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A question that we often hear is “Why is my hosting.com Managed WordPress site using more bandwidth than at my old host?” This is an excellent question, and the answer is not complex.

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How is speed involved?

Imagine that a car, due to constraints of its design, is limited to 60 miles per hour / 96 kilometers per hour. The engine may be capable of going faster, but other parts of the car are not. The car will be limited in its speed, and therefore limited to the amount of fuel it can consume. Now, remove that constraint from the car. Instead of being limited to 60 miles per hour, it can now easily travel 90 miles per hour (145 kilometers per hour) for extended times. Because it is travelling at a higher speed, it consumes more fuel.

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More speed = more bandwidth?

To a large degree, the same principle that applies to a slow car applies to your WordPress site. At your previous host, there were limits to how many requests your site could serve at once, which impacted the ability of users to navigate your site quickly. With our fast servers, Cloudflare Enterprise CDN, and unique configuration, your site is faster than it has ever been. Your users can navigate your site more quickly, and as a result, more users can visit your site at the same time. As a result, your hourly and daily number of visitors has room to grow. And as that number of users grows, the amount of bandwidth consumed goes up with it. It may be alarming at first to see your bandwidth go up, but it’s a sure sign that your site is even more successful!

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Conclusion

In the past, your site may have been served by just one single server, with a few static assets served by a free Cloudflare account. But with Cloudflare Enterprise, 250+ locations around the world, and content being served at speeds not previously possible, it’s bound to use some more bandwidth. Just think — that’s how much your old host was holding you back!