Today, we’ll explain why the VPN server location is important to you as a VPN user, and also highlight a few ways to help you determine the best server for your needs.
Let’s start by explaining what a VPN server is, shall we?
VPN server explained
A VPN encrypts your internet traffic to keep your online activity secure and anonymous. It does this by routing your online activity through servers that are spread across the world, or as the industry is putting it, that have different points of presence (PoPs).
For instance, say you visit some website with a VPN turned on. That website will see the connection from the VPN server rather than from your device. This way, a VPN helps you bypass location-based filters by presenting the websites and services you visit with a different IP address.
Therefore, it is crucial to get a VPN that has many different server locations – as their number directly translates into content unlocking possibilities.
But how to determine the best VPN server for yourself? Here are three things to know:
1. For fast connections, choose a server near you
The simply route of a typical VPN usage looks like this:
- You enter a URL of a website you want to visit
- The information to the URL is sent to the VPN server you have selected
- That VPN server visits the page you’ve entered
- Return the information (web page) to you
That’s a lot of data traveling even though modern Internet connections are fast. Still, for the fastest results you are best off going for the server that is closest to you.
2. For bypassing censorship, connect to the server in a country with (almost) zero censorship
Sometimes you will need or want to access a website that may be blocked in your country. Then, you will want to connect to a VPN server in some other country where such censorship practices don’t exist.
In most cases, selecting locations in the U.S. and Europe will do the trick. But sometimes, for the edgier content (when it comes to the local government’s policies), you may want to select some far off locations.
The point is that with a VPN, you don’t have to settle for “half of the Internet” as you can access it in its entirety with hundreds of virtual (server) locations to choose from.
3. For internet consistency, select locations with multiple servers
It is said that redundancy is a superpower in tech. It improves speeds and keeps your internet connection consistent.
So when it comes to selecting the right VPN server for yourself, consider the number of servers they offer per location.
Major countries like the US, UK, France and Germany are housing multiple servers for a reason. Heck, you may even be able to choose servers on a city level.
The bigger the network is, the better.
Get a rock-solid VPN and forget about it…
Let it do its magic in the background as you safely and securely browse the web, access streaming services that could otherwise be outside of your reach, anonymously download files with BitTorrent and more.
This is where our list of Best of the Best VPNs kicks in. You see, we’ve tested more VPNs than we care to count and out of the bunch – we’ve selected those that we think are worth checking out.
So do check out that page and feel free to send us any questions you may have. We’re here to help.