Ghost, ProcessWire, and Silverstripe CMS all support content-driven websites, but they target different publishing and development workflows and use different CDN integration methods. Ghost focuses on professional publishing and memberships. ProcessWire combines a flexible content API with a field-driven editor. Silverstripe CMS provides structured site management on top of a developer-oriented PHP framework.
This guide helps you compare the three systems and understand how each one connects to CDNsun. It summarizes the architecture and settings involved without repeating every configuration step. When you are ready to implement the integration, continue with the dedicated tutorial for your CMS.
For more CMS options, see our guide to Contao, ExpressionEngine, and Backdrop CMS CDN integration.
Why use a CDN with a CMS?
A content management system creates pages, stores media, applies templates, and controls publishing workflows. A content delivery network handles a different part of the stack: it caches suitable files and serves them from distributed infrastructure. Visitors can then retrieve static assets from a nearby CDN location instead of requesting every copy from the origin server.
For a typical CMS website, a CDN can help:
- reduce latency for visitors located far from the origin;
- offload requests for images, CSS, JavaScript, fonts, and downloads;
- leave more origin capacity for uncached pages and application processing;
- improve delivery consistency for geographically distributed traffic; and
- absorb sudden increases in static-asset requests more efficiently.
A CDN complements CMS and server optimization rather than replacing them. Database performance, application caching, efficient templates, optimized images, and correct HTTP caching rules still matter. The practical integration task is to make eligible public asset URLs use the CDN hostname while keeping administration, sessions, forms, and personalized responses on the origin.
Ghost, ProcessWire, or Silverstripe CMS: a quick comparison
| CMS | Good fit for | Why teams choose it | CDN integration path | Tutorial-tested environment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Publications, newsletters, membership sites, and content businesses | Focused publishing workflow with integrated membership and newsletter features | Native asset, image, media, and file URL settings in the server configuration | Ghost 6.64.0 |
| ProcessWire | Custom websites, structured content projects, and developer-led applications | Field-driven content modeling, a flexible API, and direct template control | Native Config::setUrl() mappings for templates and managed files | ProcessWire 3.0.259 |
| Silverstripe CMS | Structured company sites, public-sector projects, portals, and custom applications | Page-tree content management combined with an extensible PHP framework | CDN Rewrite middleware for public resource, project, and asset paths | Silverstripe CMS 6.2.5 with CDN Rewrite 2.2.0 |
The versions in this table record the environments used to test the tutorials. They do not indicate the newest releases or define compatibility for every installation.
Ghost CDN integration overview
Ghost is an open-source publishing platform built for professional publications, newsletters, memberships, and content businesses. Its editor and publishing workflow stay focused on stories, authors, members, and distribution rather than trying to cover every general-purpose website use case. Teams often choose it when editorial speed and a clean reading experience are central to the project.
The covered integration uses Ghost’s native urls configuration. Separate settings can assign the CDN Service Domain to theme assets, uploaded images, media, and other files while the main site URL continues to point to the origin. This method works with Ghost’s built-in local storage and does not require a third-party storage adapter. Theme resources must use Ghost’s asset helper, because hard-coded origin URLs are not rewritten automatically.
The tutorial was tested with Ghost 6.64.0 and a CDN Static Pull service. Treat that version as the verified tutorial environment, check the active configuration format for your deployment method, and restart Ghost after applying the URL settings.
Follow the complete Ghost CDN integration tutorial for the exact JSON or environment-variable configuration and verification sequence.
ProcessWire CDN integration overview
ProcessWire is an open-source CMS and content management framework built around custom fields, templates, pages, and an expressive PHP API. It gives developers direct control over the content model and front-end markup while providing editors with a focused administration interface. It can suit company websites, directories, catalogs, portals, and custom applications whose structures do not fit a rigid theme model.
For CDN delivery, ProcessWire provides a native mapping method. Calls to Config::setUrl() can change the public base URL for template resources and managed files. The tested configuration maps the templates path used by stylesheets and JavaScript and the files path used by uploaded images and generated image variants. No additional module is required, but templates must build asset URLs through the ProcessWire API rather than hard-coding the origin hostname.
The tutorial was verified with ProcessWire 3.0.259 and a CDN Static Pull service. Files stay on the origin, and the CDN retrieves and caches them as visitors request the mapped URLs.
Follow the complete ProcessWire CDN integration tutorial to add the native URL mappings and verify template assets and managed images.
Silverstripe CMS CDN integration overview
Silverstripe CMS is an open-source content management system backed by the Silverstripe PHP framework. Its page tree, editor, asset management, permissions, and extension model support structured websites and custom applications. It can be a practical fit for organizations that want an established editing interface while retaining framework-level control over templates, data objects, and business logic.
The covered integration uses the dorsetdigital/silverstripe-cdnrewrite module. Its middleware rewrites matching public URLs in the rendered frontend HTML. The tested configuration includes _resources for theme and module resources, client for project CSS and JavaScript, and assets for CMS-managed uploads and generated image variants. The CMS administration remains on the origin rather than being routed through the static CDN hostname.
The procedure was tested with Silverstripe CMS 6.2.5, CDN Rewrite 2.2.0, and a CDN Static Pull service. Because this method depends on middleware, compare the module requirements with your CMS version and review any additional public path prefixes used by the project.
Follow the complete Silverstripe CDN integration tutorial for module installation, YAML configuration, cache rebuilding, and frontend verification.
Verification basics for all three CMS platforms
Changing a configuration value or adding middleware is only the start of a reliable rollout. After configuration, inspect the generated requests and confirm that the CDN is serving the intended content.
- Test several public page types. Check the homepage, content pages, listing pages, forms, and any page using a different template or layout.
- Inspect requests in browser developer tools. Confirm that intended images, stylesheets, scripts, fonts, and downloads use the CDN hostname.
- Check HTTPS delivery. Look for certificate errors, mixed-content warnings, blocked resources, and accidental HTTP asset URLs.
- Compare origin and CDN files. Open a representative asset through both URLs and verify that the content matches.
- Confirm cache behavior. Review response headers to make sure repeat requests can be served from the CDN cache as expected.
- Clear relevant caches. Flush CMS, application, browser, and CDN caches when older URLs remain visible after a change.
- Keep dynamic routes on the correct host. Administration pages, sessions, forms, personalized responses, and other application traffic should not move to a static CDN mapping unintentionally.
Common problems include an incorrect hostname, missing HTTPS coverage, stale rendered output, a theme that constructs URLs independently, or an eligible path that was omitted from the mapping. On Ghost, review every configured URL group and verify that the theme uses the asset helper. On ProcessWire, check both template and managed-file mappings. On Silverstripe CMS, review the middleware prefixes and rebuild cached configuration after changes.
Which CMS should you choose?
Choose the CMS according to your content structure, team workflow, maintenance capacity, and development model. CDN compatibility should confirm the decision, not drive it by itself.
- Choose Ghost when publishing, newsletters, memberships, and a streamlined editorial workflow are central to the project. Its native URL groups provide a direct CDN path for locally stored public resources.
- Choose ProcessWire when you need flexible fields, custom templates, and close control over content and markup. Its native URL mappings are concise, but templates must consistently use the CMS API.
- Choose Silverstripe CMS when a structured page tree, established editing workflow, and extensible PHP application framework fit the organization. Its CDN path adds a middleware module and explicit path configuration.
All three can deliver static assets through a CDN while keeping their editing interfaces and dynamic application traffic on the origin. Ghost provides native URL groups, ProcessWire maps native resource paths, and Silverstripe CMS performs response rewriting through middleware.
Start your CMS CDN setup
Prepare your origin, CDN Service Domain, and HTTPS delivery before changing the CMS. Then follow the platform-specific tutorial and verify the resulting asset requests across representative pages.
- Set up CDN delivery for Ghost
- Set up CDN delivery for ProcessWire
- Set up CDN delivery for Silverstripe CMS
CDNsun uses pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly fee and includes free SSL and 24/7 support. You can test the integration with a 15-day free trial when you sign up for CDNsun.