CDN - pitfalls?

[Chancer]

I’m told i need a CDN for my new website so i’ve looked around and found my host offers basic cloudflare account for free.

There is also a paid account available, but there are only 2 differences between the paid and free accounts:
1: Performance/Security Stats (free = Daily) (paid = Hourly)
2: Page Specific Settings/Rules (free = 3) (paid = 10)

The #1 i think is not relevant for me at the moment; what about #2?
What is even #2?


Now i wonder, does a CMD present any pitfalls?
The website will have Affiliate links (and no AdSense), can a CMD mess with the affiliate links?
Can the CMD mess with the already existing off-page SEO?

How about when it comes to selling the website (ok, i’m thinking far ahead…) does the CMD pose any issues?


What i’m really wondering here is ‘’where’s the catch?’’
Surely a CMD is not all without drawbacks otherwise it would be already included&activated in basic hosting plans. Am i wrong in this assumption?

(p.s.: does a CDN work for add-on domains the same as it does for main domains?)

 

[reCharge]

CDNs have some pitfalls like outdated files (css, js etc.) an other risk could be some troubleshoots with htaccess files. The good is, you notice that kind of htaccess problems immediately and they are numerous solutions available. But outdated js or css files could cause temporary bugs on your website. These bugs are disappear when the new js, css files are synced by the CloudFlare Servers but this can take some hours.

I use CloudFlare as a free version and I need to mention all URLs which should be go through the CDN. This includes any subdomains (like www, webmail, mx, imap etc.).

I don't really need the paid-stuff of Cloudflare and I don't have so much traffic or traffic increase that this would be an option in the future.

Best regards and good luck

 

[UWH-David]

There are, but often the benefits outway the negatives. One thing to consider is the website's target demographic. Sometimes you can hit a local cache node which is slower than your host in the area negating any speed improvement which often developers overlook.

In terms of addons, if you use the cloudflare nameservers or can set the www cname alias to the cloudflare alias you can use them with CloudFlare as well.