Example of CDN and WordPress site integration via W3 Total Cache plugin

Last update: June 04 2025

For your information

These are instructions for connecting a CDN to a WordPress site via the W3 Total Cache plugin.

1. Create a CDN resource.
2. Create a personalized domain for the CDN resource.
3. Add a personalized domain to the CDN resource.
4. Configure the W3 Total Cache plugin.
5. Check the CDN resource.

1. Create a CDN resource⁠

1. In the Control Panel, on the top menu, click Products and select CDN.
2. Click Create CDN resource.
3. Enter a name for the resource. The name has no effect on the resource settings and is used only for operation in the control panel.
4. In the Content Source block, select Your Source.
5. In the Domain or IP Address field, enter the domain of your WordPress site from where the CDN will take the static files.
6. Click Create CDN resource. The CDN provider will create a default domain from which to distribute content. You can view the default domain in the Control Panel: from the top menu, click Products → CDN → Share page → Share tab.

2. Create a personal domain for the CDN resource⁠

1. Open your DNS hosting control panel.

2. Create a third-level domain, such as cdn.example. com. This domain will be used as your personal CDN domain for content distribution.

3. Create a CNAME record:

   • record type is CNAME;
   • record name is a subdomain of the form cdn.example.com;
   • value — default domain in *.selcdn.net format. You can view the domain in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → CDN → Resource page → General tab . Specify the domain without the protocol.

3. Add a personal domain to a CDN resource⁠

1. In the Control Panel, on the top menu, click Products and select CDN.
2. Open the CDN resource page → General tab.
3. In the Personal Domains block, click Add Domain.
4. Specify the third-level domain you created as your personal domain.
5. Click Connect.

4. Customize the W3 Total Cache plugin⁠

1. Navigate to the WordPress admin console.
2. In the left menu, go to the Plagins section.
3. In the search box, type W3 Total Cache.
4. In the search results in the W3 Total Cache plugin card, click Install Now → Activate.
5. In the left menu, go to Performance → General Settings.
6. In the CDN block, check the Enable checkbox.
7. In the CDN block, in the CDN Type field, select Generic Mirror.
8. In the CDN block, click Save all settings.
9. In the left menu, go to Perfomance → CDN.
10. In the Configuration block, in the SSL support field, select Auto (determine connection type automatically).
11. In the Replace site's hostname with field in the Configuration block, enter the domain you added to the CDN resource as a personal domain . You can view the personal domain in the Control Panel: in the top menu, click Products → CDN → CDN resource page → General tab → Personal Domains block.
12. Click Save all settings.

5. Check CDN resource⁠

1. Make sure that at least 30 minutes have passed after all the settings — this time is necessary for the CDN resource to fully work.
2. Open the file on your WordPress site using a link like example.com/images/image.png. If the file does not load, the problem is on the side of your site.
3. Open the file through the default domain using a link like *.selcdn.net/images/image.png. If the file does not load, check the CDN and Host header settings.
4. Open the file through the personal domain using a link like cdn.example.com/images/image.png. If the object does not load, check that the CNAME record you added when you created the personal domain is correct.