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How to configure the Nexcess CDN with WordPress and WP Rocket

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June 19, 2020
By Luke Cavanagh

Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) will allow site images and assets (JSS and CSS) to be served from the CDN Point of Presence nearest to the customer. This will improve load times for your site. Managed WordPress and Managed WooCommerce sites plans include the Nexcess CDN. 

Many businesspeople wonder How Does a CDN Work to Speed Up Your Ecommerce Site? but they will discover that the reasons are remarkably straightforward. Review the content, resources, and links in this article to learn more about those reasons in full detail.  

Step 1: Enable Nexcess CDN

  1. Log in to your Nexcess portal for your site. Select the Plan Dashboard for the correct site.

  2. Go to the Performance tab in the portal. 

  3. Click on the Configure CDN on Your Site and follow the steps to enable the CDN for your site.  

Step 2: Configure WP Rocket

  1. From your WordPress admin panel, select Settings > WP Rocket.

  2. Go to the CDN tab in WP Rocket you will need to toggle on Enable Content Delivery Network. 

  3. In the CDN CNAME field type your origin CDN URL. For example, https://eadn-wc02-876771.nxedge.io/cdn. 

  4. You can set which assets or paths you want to exclude from the Nexcess CDN in the Exclude files from CDN section in the CDN tab of the WP Rocket plugin. 

  5. Click Save Changes.

  6. Since you are already using WP Rocket you can get some extra performance gains for site users by setting the CDN URL to be DNS prefetched. Go to Settings > WP Rocket > Preload. 

  7. Enter the URL to be DNS prefetched, an example would be //eadn-wc02-876771.nxedge.io/cdn then save the changes in WP Rocket.

  8. When you are testing the site using the Nexcess CDN using GTmetrix or WebPageTest it should be tested from multiple continents, if you're testing from a geographical region close to the origin server, the performance benefit will not be as apparent as it would to a test done in a different region.

  9. If you do need to purge the content being stored in the Nexcess CDN you can purge the CDN directly from the portal in the performance tab. For 24-hour assistance any day of the year, contact our support team by email or through your Client Portal.

Luke Cavanagh
Luke Cavanagh

Luke Cavanagh, Strategic Support & Accelerant at Liquid Web, brings a decade of experience working with WordPress and WooCommerce to our product team. His GitHub page offers a glimpse into his multiple areas of subject matter expertise.

"Ninja stuff with WordPress and WooCommerce," is an apropos way to describe Luke's savviness with these platforms — and his way of influencing our organization for improving to them.

Coming out of the University of Brighton with a Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) Higher National Diploma (HND) in 2D & 3D Design, Luke's credentials prepared him well for his current role that blends both web development and design. His HND credential leveraged his foundational learning at West Kent College, where is received a National Diploma (ND) in Graphic Design.

In his personal life, Luke is a devoted husband and teen wrangler. He considers himself a Synthwave enthusiast, Jerry Goldsmith fan, and Doctor Who aficionado. He is happy to introduce his friends and teammates to essential vocabulary for life found only in British English, such as "gubbins" and similar terms.

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