Overview
You can use this document to learn about delivery domains.
A delivery domain is a non-StackPath host address that can request and serve content on the CDN.
In other words, instead of showing the StackPath edge address (such as k7i7r8n7.stackpathcdn.com) in your page source, you can use a vanity URL like (such as cdn.example77.com).
A delivery domain tells StackPath CDN servers to recognize an inbound request with the delivery domain as a host header and the file path from your origin.
For most websites, it is beneficial to add a custom delivery domain for the following reasons:
- You have full ownership over your delivery domain and can change CDN service while retaining the same public URLs.
- Image search results will display your delivery domain instead of your edge address.
- Serving content under a delivery domain owned by the root domain increases customer and search engine trust when compared to edge address usage.
Add a delivery domain
- In the StackPath Control Portal, in the left-side navigation, click Sites.
- Locate and select the desired site.
- In the left-side navigation, click Settings.
- Under Delivery Domains, click Add Delivery Domain.
- Enter the FQDN of the delivery domain, and then click Add.
Review the following examples to understand where different assets can be served from:
- Origin Server
- Files are directly delivered from your server, and not the StackPath CDN.
- Edge Address
- A unique, StackPath-provided URL that comes with each site you create. There is no need to upload SSL certificates, nor make any DNS changes.
- Delivery domain:
- A CNAME record that points "cdn." subdomain to the StackPath edge address.
- Any subdomain can be used, as long as the subdomain is not already serving your HTML. A custom SSL certificate can be uploaded to serve under this subdomain with HTTPS. If you use HTTP only, then there is no SSL requirement.
Performance Impact
When you add a delivery domain, DNS resolution takes one more lookup to return StackPath's IP address. In local testing, switching to a delivery domain resulted in a fraction of a millisecond longer DNS resolution. Note that DNS resolution time is passed to the end user, regardless of how small the increase is.
Review requirements
Review the following items that you must have access to in order to set up a delivery domain:
| Integration type | Requirement | Description |
| Static assets | SSL certificate issuer (if HTTPS) |
You must be able to retrieve certificate, private key, and chain for HTTPS delivery from the new subdomain CDN. This certificate must cover your new subdomain, and any other domains which are pointed to your edge address or previous IP address. |
| Static assets | StackPath Control Panel |
While in the portal, you must be able to:
|
| Static assets | DNS provider | You must be able to access your DNS provider to update records, specifically use a CNAME record to point your subdomain to your StackPath edge address. |
| Static assets | Website Source Code |
You must be able to rewrite your assets URLs to the new delivery domain, via a CMS plugin or manually. |
| Full site | SSL certificate issuer (if HTTPS) |
You must be able to retrieve certificate, private key, and chain for HTTPS delivery from the new subdomain CDN. This certificate must cover your new subdomain, and any other domains which are pointed to your edge address or previous IP address. |
| Full site | StackPath Control Panel |
While in the portal, you must be able to:
|
| Full site | DNS provider |
You must be able to access your DNS provider to update records.
If your public website is a subdomain (www), then add a CNAME record to point your subdomain to your StackPath edge address.
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