Personalize content with CDN caching
When using Magnolia’s personalization features (traits and variants) with CDN caching enabled, special configuration is required to ensure cached content respects user traits.
The problem
Magnolia DX Core allows you to create content variants that display different content based on user traits. However, when CDN caching is enabled:
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Without caching: Users see personalized content correctly based on their traits.
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With caching: All users see the same cached version (the first response the CDN cached), regardless of their traits.
This happens because CDNs treat all requests to the same URL as identical. The CDN caches the first response and serves it to everyone, ignoring trait differences.
The solution
Personalized content can be cached correctly by configuring the CDN to:
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Extract trait information from incoming requests
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Normalize trait values into a small set of categories
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Create separate cache entries for each trait category using the
Varyheader
| Trait normalization is critical for cache performance. Normalizing traits into a small set of categories (for example, 3-5 device types) maintains good cache efficiency. Too many unique trait values create excessive cache entries, reducing cache performance significantly. |
Implementation approach
The configuration works in three stages of the CDN request lifecycle:
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Request received: Extract trait data (such as device type from User-Agent headers) and normalize it into categories
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Backend response received: Configure the
Varyheader to create separate cache entries for each trait category -
Response delivered: Clean up internal headers before sending the response to the client
Common personalization traits that work well with this approach include:
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Device type (mobile, tablet, desktop)
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Geographic region (continent or country-level)
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User segments with limited categories
| Cookie-based traits often have too many unique values for effective caching. If you need cookie-based personalization, contact Magnolia Support to discuss whether caching is appropriate for your use case. |
Getting personalization with caching configured
CDN configuration for personalized content caching is managed by Magnolia Support for DX Cloud projects.
To request this configuration:
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Contact DX Cloud support.
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Provide details about your personalization requirements:
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Which traits you want to use (device type, location, etc.)
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Expected trait values and categories
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Which pages or content types require personalization
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Support will work with you to implement the appropriate CDN configuration.