Managed WordPress is an optimised and streamlined hosting service that includes a range of features and support to help websites run securely and efficiently.
Unlike traditional shared web hosting, managed WordPress hosting is far more expensive with an average managed plan costing $30 (£25) per month.
Why is managed WordPress hosting expensive?
The main reason why managed WordPress hosting is more expensive than traditional web hosting is that it typically offers higher-performance servers and optimised configurations.
Optimised setups lead to faster page load times and better overall website performance, which is essential for user experience and search engine rankings. Additionally, managed WordPress hosting providers often offer flexible and scalable hosting plans that can handle high traffic spikes and accommodate the growth of your website over time.
Who is managed WordPress for?
Managed WordPress hosting is primarily recommended for businesses with demanding websites that require additional resources during peak periods. In addition to providing extra power, managed WordPress hosting can also alleviate the stress of technical issues by taking care of them for you. It may also be beneficial to opt for managed hosting that includes updates as an add-on service, freeing you up to focus on your business without worrying about important updates. The cost of managed updates as an add-on service may vary depending on the provider.
Best managed WordPress hosting companies
Here at WPSmart we work closely with many of the biggest managed WordPress hosts in the business, this includes the likes of WPEngine, Kinsta, Cloudways and Pressable.
Let’s take a look at our top 5 managed WordPress hosting companies and what they do best.
WPEngine
WPEngine is one of the most popular managed WordPress hosting companies in the world. The company has over 120,000 customers across 150 countries.
WPEngine key features:
- Speed and Performance: WPEngine uses advanced server technologies such as Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services, as well as a proprietary caching system called EverCache, to deliver fast and reliable website performance. They also integrate with content delivery networks (CDNs) such as Cloudflare and Fastly to speed up website delivery to users around the world.
- Security and Reliability: WPEngine provides enterprise-grade security measures to protect your website from cyber threats and attacks. They use a combination of proprietary and third-party tools such as threat detection and blocking, firewall protection, and malware scanning to ensure that your website remains secure. Additionally, they offer automatic backups and disaster recovery options to ensure that your website data is always safe and recoverable.
- Scalability and Flexibility: WPEngine offers flexible and scalable hosting plans that can accommodate the needs of businesses of all sizes. They use load balancing and automatic scaling technologies to ensure that your website remains accessible and responsive even during periods of high traffic or server load. Additionally, they offer a range of development and staging tools such as Git integration and local development environments to help you build, test, and deploy your website changes with ease.
Kinsta
Kinsta is another well know and trusted managed WordPress hosting company that has been around since 2013.
Kinsta key features:
- Speed and Performance: Kinsta also uses the Google Cloud Platform as its infrastructure provider, allowing them to deliver fast and reliable website performance with automatic scalability. They also use a combination of caching technologies such as NGINX, Redis, and LXD containers to optimise website delivery speed.
- Security and Reliability: Kinsta provides advanced security measures to protect your website from cyber threats and attacks. They use Google Cloud’s firewall, DDoS protection, and continuous monitoring to ensure that your website remains secure. They also offer automatic backups and one-click restoration options to ensure that your website data is always safe and recoverable.
- Developer-Friendly Features: Kinsta offers a range of developer-friendly features such as staging environments, SSH access, Git integration, and one-click deployment. These tools help developers to build, test, and deploy website changes quickly and easily. Additionally, Kinsta provides access to the latest PHP versions and other technologies such as HTTP/2 and Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates to optimize website performance and security.
Pressable
Pressable is a managed WordPress hosting service that is now owned by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WordPress VIP. This means that Pressable users can expect the same high-quality platform and level of service as these other popular WordPress offerings.
Pressable key features:
- Performance and Scalability: Pressable uses the same data network as WordPress.com and WordPress VIP to deliver fast and reliable website performance. They also utilise server-side caching technologies such as Varnish and Memcached to speed up website delivery. Pressable also offers automatic scaling that can handle traffic spikes without any downtime.
- Security and Reliability: Pressable provides enterprise-grade security measures to protect your website from cyber threats and attacks. They use a combination of proprietary and third-party tools such as malware scanning, intrusion detection, and brute force attack prevention to ensure that your website remains secure. Pressable also offers automatic backups, disaster recovery options, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee to ensure that your website data is always safe and accessible.
- User-Friendly Features: Pressable offers a range of user-friendly features such as a custom control panel, one-click staging, JetPack, and easy WordPress site migration. They also provide access to a range of WordPress plugins and themes, as well as 24/7 customer support via live chat, email, and phone.
Cloudways
Cloudways is a multi-cloud managed WordPress hosting company owned by Digital Ocean that allows users to host their websites on premium cloud provides such as AWS, Google, Digital Ocean, Vultr and Akamai Connected Cloud.
Cloudways key features:
- Multiple Cloud Providers: Cloudways allows users to choose from multiple cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr. This flexibility enables businesses to choose the cloud infrastructure that best suits their needs in terms of cost, location, and performance.
- Managed Performance: Cloudways optimises performance by using technologies like Nginx, PHP-FPM, MySQL/MariaDB, and Varnish Cache. They also offer server-side caching, content delivery network (CDN), and auto-healing features that ensure faster website loading times, better uptime, and reduced downtime.
- User-Friendly Features: Cloudways offers a range of user-friendly features like easy server management, one-click backups, staging environments, email mailboxes (add-on) and automated website migrations. They also provide a user-friendly control panel that enables users to manage their servers, applications, and databases easily. Additionally, they offer 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email.
Rocket.net
Rocket.net is a managed WordPress host that was the first hosting platform to fully integrate with Cloudflare Enterprise which is included on all hosting plans.
- Managed WordPress Hosting: Rocket.net provides fully managed WordPress hosting services, which means that they take care of all the technical aspects of website management. This includes server setup, security, updates, and backups, allowing website owners to focus on creating content and growing their business.
- Global Content Delivery Network (CDN): Rocket.net uses Cloidflare Enterprice, a global content delivery network (CDN) to ensure fast website loading times for visitors from around the world. This helps to improve the user experience and can also boost search engine rankings.
- Security and Malware Protection: Rocket.net takes security seriously and offers a range of features to protect websites from attacks and malware. This includes daily malware scans, automatic updates, and a web application firewall (WAF) that helps to block malicious traffic.
Who would we recommend?
If we were to recommend a managed web host, it would have to be either Cloudways or Rocket.net. With Cloudways, you get full transparency and know exactly what you are paying for. With Rocket.net, there are no PHP worker restrictions, no hidden upsells, and Cloudflare Enterprise is included in all plans.
If you would like any further information about any of the web hosting companies listed on this page please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help.