How to publish images from your media bank with CDN

With Mediaflow CDN, every image you publish from the media bank gets a public link that lasts. The link stays the same even when you replace the image behind it, so your websites show the right version without anyone having to find and update links.

That gives you control over the files you have published. No more exporting multiple variants of the same image, and no more hunting for where the copies ended up.

What a CDN does

A CDN, content delivery network, is a network of servers in many locations around the world. Each server holds copies of your files, and visitors get the file from the server closest to them. That is faster than having every visitor fetch the file from one single server far away, and the load is spread out when traffic increases.

Another benefit is that you control which version is live. When images are published as loose copies, it is easy to lose track, and an old product image can linger on a subpage without anyone knowing. When you publish through Mediaflow CDN instead, every publication has a known URL, a known source file and a known status. You can replace the source file and you can unpublish.

How CDN in Mediaflow works today

An image in the media bank can be published several times, for example once as a hero image on the website and once in an article. Each publication gets its own URL with its own default settings. Same file, different uses.

Three things belong to each publication:

• A stable URL. It does not change during the lifetime of the publication.
• A version. If you replace the source file or change the default settings, a new version is created and the copies out in the network are replaced.
• Default values. Size, format, quality and cropping that apply when the link does not specify anything else.

Publishing is currently done through Mediaflow's API, so you need a developer or an integration to get started. Publishing directly from the Mediaflow interface is on its way.

Mediaflow owns the whole chain up to delivery: storage, metadata, publishing and image processing. The CDN provider stores copies and delivers what we have produced, but does not process the images. An image therefore looks the same regardless of which provider delivers it.

Replace images without touching the website

When you replace the source file for a publication, the same URL points to the new file. No links break and nobody needs to go into the website. The same applies when you change default settings, for example if you decide hero images should be delivered at 2048 pixels instead of 1600. Today the replacement is made through the API. An automatic connection, where the publication updates when you replace an image in the media bank, is on its way.

Unpublish

You can delete a publication. The network then stops delivering the file and the copies are cleared. Since deleting has a direct effect on a public website, check that the image is not in use before you delete it.

Images are adapted on request

Image processing takes place on Mediaflow's own servers, not in the media bank and not at the CDN provider. So you do not need to prepare variants in advance.

Images can be delivered as JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF. When the link specifies size or format, or when the publication has default values, Mediaflow automatically picks the format that works best in the visitor's browser.

Files that are not images

PDF, SVG, audio and video are delivered as they are. Settings in the link are ignored and the original file is sent. Mediaflow does not convert video in the CDN and does not turn SVG into pixel images.

Fast file delivery

Speed comes down to three things, and you can control all three.

The right image size. The most common reason for a slow page is images that are larger than the space they are shown in. With CDN, the page fetches exactly the width it needs.

The right format. Mediaflow detects what the browser supports and sends a modern format such as AVIF or WebP whenever possible. You do not need to configure anything yourselves.

Copies close to the visitor. The finished variants are stored out in the network for up to 24 hours, close to the people who will see them. When you replace an image, the publication gets a new version and the copies are replaced, so visitors do not see outdated content.

On top of that comes what the CDN provider contributes: servers in many locations and protection against DDoS attacks before the traffic reaches Mediaflow's servers.

Providers, the EU and data sovereignty

Today there are two options. BunnyCDN, an EU-based network, is used when you need wide geographical reach. Mediaflow Direct delivers from our own servers, without an external network, when you do not.

The provider is chosen per publication. Since the provider does not process the images, we can switch providers without affecting your links.

Security and data protection

• Only what someone has deliberately published becomes public. A file in the media bank is not visible externally until someone creates a publication of it.
• In images that are resized or converted, camera information and similar metadata are removed so they are not visible in the public file. Original files delivered without changes keep their metadata.
• The network returns consistent error responses, for example when a file does not exist.
• The CDN service is isolated from the rest of the platform, and as little as possible is exposed externally.
• Requirements on where data may be stored are handled through the choice of provider, with the EU as first choice.
• Publications can be deleted, and the copies in the network are then cleared.

What CDN in Mediaflow is not

• Not a general CDN for your website. JavaScript, CSS, web fonts and small decorative graphics do not belong here.
• Not video streaming. Video is delivered as it is, without conversion and without adaptive streaming. For video, there is Mediaflow's video platform.
• Not a channel for large downloads. If you want to share a heavy original file with an agency, use the sharing feature in Mediaflow.
• No SVG conversion. SVG is delivered as SVG.

Typical volumes

A website publishing editorial images and page images usually ends up with between 50 and 1,000 published files. There, each image belongs to a specific page, and the size is adapted to the page template's different screen widths.

An online shop publishing product images via API has between 1,000 and over 100,000 published files. There, publications are created and deleted automatically as the product range changes. If you run the same catalogue again, no duplicates are created.

On its way

This is what we are currently developing or have planned:

• Publishing from the interface. Publish directly in Mediaflow and paste the link where it is needed, without a developer.
• Automatic connection to the media bank. When you replace an image in the media bank, the publication updates automatically.
• Warning and quarantine. Mediaflow warns you before you delete something that is live, and you can pause a publication before it is gone for good.
• Provider choice per customer. Choose a provider once for the whole account, based on your requirements on where data may be stored.
• More EU-based providers, including a Swedish one.
• CDN support in our CMS plugins, starting with Optimizely.
• Your own CDN. For larger customers: delivery through a network you own or have an agreement with.

Get started

1. Talk to your account manager about activating CDN on your account.
2. Decide which images to publish and which default sizes and formats should apply.
3. Have your developer build against Mediaflow's API. You will receive the documentation when CDN is activated.
4. Point your website, online shop or newsletter template to the new CDN links.
5. Contact support@mediaflow.com if anything needs clarifying along the way.