Cloudways stands out as a premier managed WordPress hosting provider, offering a unique approach that sets it apart from the competition. Unlike traditional managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine, Flywheel, and Pressable, which deliver optimized server environments, comprehensive security packages, and specialized dashboards for a streamlined WordPress experience, Cloudways provides a more flexible and customizable solution. Cloudways is a managed hosting provider that goes beyond WordPress, offering modular hosting options that allow users to select the specific managed environment and features they require. This approach deviates significantly from the restrictive frameworks typical of many managed hosts. This flexibility is particularly appealing to those seeking tailored hosting solutions. In our in-depth Cloudways review, we’ll explore the platform’s capabilities in detail, helping you determine if it meets your specific needs.
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What is Managed WordPress Hosting?
Managed WordPress hosting offers an optimized environment specifically designed for WordPress websites. The hosting providers handle the configuration and maintenance of servers to ensure optimal WordPress performance, security, and stability.
Key features of managed WordPress hosting include:
- Optimized servers equipped with the latest PHP versions, MySQL databases, caching, and content delivery networks.
- Automatic updates for the WordPress core to ensure you’re always running the latest version.
- Daily backups and easy restore options in case of issues.
- Access to WordPress experts for technical support and troubleshooting.
- Proactive monitoring and robust security measures against threats such as DDoS attacks.
- Performance enhancements including caching plugins, object caching, and CDNs.
- Staging or development environments for testing changes before they go live.
- The main objective of managed WordPress hosting is to take care of all hosting, optimization, and maintenance tasks, allowing site owners to focus on creating content and managing their sites. The hosting provider handles the technical aspects behind the scenes.
- Managed WordPress hosting is ideal for site owners who want superior performance and security without the hassle of managing servers themselves. While it is more expensive than basic shared hosting, the benefits it offers are significant, especially for busy sites.
Overview of Cloudways
Established in 2012, Cloudways is headquartered in Malta, with offices in London, Barcelona, and Lahore. The company specializes in offering managed hosting services for various platforms, including WordPress, Magento, Joomla, Drupal, and other PHP applications.
Cloudways provides several key features, such as:
- Modular hosting options allow users to select their preferred cloud provider, server location, PHP version, and capacity, paying only for the resources they use.
- Pre-optimized servers are designed for speed and security, with easy integration for content delivery networks (CDNs) and other performance enhancements.
- Round-the-clock expert support for server-related issues, scaling, migrations, and optimizations.
- Free migrations from any host or server, ensuring a smooth transition with no downtime.
- A range of cloud providers to choose from, including DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform.
- Developer-friendly features like SSH access, Git integration, staging sites, and collaboration tools.
- Security measures include free SSL certificates, firewall protection, and integration with Cloudflare.
Cloudways offers a straightforward and adaptable solution for optimized and managed hosting for WordPress and PHP applications, with flexible pricing options to meet diverse requirements.
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How is Cloudways Managed Hosting Unique?
Cloudways distinguishes itself in managed WordPress hosting through its unique modular approach, offering users flexibility and cost-efficiency. Instead of fixed hosting plans, Cloudways allows users to tailor their hosting by paying only for the specific features and resources they require.
The key benefits of Cloudways’ modular hosting include:
- Pay-As-You-Go Pricing: Cloudways charges users based on hourly usage of server resources, enabling them to scale resources up or down as needed, without being locked into fixed monthly fees.
- No Restrictions on Plugins or Themes: Unlike many managed hosts, Cloudways imposes no limitations on the use of plugins, themes, or customizations. Users have full control over their site’s functionality and optimization.
- Support for Optimization and Performance Plugins: Cloudways not only permit the use of performance-enhancing plugins like cache optimizers and CDNs but also encourages their use. This is a departure from the restrictions imposed by most managed hosts and reflects Cloudways’ focus on optimization.
- Flexible Server Options: Cloudways offers a choice of leading cloud providers such as DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud. Users can easily switch between providers or data centres, providing flexibility in server selection.
Cloudways’ modular approach to managed WordPress hosting empowers users with greater control and customization options, delivering optimized WordPress infrastructure without restrictive limitations.
Cloudways Dashboard Review
The Cloudways dashboard serves as the central management hub for your hosting environment and WordPress sites, offering a more technical and modular experience compared to other managed WordPress hosts.
Upon logging in, you’ll find an account overview listing servers and applications (websites), with the main dashboard displaying metrics such as resource usage, bandwidth, and disk space for each server.
Cloudways provides access to the standard WordPress admin dashboard for managing site content, plugins, themes, and settings. Additionally, the Cloudways dashboard offers server-side environment management options, allowing full control over server configuration, including data centre location selection, resource scaling, and installation of services like Redis caching. This level of customization and optimization is beneficial for experienced users.
The modular dashboard design aligns with Cloudways’ flexible hosting options, enabling the operation of multiple WordPress sites across different servers and easy switching between server providers.
Cloudways stands out for its technical focus, offering transparency into the hosting environment. It caters to users seeking an optimized managed host with more control than conventional providers.
Cloudways gives you more control than most managed hosts.
Cloudways’ managed hosting solution gives you extensive control over your account. You can select the location of your data centre, choose the server provider and capacity, and see the base price for your chosen provider, such as Digital Ocean or AWS. The cost is calculated per hour, with Vultr offering the cheapest base price at around USD 11 per month.
Switching to a different data centre or provider is simple with Cloudways. You can easily scale up and move between providers, like from Vultr to AWS, without data loss and with minimal downtime. This process is much easier compared to migrating a WordPress site between hosts, which can be complex and troublesome. With Cloudways, changing hosts is hassle-free, allowing you to switch between providers like DigitalOcean, Google Cloud Server, and Vultr seamlessly.
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Setting up new WordPress installations is easy.
Setting up a new WordPress installation is a breeze. You can choose from various setups like a multisite installation, an e-commerce site with WooCommerce, or a basic single instance of WordPress. Additionally, there’s an option to install a clean version of WordPress without any Cloudways optimizations. The process is quick and easy, resembling setting up a server but without the need for server details.
Cloudways offers convenient options that can save time for developers and designers. Features like the ability to swiftly set up WooCommerce or configure a multisite network are incredibly beneficial in the long run. These functionalities align with the expectations of a managed WordPress host: straightforward, practical, and enhancing the overall user experience.
Speed and Performance
Cloudways provides fast performance right out of the box, thanks to optimized servers and the latest PHP versions. Page load times are very quick compared to many other managed hosts.
The servers are tuned for WordPress optimization with opcode caching, database optimization, and other tweaks, resulting in much faster performance, especially for sites with lots of plugins and traffic.
Adding a content delivery network (CDN) is easy and improves performance even more. The CDN serves cached static files globally for faster load times, which is great for improving site speed worldwide.
In our testing with the Divi theme and Divi Builder, pages with lots of Divi modules loaded very quickly. The performance was excellent even on fairly low-end Cloudways servers.
Cloudways offers much faster performance than you’ll get with shared hosting. The optimized servers and easy CDN integration make it a great choice for speed.
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Security
Cloudways prioritizes security and comes with robust default protections. All servers are hosted in tier 3+ data centres with top-notch physical security measures.
To enhance network security, Cloudways activates a Web Application Firewall (WAF) by default, offering protection against exploits and attacks. Additionally, there’s DDoS protection in place to mitigate distributed denial of service attacks.
Cloudways’ server configuration includes hardened and optimized settings to prevent intrusions, with the operating system regularly updated with the latest security patches.
For monitoring, Cloudways employs intrusion detection to identify suspicious activity and notify administrators. Integrated monitoring tracks uptime, response time, and other metrics.
Automatic backups provide peace of mind, with daily backups retained for 7 days by default. Users can adjust retention periods or add extra backup destinations as needed.
For advanced security needs, Cloudways allows the implementation of firewalls, IP restrictions, VPN access, and other controls through server configuration. Two-factor authentication can also be enabled for all users.
Cloudways offers comprehensive security features by default, with customizable options to meet specific security requirements.
Support and Reliability
Cloudways provides top-notch support and reliability for users. Their managed WordPress hosting includes 24/7 technical support via live chat and email, with a very responsive team that typically answers most tickets in under 30 minutes.
They guarantee 99.9% uptime for all applications, offering financial credits for any downtime exceeding this. Their infrastructure uses multiple data centres and availability zones to ensure maximum uptime. Monitoring tools actively check server resources and applications, automatically addressing potential issues before they cause downtime.
Cloudways’ managed platform also handles WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates. Instead of managing updates manually, their system safely patches and updates WordPress sites automatically, reducing the risk of errors and security issues.
Cloudways’ managed hosting offers users peace of mind regarding the online presence and maintenance of their WordPress sites. The combination of 24/7 support, a high uptime guarantee, and automatic updates contributes to excellent reliability.
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Pricing and Plans
Cloudways offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model that lets you tailor your hosting to your specific needs. There are no fixed monthly fees or pre-defined plans; instead, you only pay for the server resources and features you use.
The base price starts at around $10 per month for a basic DigitalOcean server. However, for a typical WordPress site, the recommended configuration costs between $20 and $40 per month.
Here’s a breakdown of the pricing:
- Server Provider: Choose from DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud. Prices start at $10/month for a DigitalOcean server.
- Server Location: Select from data centres in the US, Europe, Asia, or Australia. Prices may vary slightly by location.
- Server Size: Options include 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, etc. More RAM means a higher cost per hour.
- Additional Features: Add a CDN, backups, staging sites, and more. These features increase the monthly cost.
The modular pay-as-you-go model provides flexibility. For example, you can begin with a low-end $10/month server and upgrade as your site grows, or switch server locations at any time. You only pay for exactly what you need.
Wrapping Up the Cloudways Review
The Cloudways managed hosting service stands out for its exceptional performance, scalability, affordability, and reliability. It delivers on its promises, offering a fast and efficient hosting solution. The scalability is remarkable, allowing users to easily upgrade their resources with just a few clicks. Migration is also seamless, ensuring a hassle-free transition to Cloudways.
One of the key advantages of Cloudways is its flexibility and control. Users can collaborate with team members, transfer ownership and hosting to clients, and utilize a wide range of security and caching plugins. This level of control sets Cloudways apart from other managed hosts, giving users the freedom to customize their hosting environment to suit their specific needs.
If you value having control over your website and want a hosting solution that offers both performance and flexibility, Cloudways is worth considering. Its user-friendly interface, reliable performance, and extensive feature set make it a compelling choice for anyone looking for a top-notch managed hosting solution.
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