Did you know that over 40% of all websites online today use WordPress? Not only that, but these sites range from small personal blogs to major, high-traffic sites like The New York Times, Nike, and Bloomberg. WordPress is the content management system of choice for many brands because of its scalability.
What Is Scalability?
Scalability refers to a website’s ability to meet growing demands, such as an influx of users interacting with your site simultaneously. For example, Amazon, while always seeing high traffic, requires even more scalability on days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day, when many shoppers will be browsing and making purchases.
You can think of scalability as a rubber band, able to expand and retract to meet a wide range of needs. Without scalability, users experience long load times and other performance issues. In a fast-paced world, this results in lost customers, sales, and followers. It also looks unprofessional.
Is WordPress Scalable?
In short, yes! Whether you’re starting a new e-commerce brand or hoping your content will soon go viral, choosing WordPress ensures you can adapt and grow along with your customer or fan base. While WordPress is suitable for many users as-is, there are several ways to scale it.
Plugins
There are many plugins available that address specific performance needs for WordPress sites, including scalability. These plugins can boost site responsiveness by managing cache and HTTP requests, optimizing image sizes, and more. Check out these top-rated performance plugins to learn more.
Vertical and Horizontal Scaling
You can also improve your site’s functionality through vertical or horizontal scaling — both involve server optimization.
Vertical scaling means enhancing your existing server. This includes boosting your GPU, memory, or storage. On the other hand, horizontal scaling refers to adding additional servers to share the load. There are pros and cons to each method. Learn more here!
Caching
One of the most common strategies for increasing site load times is caching. “Cache” is temporary storage that stores site files on your local device. When you visit the same site multiple times, the cache reflects copies of data you’ve already seen instead of reloading them repeatedly. The result is faster site speeds. Chances are, you’ve “cleared the cache” on your laptop or smartphone at some point.
CDNs
A CDN, or Content Delivery Network, is a network of servers that support one central server. Each server caches copies of your site in a different geographic location. Visitors who access your site will see the cache from the server closest to their IP address, which is faster than relying on the central server. This scaling strategy is great for brands with a global following.
Managed Hosting
Lastly, many brands rely on managed hosting to scale their WordPress site. Hosting is the equivalent of “renting” space on the internet. While there are tons of hosting services to choose from, a managed web host can easily handle your site’s scalability, often using all the strategies outlined above. There are plenty of affordable web hosts to choose from, which allows you to focus on building your brand instead of troubleshooting technical issues.
WordPress is Future-proof
WordPress’ scalability means it’s future-proof, able to grow with you and meet easily meet your evolving needs, no matter what your site looks like today — or what your vision is for the coming years — choosing WordPress is always a great choice. Start scaling today to see what the future holds.
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