Amazon Cloudfront

How to integrate Amazon CloudFront with Webflow

Webflow includes Fastly CDN by default, but custom CloudFront integration provides infrastructure control for specific enterprise requirements. Direct CloudFront configuration enables custom cache policies optimized for your traffic patterns, Lambda@Edge functions for request/response manipulation at edge locations, AWS WAF integration for advanced security rules, and AWS Shield DDoS protection—capabilities unavailable through Webflow's built-in delivery infrastructure.

Choose this integration approach when you need AWS ecosystem integration for compliance requirements (AWS Organizations, CloudTrail logging), when existing infrastructure requires consolidated AWS billing, or when global traffic patterns demand cache policy customization beyond Webflow's defaults. Standard Webflow sites already use Fastly CDN effectively—add CloudFront only when specific enterprise infrastructure requirements justify the operational complexity of managing dual CDN architecture with manual cache invalidation.

Five integration methods work depending on your Webflow plan and technical requirements: direct CloudFront distribution configuration for all users, Webflow Custom Hosting for Enterprise subscribers, static site export to S3 with CloudFront, API integration with webhooks for automation, or hybrid CloudFront with Lambda@Edge for advanced use cases.

Configure CloudFront distribution with Webflow origin

This method works on Webflow Enterprise plans and requires only visual dashboard configuration across AWS Console, your DNS provider, and Webflow. You set your Webflow domain as the CloudFront origin, configure DNS records to route traffic through CloudFront, and must manually invalidate cache after publishing updates—a requirement that is unavoidable for non-Enterprise users.

The setup takes approximately 15-20 minutes for first-time users and requires basic familiarity with DNS records and AWS Console navigation. After initial configuration, you maintain the integration by creating cache invalidation requests after each Webflow publish — typically 5-15 minutes for changes to propagate globally.

Key capabilities:

• Custom origin configuration per CloudFront custom origins documentation using your Webflow domain (e.g., yoursite.webflow.io) as origin domain

• SSL certificate management through AWS Certificate Manager with automatic renewal (certificates must be requested in us-east-1 region)

• DNS routing via CNAME records pointing to CloudFront distribution domain per Route 53 routing documentation

• Cache policy configuration using managed cache policies optimized for static content

• Manual cache invalidation through AWS Console per invalidation documentation after each Webflow publish

Implementation steps:

1. Create CloudFront distribution in AWS Console with your Webflow domain as origin

2. Set origin protocol policy to HTTPS only per Custom Origins Configuration

3. Request SSL certificate in us-east-1 region through AWS Certificate Manager Console

4. Add custom domain as Alternate Domain Name (CNAME) in distribution settings

5. Create CNAME record in DNS provider pointing to CloudFront distribution domain

6. Verify domain in Webflow project settings under Hosting → Custom Domains

7. Wait 15-20 minutes for distribution deployment to complete

Limitations: Native Webflow forms will break completely due to CORS violations (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing—browser security restrictions that block requests between different domains) when posting to https://webflow.com/api/v1/form/[SITE_ID]—you'll need Lambda@Edge handlers or third-party form services. This configuration requires Webflow Enterprise plan while simultaneously paying for both Webflow's Fastly CDN and CloudFront without ability to disable Webflow's infrastructure. Non-Enterprise users must manually invalidate cache after each publish (5-15 minutes), with costs beyond 1,000 paths/month ($0.005 per path). SSL certificates must be provisioned exclusively in us-east-1 region. CloudFront API enforces 50 requests per second per IP address with throttling for exceeded limits. Distribution deployment takes 15-20 minutes, and changing DNS before CloudFront is ready causes site downtime.

Use Webflow Custom Hosting

Webflow Custom Hosting provides automated CloudFront deployment for Enterprise plan subscribers. This method includes automated image optimization, asset minification, automatic cache header configuration, and internal link resolution. It eliminates manual cache invalidation and handles CDN configuration automatically when you publish changes.

The platform manages image optimization, asset minification, and cache header configuration. You still configure DNS records to route traffic through your infrastructure, but Webflow handles the technical integration with CloudFront behind the scenes.

Key capabilities:

• Automated cache invalidation when publishing per Webflow Custom Hosting FAQs

• Webhook integration for deployment automation

• Automated image optimization

• Asset minification

• Automatic cache header configuration for optimal performance

• Internal link resolution maintaining site functionality

Enterprise requirement:

Webflow Custom Hosting is available exclusively on the Webflow Enterprise plan. Standard and Business plan users who want to integrate with Amazon CloudFront must use manual configuration methods such as DNS-based CNAME setup or export static files to S3.

Static Site Export to S3 + CloudFront

Export Webflow site code and host on S3 with CloudFront distribution. This disconnects from Webflow's CMS and requires manual updates when content changes.

This approach exports your Webflow site code to Amazon S3 and hosts it with CloudFront distribution. You lose connection to Webflow's CMS and visual editor — content updates require re-exporting the site, uploading files to S3, invalidating CloudFront cache, and waiting 5-15 minutes for invalidation to complete.

The method works when you need complete infrastructure control or when hosting requirements mandate specific AWS configurations. Static exports disconnect from Webflow's publishing system, requiring manual updates when content changes, making this suitable primarily for sites with infrequent updates or specific compliance requirements.

Configuration requirements:

Use CustomOriginConfig when setting up CloudFront with S3 static website hosting because S3 static website endpoints function as HTTP servers per CustomOriginConfig API reference. This differs from S3OriginConfig used for non-static website S3 buckets per S3OriginConfig reference.

Build with CloudFront API and Webflow webhooks

Automate CloudFront cache invalidation when Webflow content changes using CloudFront API combined with Webflow webhooks. This method requires programming knowledge but eliminates manual cache clearing by triggering invalidation requests automatically when you publish Webflow updates.

Set up webhook endpoints that receive Webflow publish events and call CloudFront's CreateInvalidation API per CloudFront API Reference. This approach works for developers who need automated workflows without Enterprise plan requirements.

Key capabilities:

• Automated invalidation via CloudFront CreateInvalidation API

• Webhook integration using Webflow Site Publishing Webhook

• Custom scripts for deployment automation

• CI/CD integration for infrastructure-as-code workflows

Implementation requirements:

• AWS IAM user with CloudFront invalidation permissions per CloudFront API permissions

• Server or serverless function to receive Webflow webhooks

• Programming knowledge (JavaScript, Python, or other languages with AWS SDK support)

Automated invalidation workflow

Configure Webflow webhook to trigger CloudFront CreateInvalidation API when publishing changes per Webflow Site Publishing Webhook documentation. Deploy serverless function (AWS Lambda or similar) that receives webhook payload and calls CloudFront CreateInvalidation API with affected paths.

Programmatic distribution management

Use CloudFront API to create and configure distributions programmatically per CloudFront API Reference. This enables infrastructure-as-code workflows with Terraform or CloudFormation templates for multi-site deployments.

Trade-offs:

This method requires maintaining custom code and infrastructure but provides automation without Enterprise plan costs. You manage webhook endpoint availability and error handling when invalidation requests fail.

What you can build

Integrating CloudFront with Webflow enables high-performance global content delivery across multiple use cases:

Global e-commerce storefronts: Zalando's European fashion e-commerce platform demonstrates this approach—multi-region product catalogs with image-heavy listing pages, detailed product descriptions with size guides, and checkout flows serving customers across continents. CloudFront's 700+ edge locations cache product images, descriptions, and checkout pages closer to customers, reducing page load times during purchase decisions. Major retailers like Zalando have demonstrated improved customer experience globally and high-traffic event handling per Beinex Zalando case study.

SaaS marketing websites: Product marketing sites built with CloudFront deliver feature comparison pages, technical documentation sections, customer success stories, and interactive product demos through global edge caching. Multi-tenant delivery through CloudFront SaaS Manager reduces operational overhead while maintaining scalability across regions. Marketing teams maintain content through Webflow's visual editor while CloudFront automatically distributes updates across 700+ edge locations, ensuring consistent performance for prospects researching solutions across continents.

Media and content publishers: News publications and content platforms deliver breaking news articles with high-resolution photography, video embeds, and interactive graphics through CloudFront's distributed caching. Publications benefit from CloudFront's ability to handle traffic spikes during breaking news without performance degradation—viral content and major stories drive readership surges that CloudFront absorbs through edge caching rather than overwhelming origin servers. Real user monitoring shows potential improvements of up to 41.5% in page load times for content-heavy sites.

Agency client portfolios: Flow Ninja standardized CloudFront infrastructure across their client portfolio, delivering 200+ Webflow projects generating $10M pipeline and serving 30 million impressions. The agency maintains consistent global performance through templated CDN configurations deployed across financial services, e-commerce, and SaaS client websites. Web development agencies managing multiple client sites standardize infrastructure through CloudFront distributions, providing measurable performance improvements across their portfolio while reducing support burden from speed-related issues.