SVG CDN Caching Strategy
SVGs are static assets that benefit enormously from aggressive CDN caching — here's the header configuration that gets it right.
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Cache-Control Headers for Static SVGs
Immutable, versioned SVG assets (files with a content hash in the filename, like `logo.a3f9c2.svg`) should ship with `Cache-Control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable` — telling browsers and CDNs to cache for a full year without revalidation, since the hash guarantees the URL changes whenever content does.
- Hash-versioned filenames enable safe year-long caching
- immutable directive skips revalidation requests entirely
- Non-hashed SVGs need shorter max-age or must-revalidate instead
Cache-Busting Without Breaking Caching
For SVGs that change without a filename hash (e.g., a CMS-served logo), use a shorter Cache-Control max-age with `stale-while-revalidate` — serving the cached version instantly while fetching an update in the background, balancing freshness against the performance benefit of caching.
- stale-while-revalidate serves cached content while updating in background
- Shorter max-age suits content that changes without a versioned URL
- Query-string cache-busting (?v=2) works but is less CDN-cache-friendly than hashed filenames
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best caching setup for a logo that rarely changes?
Add a content hash to the filename during your build process, then serve it with Cache-Control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable — this gives maximum caching benefit with automatic invalidation whenever the file actually changes.
Do CDNs handle SVG's Content-Type correctly by default?
Most modern CDNs and static hosts correctly serve image/svg+xml, but verify with your specific provider — an incorrect Content-Type (like text/plain) can prevent SVGs from rendering as images in some contexts.
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