, select the free version of Local, choose your platform, add your details, and download the installer.  When the installation has been completed, you can open the program on your computer.

      Here, you’ll be asked to configure your new local environment:

      WordPress initial setup screen

      This is a straightforward process, and you’ll have your local WordPress site ready in a few minutes. Once set up, your new site will look and work exactly like a live WordPress website.

      Step 2: Download and Install Your Starter Theme

      Like most starter themes, Underscores is very easy to get started with. In fact, all you need to do is go to the website and name your theme:

      Underscores custom WordPress theme development

      If you want, you can click on Advanced Options to customize the base theme further:

      Underscores custom WordPress theme development

      Here you can fill out more information, such as the author’s name, and give the theme a description:

      Underscores custom WordPress theme development

      There’s also the _sassify! option, which will add Syntactically Awesome StyleSheets (SASS) files to your theme. SASS is a preprocessing language for CSS, which enables you to use variables, nesting, math operators, and more.

      When you’ve made your choices, you can click on Generate, which will download a .zip file containing your starter theme. This is the core file around which you’ll develop your own theme, so you’ll need to install it on your local site.

      Once you’ve installed your theme, you can preview your site to see how it looks. It’s very basic right now, but that won’t be the case for long!

      Step 3: Learn about the different components of a WordPress theme

      Before you can customize your theme, you’ll need to understand the purpose of its components and how they fit together.

      First, let’s discuss template files, which are the main building blocks of a WordPress theme. These files determine the layout and look of the content on your site.

      For example, header.php is used to create a header, while comments.php enables you to display comments.

      WordPress determines which template files to use on each page by going through the template hierarchy. This is the order in which WordPress will look for the matching template files every time a page on your site is loaded.

      For example, if you visit the URL http://example.com/post/this-post, WordPress will look for the following templates files in this order:

      1. Files that match the slug, such as this-post
      2. Files that match the post ID
      3. A generic single post file, such as single.php
      4. An archive file, such as archive.php
      5. The index.php file

      Since the index.php file is required by all themes, it’s the default option if no other file can be found. Underscores contains the most common template files and they will work right out of the box. However, you can experiment with editing them if you want to get a feel for how they work together.

      Another important element you need to grasp is The Loop. WordPress uses this code to display content, so in many ways, it’s the beating heart of your site. It appears in all template files that display post content, such as index.php or sidebar.php.

      The Loop is a complex subject that we recommend you read more about if you want to understand how WordPress displays post content. Fortunately, the Loop will already be integrated into your theme thanks to Underscores, so there’s no need to worry about it for now.

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      Step 4: Configure Your Theme

      It’s easy to think that themes are purely for cosmetic purposes, but they actually have a huge impact on your site’s functionality. Let’s look at how you can make a few basic customizations.

      Add Functionality with ‘Hooks’

      Hooks are code snippets inserted into template files, which enable you to run PHP actions on different areas of a site, insert styling, and display other information. Most hooks are implemented directly into the WordPress core software, but some are useful for theme developers as well.

      Let’s take a look at some of the most common hooks and what they can be used for:

      • wp_head() — Added to the <head> element in header.php. It enables styles, scripts, and other information that runs as soon as the site loads.
      • wp_footer() — Added to footer.php right before the </body> tag. This is often used to insert Google Analytics code.
      • wp_meta() — This usually appears in sidebar.php to include additional scripts (such as a tag cloud).
      • comment_form() — Added to comments.php directly before the file’s closing </div> tag to display comment data.

      These hooks will already be included in your Underscores theme. However, we still recommend visiting the Hooks Database to see all available hooks and learn more about them.

      Add Styles with CSS

      Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) define the appearance of all content on your site. In WordPress, this is accomplished using the style.css file. You’ll already have this file included in your theme, but at the moment, it only contains the basic, default styling:

      editing the CSS stylesheet of a new custom WordPress theme

      If you want a quick example of how CSS works, you can edit any of the styles here and save the file to see the effects. For example, you can find the following code (usually on line 485):

      a {
color: royalblue;
}

      This code controls the color of unvisited hyperlinks, which appear royal blue by default:

      WordPress custom theme test site

      Let’s see what happens if we try to change that by replacing it with the following code:

      a {
color: red;
}

      Save the file and check out your local site. As you might expect, all unvisited links will now appear bright red:

      sample page of a test custom WordPress theme

      You might notice that the visited link at the top has not changed color. That’s because it’s actually governed by the next section in the stylesheet:

      a:visited {
color: purple;
}

      This is a very basic example of how editing style.css will affect the look of your site. CSS is a massive topic that we recommend you explore further if you want to learn more about creating web designs. There are plenty of resources on the topic for beginners.

      Step 5: Export the Theme and Upload It to Your Site

      When you’ve finished tinkering with your theme, it’s time to make sure it works properly. To do this, you can use the Theme Unit Test data.

      This is a set of dummy data that you can upload to your site. It contains many different variations of styles and content, and it will enable you to see how your theme copes with unpredictable data.

      When you’ve thoroughly tested your theme and are convinced that it meets the required standards, all that remains now is to export it.

      First, you’ll need to find the location of your website on your local machine. You’ll likely find it in a folder called Websites, inside your default Documents directory.

      Open the website’s folder and access /wp-content/themes/, where you’ll find your theme:

      WordPress wp-content themes folder in FTP client

      You can now use a compression tool, such as WinRAR, to create a .zip file based on the folder. Simply right-click on the folder and select the option that enables you to zip it, such as Compress “folder”:

      compressing custom WordPress theme to prepare for upload

      When the folder has been zipped, it’s ready to be uploaded and installed on any WordPress site, just as you installed your Underscores theme at the start. If you’re particularly happy with the result, you could even submit your theme to the WordPress Theme Directory!

      Create a Custom WordPress Theme

      Creating a custom WordPress theme from scratch is no small feat. However, the process might not be as difficult as you might think.

      To recap, here’s how to develop a WordPress theme in five simple steps:

      1. Set up a local environment, using Local.
      2. Download and install a starter theme, like Underscores.
      3. Learn about the different components of a WordPress theme.
      4. Configure your theme.
      5. Export the theme and upload it to your site.

      By following the guidelines in the Codex documentation site, you can develop a theme that meets quality standards. You might even consider submitting it to the WordPress Theme Directory!

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      How to Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) with WordPress


      The world is moving faster than ever, and that means your website needs to keep up. No matter where you are in the world, chances are your users are scattered across the globe. For that reason, you need to make sure that your site is capable of performing quickly, regardless of geographic location.

      One way you can keep your site’s speed and performance consistent is by using a Content Delivery Network (CDN). A CDN is a network of remote servers spread worldwide, each of which contains a copy of your site that visitors can access. Not only will this setup make your site faster, but it can also help to secure it and reduce your bandwidth usage.

      What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN)?

      Cloudflare performance chart

      A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a system of multiple servers that are placed in different locations around the world. When you use a CDN with your site, all those servers will be loaded with static versions of your files. These usually include code like CSS and JavaScript, images, documents, videos, and other data.

      While the two may seem similar, it’s important to recognize that a CDN is not the same thing as a web host. Your host is the server where your site ‘lives’, and it is sometimes called the ‘origin server.’ The CDN servers simply copy static files from your origin server to deliver them to your visitors more quickly.

      The Benefits of Using a CDN with Your WordPress Website

      Sucuri CDN performance chart

      Normally, when a user visits your site, they connect directly to the origin server through their browser and download all the necessary files from there. However, this process can lead to problems for users who are located far away from the origin server. This distance can cause significantly longer loading times.

      Your site’s speed can negatively affect its bounce rates, which can, in turn, be catastrophic for your conversions. Therefore, this is not a small issue. Since all visitors are requesting the same files from one server, you may even experience more downtime.

      That’s where a CDN comes in handy. When you use a CDN, visitors will instead connect to your site via the server closest to them. That way, your pages load much faster and will cause less strain on your origin server.

      Using a CDN also:

      • Makes your site more crash-resistant. If one CDN server goes down, the site will simply load from another. This setup enables your website to handle more traffic.
      • Improves the user experience. The fact that your site is effectively spread across the globe creates a more consistent experience for all visitors.
      • Improves your SEO rankings. A site’s speed is factored into its search engine rankings, so speeding it up makes it more likely to appear higher in search results.
      • Reduces bandwidth usage. Since your origin server doesn’t need to send as much data to each visitor, you minimize the amount of bandwidth used.
      • Helps protect against basic attacks. A CDN is designed to cope with large amounts of traffic, which helps against the most common types of malicious activity, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

      As you can see, using a CDN can help improve a lot more than just your site’s speed and reliability. The only question left is how to get started. Let’s now take a look at some of the best CDN solutions you can implement on your WordPress site.

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      9 Excellent CDN Solutions for WordPress

      Once you’ve decided to implement a CDN, you just need to find the solution that best suits your requirements. Here are 9 CDN solutions you can use alongside your WordPress site.

      Don’t forget that you can also improve your site’s speed by opting for a hosting plan that’s fully optimized for WordPress, such as our DreamPress service!

      1. Cloudflare

      Cloudflare

      Cloudflare is an immensely popular CDN solution for WordPress. Not only does it have over 275 data centers, but it’s also one of the few CDN providers that offer a free plan. This makes it a smart option for site owners who want a reliable solution that’s also simple to implement.

      Installing the Cloudflare plugin on a WordPress site is as easy as installing the plugin and creating a free account. You can then activate the default settings, and you’re good to go.

      Key Features

      • Easy to use alongside a WordPress website, with minimal configuration required
      • Automatically empties your cache when you update the site
      • Includes a Web Application Firewall (WAF) on all premium plans

      Pricing: Cloudflare is free to use but also offers several premium plans that start at $20/month. These include additional site services, such as image optimization, increased security, and prioritized support.

      2. Site Accelerator by Jetpack

      Jetpack Site Accelerator for WordPress

      Jetpack is one of the most comprehensive and popular WordPress plugins out there. However, you might not know that it also contains a neat little CDN solution called Site Accelerator. This CDN serves all your images from a cloud network to optimize your site’s speed. It also optimizes and serves static files such as CSS and JavaScript.

      Key Features

      • Requires no configuration
      • Automatically applies to all images and static files in your pages and posts
      • Improves performance, particularly on sites with many images

      Pricing: Site Accelerator is included with Jetpack. You can simply install the plugin for free and activate it on your website. Even better, if you’re a DreamPress Plus or Advanced user, you get Jetpack Pro (and all its top-notch, premium features) included with your hosting account for free.

      3. StackPath

      StackPath CDN

      StackPath is one of the most secure CDN solutions available. All plans include a firewall, as well as protection against DDoS attacks and request overloads. The developer tools enable additional configuration and provide access to real-time information about your site’s performance.

      Implementing StackPath’s CDN with WordPress can be done using one of several plugins, including WP Super Cache and Hyper Cache.

      Key Features

      • Offers excellent security features, including two-step authentication and a firewall
      • Enables developers to integrate their apps and websites
      • Includes real-time traffic analytics

      Pricing: StackPath offers a 15-day free trial when you sign up. After that, you can subscribe to one of its premium plans. While StackPath doesn’t currently list prices on its website, you can easily contact the sales department to inquire about rates and request a demo.

      4. MetaCDN

      MetaCDN

      MetaCDN is specially tailored for sites that feature videos and live streaming. With over 120 servers, it offers fast speeds and solid performance. Some of the premium plans also use a multi-CDN structure, which combines several CDN networks into one for even better performance. To integrate MetaCDN into WordPress, you must use the W3 Total Cache plugin.

      Key Features

      • Ideal for sites containing videos and live streams
      • Offers improved performance through a multi-CDN structure
      • Rolls over unused credits to the next month

      Pricing: MetaCDN offers a 7-day free trial that includes all of its features. You can then continue with one of its three premium plans, which can be paid either monthly or annually.

      5. Google Cloud CDN

      Cloud CDN

      Google Cloud CDN is the bespoke solution for websites hosted by Google Cloud. The Cloud CDN is seamlessly integrated into all sites hosted on this platform, so minimal configuration is required. This solution offers solid, reliable performance, as well as incorporated security measures.

      To use Google Cloud CDN, you must install WordPress on the Google Cloud Platform. You can then enable CDN functionality using the Cloud Platform’s interface.

      Key Features

      • Automatically integrated into the Google Cloud Platform
      • Offers SSL certification at no additional cost
      • Ensures that your site maintains the same IP address without requiring regional DNS

      Pricing: Google offers a free trial that does require a credit card but it won’t automatically charge you when the trial ends.

      6. Microsoft Azure CDN

      Azure CDN

      Microsoft Azure CDN is part of the Azure platform, which also offers cloud computing, security, and analytics tools. Azure optimizes your files and offers advanced caching functionality to make your site faster and more reliable.

      You can connect Azure CDN to WordPress by first using the Azure App. The CDN can then be implemented using a caching plugin, such as CDN Enabler or WP Super Cache.

      Key Features

      • Provides a solid choice for sites that offer streaming video and remote computing
      • Suits both beginners and advanced users
      • Offers two networks: Akamai and Verizon

      Pricing: Azure offers a 30-day free trial. The premium plans range from pay-as-you-go subscriptions to enterprise agreements.

      7. Sucuri

      Sucuri CDN

      Sucuri boasts impressive results, promising to make your site, on average, 70% faster after implementation. It also provides on-site security measures, such as malware cleaning and security alerts. These are useful features, although they may not be necessary depending on your web host (DreamHost plans come with a built-in firewall, for example).

      To activate the Sucuri platform, you need to use the DNS Manager. There you can add your details to activate your firewall and CDN.

      Key Features

      • Protects against spam, malware, and attacks
      • Integrates into your existing CDN provider
      • Requires no installation and provides help when setting it up

      Pricing: Sucuri offers two premium plans, starting from $9.99/month. Additional security plans start at $199.99/year.

      8. KeyCDN

      KeyCDN

      KeyCDN is another solid option that integrates easily into WordPress. Its servers are placed worldwide and use only SSD, which improves performance and shortens loading times.

      KeyCDN’s payment plans are also based on what you use, which can be handy to avoid paying more than you need. You can integrate KeyCDN into WordPress using the free CDN Enabler plugin.

      Key Features

      • Uses only SSD servers for excellent performance
      • Includes free SSL and HTTP/2 support
      • Instantly empties your cache when the site is updated

      Pricing: KeyCDN offers a free trial. Its pricing plans include pay-as-you-go subscriptions that start at $0.04 per GB. It also offers a price calculator, enabling you to get a quote.

      9. Amazon CloudFront

      Amazon CloudFront

      Amazon CloudFront is one of the most prominent CDN options available and is famously used by both Spotify and Slack. Its global network and security services help ensure that your site is fast and safe. It also offers full integration with its other AWS services.

      CloudFront can be integrated into WordPress using a caching plugin like WP Super Cache. You can also use the WP Offload S3 plugin to move your existing library into Amazon S3 and deliver it via CloudFront.

      Key Features

      • Provides trusted and reliable service
      • Includes full integration with all other AWS services
      • Offers 12 months of free usage

      Pricing: AWS offers a free tier that includes 12 months of free CloudFront usage. The premium plans for CloudFront are pay-as-you-go, with prices that depend on your location. For the United States, the prices start at $0.085 per GB.

      Speed Up Your WordPress Site

      Keeping your site fast and secure is paramount. You need to make sure that no matter where your users are located, they can access your website quickly. Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a simple and affordable way to accomplish this while also helping to keep your site secure.

      Do More with DreamPress

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      Managed WordPress Hosting - DreamPress



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