Is Cloudways Hosting Worth the Money? Cloudways Review
A high-performance, low-cost, managed WordPress host is what you’re searching for? Your WordPress site will be fast and secure, thanks to cloudways hosting. You can find out whether cloudways suits you by reading our review here.
Cloudways Hosting is a famous web hosting company that offers affordable, reliable, and scalable cloud-based hosting services. Cloudways is one of the most popular web hosting providers on the market and has a very positive reputation. We’ll take a look at Cloudways’ features, price, customer service, and dependability in this review. We will also provide our verdict on whether Cloudways is worth the money.
What is Cloudways Web Hosting?
When it comes to cloud-based managed WordPress hosting, Cloudways is one of the few providers that strikes a good balance between the cost of the service and the level of functionality it provides.
Cloudways offers fully managed hosting and promises that WordPress sites will no longer load slowly and that hosting troubles will be a thing of the past.
The platform-as-a-service that they provide Cloud servers offer a comprehensive feature set that is second to none, and as your website expands, you can scale up its hosting capacity. To the highest standards of efficiency, reliability, and security, their infrastructure has been fine-tuned.
If you are on the fence about choosing Cloudways as your managed WordPress server, you should join up for the free trial that Cloudways provides so that you may try out their Platform for three days. The lowest managed WordPress hosting package offered by Cloudways is ten dollars per month.
What Are Cloudways’ Unique Selling Points?
E-commerce-friendly features are included in Cloudways Hosting to make selling your products online a cinch. Today, the firm is home to more than 10,000 online shops.
The server promises a 99.9% uptime and blazingly fast page load speeds owing to a combination of Memcached, Apache, Varnish, and Nginx on the backend.
A user-friendly panel, limitless storage, controlled security and backups, and round-the-clock assistance are all included in the host’s Ecommerce choices.
Cloudways Features
Compared to other WordPress hosting systems, Cloudways provides a plethora of options to its Advanced users. Thanks to the intuitive and engaging user interface, individuals may solve all their hosting issues with a single click.
Cloudways has a distinct advantage over the competition as a cloud hosting service. They tailor their services to the specifics of the fees they collect.
It’s easy to pay as you go for your WordPress website’s hosting capacity and traffic monitoring. Server administration and application management are separated into separate tabs.
It is possible to administer your server using Cloudways’ server administration (start, stop or restart it). You may utilize monitoring items, interact with services, and adjust settings.
Using the application administration option or application setting tab, you may choose applications and add-ons to enhance your site’s functionality, verify URLs and credentials, manage domains, install an SSL certificate for free, recover backups, and so forth.
Cloudways Performance
High-performance client servers and applications are available to consumers via Cloudways. The performance of ThunderStack is enhanced by more than just the ThunderStack formula.
With SSD storage, your website will load twice as quickly and perform better in search engine results because of the Platform’s lightning-fast read/write speeds.
Cloudways Uptime
Cloudways guarantees 99.9% uptime. It offers a variety of cloud providers, and each one has a different level of reliability. The cloud provider also determines the placement of the servers. According to the firm, there might be as few as one or as many as twelve locations. Servers for hosting may be located all around the world.
An excellent clue is the fact that Cloudways offers a service level agreement. Cloudways will compensate or reimburse clients if service is not reached. It’s also clear which instances don’t qualify.
Cloudways Security
Using a reputable Cloud Hosting Platform to host WordPress websites is critical to their security. Cloudways provides WordPress clients with platform-level firewalls for the safety and security of their data.
Cloudways’ technical support staff is dedicated to implementing cutting-edge security hardening solutions to build a more resilient system. In Cloudways, you may create a whitelist of IP Addresses that can only be allowed access to the server.
With one-click SSL administration, automated patching, and dedicated cloud servers, Cloudways will keep your site safe.
You don’t have to worry about the security of your server on Cloudways PaaS since all cloud servers get automatic firmware upgrades and OS updates.
Unauthorized access or hacking attempts are prevented by putting servers and applications behind secure firewall protection. There is no need to worry about your cloud server whatsoever. Everything is taken care of by Cloudways.
Cloudways Support
Cloudways offers a variety of ways to get help. The technical support staff is available around the clock so that you may get in touch with them at any time. You may also send a message or request further details online. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Tutorials are available in their knowledge base.
The E-Commerce Platforms That Are Supported
Web hosting service Cloudways provides advanced support for Ecommerce Business platforms including Magento, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop. You may use them to sell your products and services online.
Cloudways woocommerce
WooCommerce is another popular e-commerce platform that is hosted by Cloudways. With a one-click installation method and free automatic migration, the hosting company has gone above and beyond to make installation a breeze.
It is also worth noting that the host’s WooCommerce hosting plans offer extra tools like WP-CLI support and one-click server scalability so that you may use more resources during busy times.
Cloudways Magento
Installing Magento on Cloudways claims to be a one-click process, removing the need for any further steps. Your company’s sales will increase due to the hosting provider’s ability to operate Magento shops at a high rate of speed.
SSH and Git environments are built-in as well as the ability to install multiple SSL certificates. Your online business may also take advantage of a free relocation service.
Cloudways Hosting Plans
There are a lot of companies out there that provide comparable services when it comes to managed WordPress hosting. Finding a web host that goes beyond the ordinary and provides a unique managed WordPress hosting service on shared, VPS, or dedicated servers are rare.
Managed WordPress Hosting by Cloudways
With Cloudways, you may have copies of your WordPress site’s content mirrored across various data centers on a cloud server.
If your main server fails, a copy of your website will be made available on a backup server.
Thus, computer resources may be deployed quickly and efficiently, resulting in superior performance and dependable service.
Traditional Hosting vs. Cloudways
How does Cloudways WordPress hosting differ from regular or traditional hosting?
- In contrast to conventional hosting, where your site is kept on a single server, cloud hosting stores your data across numerous servers (with a backup)
- Having a website hosted on different servers means that it may be simply relocated in the event of a problem.
- When anything goes wrong, another server in the network may step in and take over.
- The server can recognize the location of your clients and provide data from the server closest to that place, making it quicker than conventional hosting.
- It is common for cloud hosting providers to employ SSDs to enhance the speed of your website.
- Cloud hosts are often more secure than conventional hosts. Cloudways processes your WordPress site using a variety of security mechanisms.
- If your company website has a sudden surge in traffic, a cloud server can instantly scale up to handle the demand.
- Pay-as-you-go pricing gives you greater control over your hosting costs.
- The dedicated resources of WordPress Hosting on SSDs keep your site running quickly.
Cloudways server pricing & Plans
There are a variety of scalable WordPress hosting options offered by cloudways. WordPress is hosted on Digital Ocean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, & Google Cloud via Cloudways. Listed below is a summary of the plans they provide and their current pricing. Visit the Cloudways website to get the most recent and accurate pricing information.
Cloudways provides “pay-as-you-go” billing: each month, you just pay for your website’s services.
For the following plans, “DO” stands for Digital Ocean, and “ram” refers to the amount of RAM included in the price.
DIGITAL OCEAN | |||||
Server Name | RAM | Processor | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Price |
DO1GB | 1 GB | 1 Core | 25GB | 1TB | $10/mon |
DO2GB | 2 GB | 1 Core | 50GB | 2TB | $22/mon |
DO4GB | 4 GB | 2 Core | 80GB | 4TB | $42/mon |
DO8GB | 8 GB | 4 Core | 160GB | 5TB | $80/mon |
DO16GB | 16 GB | 6 Core | 320GB | 6TB | $135/mon |
DO32GB | 32 GB | 8 Core | 640GB | 7TB | $230/mon |
DO48GB | 48 GB | 12 Core | 960GB | 8TB | $315/mon |
DO64GB | 64 GB | 16 Core | 1280GB | 9TB | $395/mon |
DO96GB | 96 GB | 20 Core | 1920GB | 10TB | $555/mon |
DO128GB | 128 GB | 24 Core | 2560GB | 11TB | $715/mon |
DO192GB | 192 GB | 32 Core | 3840GB | 12TB | $1,035/mon |
VULTR | |||||
Server Name | RAM | Processor | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Price |
VULTR1GB | 1 GB | 1 Core | 25GB | 1TB | $11/mo |
VULTR2GB | 2 GB | 1 Core | 55GB | 2TB | $23/mo |
VULTR4GB | 4 GB | 2 Core | 80GB | 3TB | $44/mo |
VULTR8GB | 8 GB | 4 Core | 160GB | 4TB | $84/mo |
VULTR16GB | 16 GB | 6 Core | 320GB | 5TB | $139/mo |
VULTR32GB | 32 GB | 8 Core | 640GB | 6TB | $225/mo |
VULTR64GB | 64 GB | 16 Core | 1280GB | 10TB | $385/mo |
Features of Cloudways’ Hosting Plan
Cloudways servers have variable levels of processing power, memory, bandwidth, and unlimited storage space, just like any other hosting firm. A cloud server with 10 gigabytes of random access memory (RAM), 25 gigabytes of storage space, one core processor, and one terabyte of bandwidth is included in the most basic hosting service.
To make your WordPress site safe, quick, and simple to manage, Cloudways uses the following methods:
- Cloudways can handle your site’s transfer if you’re changing hosts.
- The Cloudways CDN boosts server performance. – Having a fast website is highly critical for online retailers.
- Any problems are fixed automatically, reducing the likelihood of your site being down.
- When it comes to content management systems, WordPress is a goldmine for hackers because of its popularity. Cloudways protects your website with a dedicated firewall.
- Let’s Encrypt is already built into the system. SSL protects your site’s contact with clients.
- Additional protection against hackers is provided by two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Apps may be installed with a single click, and new sites can be set up with a single click.
- Expert assistance is available round-the-clock, 365 days a year.
Cloudways WordPress Setup
Choosing WordPress as your preferred application during the account creation process ensures that it will be installed when your server is launched. A manual WordPress installation will not be required as a result.
WordPress applications may be broadly classified into four categories. Specifically, they are
- WordPress (Optimized WordPress)
- Multisite-WordPress (Optimized especially for Multisite)
- WordPress integrated with WooCommerce (Optimized especially for WooCommerce)
- squeaky-clean (Vanilla WordPress, without Cloudways optimizations)
Once you’ve decided on the software you want to use, pick a cloud service provider. Amazon web services, Google Cloud Platform, Digital Ocean, Linode, and Vultr are just a few of the providers you may choose from.
Cloud hosting providers with data centers close to your target audience should be your first choice if you’re new to the concept.
Currently, the following providers are available:
- There are 8 data centers to choose from with Digital Ocean’s SSD-based storage and a 3-day free trial.
- VULTRÂ offers a free 3-day trial of their SSD-based storage and operates out of 17 data centers across the globe.
- Configurable disk capacity, 20 data centers, and Amazon EC2.
- Google Cloud has 18 data centers across three continents for significant companies or resource-intensive client websites.
- For a limited time, you may try Linode’s SSD-based storage in one of 11 data centers.
The five service providers’ significant differences are in cost and dependability. Both Digital Ocean and Linode provide practically limitless bandwidth at a lesser price, making them excellent alternatives if you’re a developer on a tight budget.
You’ll pay more per month with Amazon web services and Google, but you’ll have the assurance that your site won’t be throttled since you’re paying for each resource you use.
In addition, Cloudways and StackPath have teamed together to provide CDN services. When deciding on the size of your server, go with the one you think would best suit your requirements.
There are several options available if you aren’t sure which one to select, and you can always upgrade your server as required. Your server may be upgraded anytime from your Cloudways server administration page.
Selecting a server location is the last step in setting up your service provider and server size. It’s a good idea to locate your server close to your intended audience. So, if most of your traffic originates in the United States, it makes sense to have a server there.
Cloudways Server Management
Features are organized into two tabs, as we’ve previously discussed—features for managing servers and applications. Server Tab will be available as soon as the server is up and running. If you click on it, it will take you to the “Server Management screen or Interface” if you click on it.
Every cloud has its own set of resources that it consumes. Your server will be entirely under your control, and you can adjust your server settings as much as you wish.
The “Server Manager” page in your account has many helpful choices for optimizing your server. However, I highly advise that you only muck about with settings if you’re confident in your abilities.
Your Master Credentials will be the default view on your screen. You may change your username and password for the server, manage SSH keys, and see your IP address from this page.
Server Monitoring cloudways
This feature enables the user to keep an eye on the amount of free space on their cloud server.
Your server’s resource use is summarized here. The demographic graph may be found on the details page of your WordPress website’s network traffic monitoring dashboard. The percentage indicates that your server has to be upgraded for a lengthy period.
Cloudways Managed Services
On the Manage Services page, which appears after monitoring, you’ll see a list of the many Cloudways services that keep your server working smoothly.
An optional application monitoring service (through New Relic) is also included in this package. You may restart and clear your cache for all of your services using this page.
Cloudways Setting & Packages
As a WordPress user, there may be various server configurations that you need to change. In the Setting and Packages menu, you’ll find all these server settings and more. If you’ve made any changes, save them.
Cloudways Security
A website’s security is of the utmost importance. To keep your installations secure, Cloudways updates firewalls and installs server fixes regularly.
They also keep an eye on any suspicious behavior on your server. Remember that if you repeatedly try and fail to log in because you’ve forgotten your password, you may be locked out of your account, so keep that in mind. You may avoid this by changing the security settings in your server management to allow your IP address to be whitelisted.
Cloudways Vertical Scaling
With this function, you can customize the size of your server based on the amount of network traffic your website receives. The process of simplifying and improving the effectiveness of amplifying resources for your WordPress website is facilitated.
There are several Cloud providers, each of which offers a unique set of solutions to grow server size. You may also be able to change the size of your database and application disk, depending on the Cloud provider you choose, so that it corresponds with the requirements of your WordPress website.
Servers may have their storage, bandwidth, CPU cores, and random access memory increased or decreased as needed. You can scale down if your requirements are lower. If you find that you need more, increase the amount. They have a very high degree of adaptability.
Downsizing your server is not an option with DigitalOcean, Linode, or Vultr. They all offer upscale options only. However, you may reduce the requirements of a server by creating a clone of it on a machine with fewer resources.
Cloudways Automatic Backups
Cloudways server administration has a backup frequency that is unique. Your WordPress servers may be backed up at the frequency you want with Cloudways.
Auto Managed or Automatic site Backups’ “Server Backup Now” feature allows you to back up data immediately.
Cloudways SMTP
To send emails from your server, you may use this option to connect to a third-party SMTP email hosting provider. You need to activate the add-on to have your email provider set up.
Application Management Settings
Go to “Applications” from the top left menu. Select a program. Several settings are available for your WordPress website, including login information, domain management, cron job management, SSL certificate management, backup frequency, git deployment, application settings, add-ons, and a migration tool.
Access Detail
Go to the Access Details page to get started with your WordPress website. You may access your WordPress username and password by clicking on the link.
Copy the URL and paste it into your web browser’s address bar. To access your WordPress dashboard, enter your username and password on the WordPress login screen that appears.
This offers all relevant information about your installations, including your temporary URL, Admin login credentials, and MySQL information.
Cloudways Monitoring
Monitoring allows you to monitor the data and logs of your WordPress website, as its name may imply. This part is further broken down into two subsections: logs and analytics.
Cloudways Domain Management
Your installations will first be placed up on the main cloudways apps site as staging sites when you start your Cloudways server.
You will need to go to the Domain Management page to add your domain name when ready to move to a live site.
SSL Management cloudways
Go to the SSL Certificate section of your Application Manager and use the tool provided to generate a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt to include this security measure into your website hosted by Cloudways.
Alternatively, you may upload a custom certificate by toggling the SSL option. A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) must be generated, downloaded, and installed on your application before buying and installing an SSL certificate.
Cloudways Migrator Tool
Use this tool to migrate your application’s data and database to your new Cloudways server. Using the WordPress Migrator plugin, you may transfer the settings from your old WordPress site to the newly built WordPress site on your cloud server.
Cloudways Backup & Restore
Go to the Return tab if you ever need to restore your website to its previous state.
You may pick a backup to restore using the drop-down menu and then click the Restore option to begin the process.
What are the uptime and performance stats for Cloudways?
Cloudways has partnered with some of the greatest cloud service providers, and this is no secret. Because of this, you can expect 99.9% uptime on their WordPress cloud servers when you host your site with them.
Cloudways-hosted WordPress site load times are 40% to 50% faster than those hosted elsewhere. Cloudways’ unique VMAN technology, which installs Varnish caching, Memcached, Apache, and Nginx to enhance site performance, makes this feasible.
How Would Fast be My Site?
Small companies should pay special attention to page loading times since they might negatively impact their Google search results and drive away impatient clients.
Cloudways’ cutting-edge technological stack was built to maximize performance, so its pages load lightning fast.
- Apache
- Nginx
- Varnish
- memcached
- Redis
- PHP-FPM
- For databases, MySQL/MariaDB.
- SDD (solid-state disks) for storing information
Worldwide Network of Data Centers
The StackPath CDN (content delivery network) may also be used, which has a worldwide network of 65+ PoPs (points-of-presence). Your website’s copies are stored on these data center nodes. People visiting your site are automatically routed to your site from the nearest network node based on their location.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Cloudways?
.[i2pc pros_icon=”icon icon-thumbs-up” cons_icon=”icon icon-thumbs-down” show_title=”false” show_button=”false” pros_title=”Pros” cons_title=”Cons” ][i2pros]Always-Available premium Support and Real-Time Chat
Scalable and Flexible Hosting Packages
It is simple to change your plan to a virtual private server (VPS) or a dedicated hosting server without transferring your website.
Hosting on solid-state drives (SSD) with built-in caches.
Extra Tools for group collaboration.
Includes several different security features, including dedicated IP addresses, SSL encryption, and SiteLock protection.
Pay-as-you-go on an hourly basis.
Cloudways has a 99.99% uptime guarantee, so you can rest assured knowing your website will be accessible at all times.
Cloudways offers free daily backups of your website.
[/i2pros][i2cons]There is no CDN involved.
Does Not Include Hosting for Email Accounts.
A user interface that is difficult to navigate.
No access to the root account or root access, which means no server changes (because they are managed).
The majority of add-ons are paid extras (including email).
If you delete your server during a free trial, it will be removed from the service. Even if you are still in the free trial period.
Plesk and cPanel are not supported. Cloudways offers a platform for managing cloud-based servers applications.
[/i2cons][/i2pc]
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to utilize Cloudflare’s CDN with cloudways?
This is possible, of course. Step-by-step instructions are provided by Cloudways. 152 data centers throughout the world are home to Cloudflare. More than a dozen new Cloudflare data centers have been established in China’s mainland regions. You’ll need an Enterprise-level account to access the new mainland China sites, so keep that in mind. For the Enterprise package, there is no pricing posted on their website; you’ll have to contact customer support for that information. It may cost more than $200 per month since the Business Plan costs that much.
Who founded Cloudways?
In 2009, Cloudways was founded on the Maltese island of Malta, which is situated in Europe. More than 30 employees work out of offices in Dubai, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. They’ve helped over 8,000 customers in 43 countries deploy more than 12,000 servers and 25,000 online applications.
As a managed cloud hosting provider, Cloudways’s goal is to free up its clients to focus on their core business while taking care of their hosting woes.
When it comes to cloud-based managed WordPress hosting, Cloudways is one of the few companies that provides an excellent balance between pricing and amazing functionality.
To What Extent Does Cloudways Provide Assistance and support?
Getting in touch with Cloudways is a breeze. Contacting the customer service department is as simple as dialing the number above, chatting online, or sending an email.
Alternatively, their help website has a wealth of information, including articles from their knowledge base and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), for anyone with billing, sales, or technical questions.
Does Cloudways support cPanel or Plesk?
No. However, Cloudway’s unique server administration program, Click&Go Cloud console, is available. In addition to monitoring server resources and configuring basic settings, it also provides a robust variety of collaboration tools. Many online programs are supported by Click&Go, including WordPress, Joomla Drupal Magento PrestaShop, and WooCommerce.
Will Cloudways Help Me Move My Site?
First-time users of Cloudways’ cloud platform may use a free site migrating service. Depending on your website’s program, you may be charged for any further migrations.
Is it feasible to increase or decrease the capacity of a server?
The Click&Go panel allows you to increase server resources at any moment to satisfy traffic demands. Amazon and Google servers may be scaled down at any moment. DigitalOcean, however, does not allow you to scale down due to the provider’s restrictions.
Does Cloudways support Python?
cloudways is compatible with various programming languages, including Java, C, and Python.
How secure is Cloudways?
End-to-end encryption on the Cloudways platform guarantees that all data in transit is safeguarded and encrypted using HTTPS protocol, prohibiting access to data as it moves from one system to another.
How many Websites Can you Host Cloudways?
It doesn’t matter which server you have; Cloudways enables you to host unlimited websites on the same server. A similar website platform on a different server isn’t required. The server may easily host a combination of Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress.
What’s the most excellent Cloudways alternative?
Even though Cloudways is a top-notch managed WordPress host, WP Engine and Flywheel are alternatives available.
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Conclusion
Choosing the best WordPress hosting and cloud provider is not a simple task. As soon as you put up a website, you’re filled with anxiety. One of the considerations is safety and security. Furthermore, you are concerned about the website’s management and performance.
With Cloudways, you may choose from a wide range of cloud hosting plans to meet your site’s specific data and budgetary requirements. You may choose from a range of cloud server providers and plans, with prices ranging from $10 per month to custom-built options.
There is no limit to the number of websites you may host with any of their services. Cloudways, in our opinion, is the most excellent option for cloud hosting management. It’s great for individuals who require more control over the server when constructing or designing unique websites. Start with shared hosting optimized for WordPress and transition to a managed service like Cloudways if necessary.