How does a Content Delivery Network reduce the distance between website visitors and the website server?

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) significantly enhances website performance by storing content in geographically distributed locations. This architecture allows content to be cached and served from multiple servers that are physically closer to the users accessing the website.

When a user requests content, the CDN can deliver it from the nearest server, minimizing latency and improving load times. The distribution of servers across various geographic regions ensures that no matter where a user is located, they are likely to connect to a server that is nearby, thus reducing the distance data must travel.

This setup is particularly beneficial for serving static content, such as images, videos, and other media files, as it alleviates the load on the origin server and provides faster access to end users. By optimizing delivery paths and reducing latency, CDNs improve overall user experience and can effectively handle large amounts of traffic.