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Global Anycast Edge CDN & Intelligent Delivery

How SmallPict delivers optimized WebP and AVIF images from its edge network, and when you need your own CDN.

In short: On WordPress Pro and Business with the optional Cloud Offload setting turned on (and on the API Momentum plan), the SmallPict CDN is managed for you. Optimized images are served from cdn.smallpict.app with no DNS changes and no third-party CDN account. With Cloud Offload off, images stay on your WordPress server and are served from there.

You only need your own storage and CDN if your organization already has its own cloud and CDN contracts (bring your own, on the API Velocity and Momentum plans).

What the SmallPict CDN does

Serving large images from a single hosting server makes pages render slowly, adds CPU load, and hurts Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).

SmallPict pairs AVIF and WebP compression with an anycast edge network of 300+ locations in more than 100 countries. Each visitor receives images from the location closest to them.

How edge delivery works

TEXT
[Your Visitor]       │  (Requests image from closest location, e.g., Jakarta, London, Tokyo)       ▼[SmallPict Edge PoP (< 15ms TTFB)]       │       ├─► [Edge Cache HIT]: Served from edge cache       │       └─► [Edge Cache MISS]: Fetches the optimized AVIF/WebP file from SmallPict cloud storage                              ──► Caches it at the edge ──► Served
  1. Anycast routing: Requests are routed over BGP anycast to the nearest edge location.
  2. Edge cache hits: Cached images are served from edge memory and SSDs, so your own server handles no image traffic for them.
  3. Format fallback: On Pro and Business, Smart Next-Gen serves AVIF with a WebP fallback through a <picture> element. Browsers that support AVIF load AVIF, others load WebP, and the original on your server remains the last fallback.
  4. Origin shielding: Traffic spikes are absorbed by the edge instead of your origin server.

Managed CDN vs. bring your own CDN

1. Managed SmallPict CDN (Pro, Business, Velocity and Momentum)

  • No setup: No DNS records, SSL certificates, or separate CDN subscription. It is active as soon as you turn on Cloud Offload in the plugin (Pro and Business) or make your first API request.
  • Global network: Multi-tier caching, failover, and DDoS mitigation across 300+ locations, operated by SmallPict.
  • Included bandwidth: A monthly edge bandwidth allowance is part of your plan, and usage is shown in your dashboard.

On the Free and Starter plans there is no CDN: optimized images are saved on your own web server and served from there.

2. Bring your own storage and CDN (Velocity and Momentum)

For teams that already have a CDN contract:

  • Your own domains: Any domain your CDN serves from is set up and managed in your own CDN account. (The SmallPict CDN itself always serves from cdn.smallpict.app.)
  • Your own rules: Apply your WAF policies, bot rules, and geo-restrictions.
  • Works today with: Storage: Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, Google Cloud Storage, Alibaba Cloud OSS, Tencent Cloud COS, DigitalOcean Spaces, SumoPod Storage, MinIO and other S3-compatible services through a custom endpoint (for example Hetzner, Vultr or Wasabi). CDN: Cloudflare or Amazon CloudFront. Azure Blob Storage and other CDNs, including Google Cloud CDN, Bunny CDN, Fastly and Akamai, are planned and not available yet: see Cloud providers.
  • Connected together: Your own storage and your own CDN are switched on together; one can't be enabled without the other. WordPress plans, including Business, use the managed SmallPict CDN.
  • Your responsibility: Files cached or stored in your own CDN or storage account live outside SmallPict. SmallPict does not keep a backup of those copies, so keep your own backups.
  • Velocity and Momentum are your choice: “Managed by SmallPict” is the default (on Velocity: 50 GB of SmallPict storage and the SmallPict CDN with a bandwidth cap), or bring your own storage and CDN. With your own, SmallPict is not involved with that data or with the CDN's performance.

Cache invalidation

1. WordPress

  • Editing or cropping media: When an image is replaced, cropped, or edited in the Media Library, the plugin sends a purge request (POST /v1/plugin/purge) so the edge caches are cleared.
  • Deleting media: Deleting an image also purges all of its thumbnail sizes from the edge.

2. REST API

You can purge cached files yourself through the API:

Shell
curl -X POST https://api.smallpict.app/v1/purge \  -H "X-API-Key: sp_live_key_9a8b7c6d5e4f3a..." \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d {    "purge_type": "url",    "urls": [      "https://cdn.smallpict.app/<customer_id>/<job_id>.avif",      "https://cdn.smallpict.app/<customer_id>/<other_job_id>.webp"    ]  }'

You can purge only your own files: URLs under /<customer_id>/ or your offloaded WordPress sites. "purge_type": "all" clears all of your own files, not the whole CDN.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to move my DNS or nameservers to use the SmallPict CDN?

No. Your DNS stays where it is (cPanel, Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Route 53, and so on). SmallPict serves images from its own endpoints without changing your nameservers.

What if my website already uses a CDN or reverse proxy?

That works. Your HTML and scripts continue to come from your host and existing CDN, while images are served from the SmallPict CDN.

Can I use my own domain with the SmallPict CDN?

No. The SmallPict CDN always serves images from cdn.smallpict.app; custom domains are not available. If you need your own domain, connect your own storage and CDN (Velocity or Momentum) and manage its domains in your own CDN account.