If your website is hosted on WP Engine, your hosting setup might need to be updated from the “Legacy” Network to the “Advanced” Network. The traditional method of pointing a domain at WP Engine is what is now called its “Legacy Network.” WP Engine encourages all existing users of the Legacy Network to move to the Advanced Network as soon as possible since the Legacy Network will be disabled by “a date in the near future” as of September 20241. Learn more about WP Engine’s Advanced Network, including how to check your network status and update your network.
“Advanced” versus “Legacy” Network
WP Engine’s Advanced Network is a collection of technologies designed to enhance the performance, security, and reliability of WordPress websites. After May 2023, new hosting environments on WP Engine use Advanced Network by default. Below are some of the benefits of the Advanced Network.
CDN for Faster Load Times
A central feature of the Advanced Network is its Content Delivery Network (CDN) powered by Cloudflare, which ensures that website content is delivered from servers located near the user, significantly reducing latency and improving load times across the globe. This not only speeds up page loads but also alleviates pressure on the origin server, allowing for better overall performance. Site owners can benefit from this architecture, particularly during traffic spikes, as the network is designed to scale seamlessly to accommodate increased visitor volume without compromising load times.
Improved Security
Security is another major aspect of the Advanced Network. It provides robust protection through DDoS mitigation and a Web Application Firewall (WAF), helping to safeguard websites against various threats. This focus on security ensures that businesses can operate confidently, knowing their sites are well-protected.
Automatic Image Compression
WP Engine’s Advanced Network also improves image compression via Cloudflare’s “Polish”2. Polish compresses your images where appropriate from JPEG, GIF or PNG to the more modern WebP format. This conversion happens automatically behind the scenes and is served to browsers where supported.
Images compressed with WebP are typically much smaller than a traditional JPEG. Compression rates are between 25% to 34% smaller compared to a JPEG of the same image.
- WP Engine’s Advanced Network – https://wpengine.com/support/advanced-network/ ↩︎
- Cloudflare Polish – https://developers.cloudflare.com/images/polish/ ↩︎