Cloudways Review – Best Managed Hosting?
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A good web hosting service plays an essential role in your website’s success. Hosting is a topic that I’ve talked about a lot on this blog. So, why not some more? 😀
After ample testing and research, I am here with the Cloudways Hosting Review for you! Cloudways differs greatly from all the other web hosts we’ve reviewed here. How, you ask? Read the article to find out.
I have been using Cloudways for more than 3 years now. So, all the results and opinions in this article will be based on my personal experience. Also, this website is hosted on Cloudways currently. In this Cloudways Review, we will begin by discussing how Cloudways differs from other hosting providers.
Further, I will reveal the results of the various tests that I conducted on Cloudways to analyze its performance, like Server Response time, Speed, Uptime, Load Handling Capacity, and more.
Finally, we will also come to its security features, customer support, backups and migration, email hosting, pros and cons, and a lot more. So, is Cloudways hosting a good option for you? Let’s find out!
Difference between Managed Vs Unmanaged Hosting
An unmanaged web host basically rents you storage space on their server and offers little or no additional services.
So, everything from software maintenance to backups is your responsibility, which might be a difficult task for non-technical users! Some popular examples of unmanaged hosting are Digital Ocean, AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, Vultr, etc.
Whereas, if you go with a managed web host, apart from providing server space, it handles everything from server maintenance, software updates, security, backups, etc on your behalf. You also get to see more reliable support.
However, these managed cloud hosts cost a little higher than the regular ones. Some examples of managed hosting might be Cloudways, Kinsta, WPEngine, etc.
Advantages of Managed Hosting
Opting for a Managed Cloud provider might be a great option for beginners because it offers a bunch of advantages. For example:
- No technical knowledge is required
- Automated one-click backups and restoration process.
- More responsive and reliable support is available at all times.
- Saves a lot of time spent configuring the website
- Advanced security against viruses, malware, and unauthorized users.
- Cloud Server maintenance, software updates, and website monitoring are performed by their technical experts.
Cloudways Pros
1. Exceptional Speed
Because of its 65+ server locations and a combination of Apache and Nginx servers, you get to experience excellent speeds on all locations.
2. Unbeatable Uptime
Cloudways hosting offers an unbeatable uptime performance. Even the cheapest server of Digital Ocean provides 99.99% uptime.
3. Impressive Load Handling
The load-handling capability of Cloudways is par excellence! It passed our load tests with zero HTTP failures and a stable response time, even with many requests.
4. Unlimited Websites
Irrespective of the Cloudways plan you opt for, you get to create unlimited websites. So, you can host and manage all your websites in the same dashboard.
5. 65 Server Locations
Cloudways partners with 3 unmanaged web hosts, including AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr, which together offer 65+ data center locations to their users.
6. Customizable Backups
With Cloudways, you get full control over your server and your apps. You can either create on-demand backups or set your backup preferences for automated backups as frequently as you need.
7. All-Round Security
It offers a bunch of security features to safeguard your website from malicious software, unauthorized users, malware, and more.
8. Good Customer Support
I personally liked their fast live chat support. All their representatives were technically well-versed, and I had no issues with getting my queries resolved.
9. Managed Cloud Service
Because Cloudways is a Managed Hosting Provider, everything from backups to server management, app installation, and resource monitoring is just one click away!
You also get responsive support and automated updates for all your apps!
10. Scalable
Cloudways platform is extremely flexible because at any point in time, you can scale your servers up as per spikes in your website traffic.
11. Constant Updates
Cloudways hosting keeps on actively implementing updates and new features frequently on their platform. This is how it maintains its position as one of the best hosts in the market!
12. No Extra Renewal Fee
On Cloudways, you are charged a fixed amount for purchasing new hosting and its renewal. You don’t need to pay anything extra for renewing your hosting, which is great!
13. ‘Pay as you go’ Pricing Model
Cloudways offers the unique ‘Pay as you Go’ pricing model. This means users only need to pay for what they use, which is very cost-effective.
Cloudways Cons
1. No Email Hosting
Sadly, you don’t get free email hosting on Cloudways. You can enable this feature through their Rackspace add-on for $1/month for one email account.
2. No Free CDN
Most hosting services provide CDN for free on their plans. But Cloudways doesn’t offer a free CDN on any of its plans.
3. Acquired by Digital Ocean
There have been no major performance changes since the acquisition by Digital Ocean. However, Vultr and Linode servers have been removed and the support speed has also dropped a little.
4. Slight Learning Curve
Techno-friendly users would have no problems with operating the Cloudways console. But beginners might experience a slight learning curve with the numerous options and settings. You can check my Cloudways Training Program to understand how to operate it.
5. No Free Domain
Cloudways does not function as a domain registration service. So, you need to register your domain on some other domain registrar like GoDaddy or Dynadot and then get hosting for it using Cloudways.
6. More Charges on Larger Server
The hosting prices keep on increasing as you go on scaling up your server size. For example, the Starter plan of DigitalOcean servers with 25 GB space costs $10/month $11/month. But their 160 GB servers cost you $88/month!
7. No Litespeed Servers
Cloudways uses a powerful combination of Nginx and Apache servers on all plans. They perform exceptionally well, but I hope to see Litespeed servers on Cloudways in the future.
Should you use Cloudways?
In my opinion, Cloudways is still one of the best web hosts for 2023. It provides you with superior performance in terms of speed, scalability, uptime, and load testing. Apart from that, it also offers powerful options for backups and security.
In the past year, they’ve implemented a lot of updates on their platform. These include Cloudflare Enterprise CDN, Astra Pro Collaboration, Safe Updates, Partial Restoration, and more.
Thus, Cloudways offers you top-quality service with constant updates at a good price point. This is why I find it worth every dollar of your money spent!
If you have good traffic (over 100k+) on your blog or are earning money out of your blog, then Cloudways would be a great choice. Small to mid-sized businesses, professional bloggers, resellers, agencies, and seasonal websites definitely look at Cloudways.
FAQ
Yes, Cloudways’ eCommerce plans are outstanding! They offer an innovative combination of Nginx and Apache servers that promise better performance.
Yes, you can easily scale your server up from the Vertical Scaling tab under Server Settings. However, for Vultr, Linode, and DigitalOcean servers, this change is permanent and you cannot scale it back down. Though, you can shift it easily to a new downgraded server.
Cloudways implements a ‘Pay as you go’ service on all its plans. This means that you only pay for the time you use their services and not for the entire month/year.
Cloudways supports payments through Credit and Debit Cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex), and Paypal. It also supports the Wire Transfer service, which is only accessible on a minimum purchase of $1000.
The key features of Cloudways Hosting include a unique managed hosting infrastructure, 65+ data center locations, one-click vertical scaling, website staging, swift speeds, and uptime, and its ‘Pay as you go’ payment model.
Cloudways has its headquarters in Malta, Europe.
Yes, you get one free website migration with all the plans of Cloudways. And if you want to transfer your WordPress website, they offer a dedicated WordPress Migration plugin as well!
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform built on top of 3 unmanaged hosting providers. One of them is DigitalOcean. Cloudways users can opt for a DigitalOcean server for hosting their website.
The unique Managed hosting infrastructure of Cloudways built on 3 unmanaged cloud hosts makes it different from other hosting companies.
Thus, you can enjoy the features of managed and unmanaged hosting together!
It’s pretty easy. All you need to do is log in to your account and click on ‘Add a Server’. Next, you need to select an application, your server type, size, and server location. And it’s done!
The $11/month plan of the DigitalOcean server on Cloudways can handle high traffic of up to 1-2 lakh visitors per month.
Yes, you can get a 3-day free trial of Cloudways’ services. You don’t need to enter your credit card details for availing it. However, it only applies to Digital Ocean, Vultr, and Linode servers.