API CDN

What is API

API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other.  Think of it like a translator 1 piece of software speaks English and the other speaks Spanish - now you need a translator which we call the API.

How Our API Works

The Buddyboss App runs from your Wordpress database. So lets say your Wordpress database where all your data is held about your users, activity posts, media etc speak English and your Buddyboss App which is written in the popular React Native language speak Spanish.

Now lets say you are in the App in your Activity Feed page, what this is doing is reaching out to your wordpress database to check for post on a regular bases but if we didn’t have an API in between translating the data backwards and forwards all the time then the App would just be empty.

The API is Buddyboss’s crown jewel, our magic box of tricks, that allows you to run an app using your Wordpress platform in the way that we do.

What’s a CDN

A CDN (content delivery network), also called a content distribution network, is a group of geographically distributed and interconnected servers.

Example of why you should use a CDN. 

Lets say your app is live for everyone to download from Apple or Google store, you have hosting (Hosting matters but not for this example) which is with Cloudways say and your app and the database and all the information the app needs sits on that server.

Now that server sits in one location and lets say that location is Dallas Texas. Now you have users downloading your app in Australia… For every bit of information you want to show that user in their app has to bounce across the world constantly retrieving any un-cached information…

This becomes a weak link once hundreds/thousands of users around the world are trying to all pile into your 1 server to retrieve the same information is a recipe for a bottle neck disaster which no matter how great your content is, if a user can't access quick enough you will start losing them! Providing information to your users as fast as possible in this day and age is somewhat the aim of the game!

CDN services are separate from your hosting and what they do is look at all the information on your 1 hosted server and mirrors it to all their servers around the world so the next time a user from lets say England downloads your app the information in the app is a lot faster loading as instead of going to your one server in Dallas Texas they are directed to the closest server to them say maybe London.

If you know or plan to have heavy user usage in a certain location you can always check the CDN providers server locations first.

Now you have a good understanding of API’s and CDN’s follow the steps in our setup tutorial video below to enable this feature in your Buddyboss settings.

Related Material

How to use a Content Delivery Network with BuddyBoss App