If you’re mulling over the idea of using Cloudways for hosting your WordPress website or any other online platform, our detailed and impartial review of Cloudways will assist in determining if this popular hosting service matches your needs.
In the world of hosting, Cloudways is different due to its unique infrastructure. Unlike traditional hosting services that offer their own infrastructure, Cloudways enables users to select from five prominent cloud hosting providers: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud.
Cloudways then takes the reins by setting up and maintaining your server properly, providing a host of handy tools to manage your site.
The main advantage of this method is the ability to achieve superior performance without spending a fortune. However, it’s a bit more complex compared to conventional hosting, hence I often tell my clients and peers if Cloudways is the best fit for them? It depends. . (in John Muller’s style)
If you’re looking for other options, Here’s something on choosing a Managed WordPress hosting provider 👈
Below is the list of 30 different features, and let’s see if Cloudways is able to pass all the reliability and performance tests.
Cloudways Hosting Features List
Here are 30 reasons why the WordPress community loves Cloudways.
Easy-to-use site migration
Migration of websites can be a daunting task. With Cloudways, you don’t have to worry about the technical aspects of changing hosts. They handle the migration of your site seamlessly, ensuring that your website remains live and functional during the transition.
Account management dashboard
The Cloudways console is your one-stop solution for all your website management needs. It provides a user-friendly interface where you can access and review numerous server management features. This includes monitoring, backups, security and more, making your site management a breeze.
One-click installation
Starting a new website has never been easier. With Cloudways, you can install WordPress or other applications on your server with a single click. This feature simplifies the setup process and gets your site up and running in no time.
Two-factor authentication
Security is of paramount importance in the digital world. Cloudways provides two-factor authentication to secure your account. This adds an extra layer of security, ensuring that only authorized users have access to your account.
Technology to support faster site speeds
Cloudways is committed to providing superior site performance. It offers a range of features like an in-house cache plugin, SSD-based hosting, PHP 7 ready servers, HTTP/2 supported servers and more. These features are designed to optimize your site’s speed and performance.
Choice of five cloud servers
Cloudways offers you a choice of five leading cloud servers – DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Linode and Vultr. This ensures that you can select a cloud hosting option that best fits your requirements and budget.
Free SSL certificates
An SSL certificate is vital for your site’s security and for building trust with your visitors. Cloudways offers free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt, which helps you secure your site without additional cost.
99.999% uptime guarantee
Reliability is key when it comes to hosting your website. Cloudways ensures that your site is always online and accessible, offering a 99.999% uptime guarantee. This means your visitors can access your site anytime they want without any interruption.
Unlimited WordPress websites
With Cloudways, you can host unlimited WordPress sites on your server. This feature provides you with the freedom to run as many sites as you need, making it an excellent choice for businesses with multiple WordPress websites.
Team collaboration features
Working as a team on your website projects is a breeze with Cloudways. It offers role-based permissions that you can assign to your team members. This fosters collaboration and makes it easy to work together on projects.
Free Trial
If you’re unsure about committing to a Cloudways plan, you can avail their three-day free trial. This allows you to test their services and see if they meet your needs before making a financial commitment.
Convinced. ? Get Started with Cloudways 👈
Still Thinking. ? 🤔 Keep Reading. .
Automated backups
Losing data can be disastrous. Cloudways mitigates this risk by providing regular backups of your site data and files. If anything goes wrong, you can restore your data with a single click.
Cloudflare Enterprise CDN
To improve your site’s performance, Cloudways partners with Cloudflare to provide a content delivery network (CDN). This enhances your site’s speed by reducing latency, loading time and bandwidth costs.
24/7/365 support
Should you encounter any issues, Cloudways is ready to help anytime. Their 24/7 live chat support and comprehensive knowledge base can help you troubleshoot your hosting issues. For additional assistance, you can opt for their premium support add-ons.
Scalability
Your website’s needs might grow over time. Cloudways ensures that you can easily scale up your server resources when needed. This means you can easily add more power or storage to your site without any hassle.
Transparent pricing
With Cloudways, there are no hidden fees or overage charges. You are charged only for what you use, with the option to choose from monthly or hourly billing options. This transparency makes it easier for you to budget your hosting expenses.
Staging environment
Testing changes to your site before making them live is crucial. Cloudways offers a staging environment that lets you create a copy of your site for testing purposes. This ensures any changes you make won’t affect your live site until you’re ready.
Git integration
For developers, Cloudways offers Git deployment. This means you can easily deploy updates from your Git repositories to your server, making it easy to maintain and update your website.
SSH and SFTP access
Security is of utmost importance when accessing your server and files. Cloudways provides secure access via SSH and SFTP protocols, ensuring your data remains protected while you manage your website.
Cron job manager
Managing tasks on your server is easy with Cloudways’ cron job manager. You can schedule tasks and commands, automating repetitive tasks and improving efficiency.
WP-CLI pre-installed
If you’re managing a WordPress site, Cloudways comes with WP-CLI pre-installed. This command line tool lets you manage your site quickly and efficiently, saving you time.
Vertical scaling
As your website grows, so do its needs. Cloudways allows you to increase or decrease your server size without affecting your data or customization. This means you can scale your resources to match your site’s needs.
CloudwaysCDN
Cloudways has its own CDN service to improve the reach and response time of your site. This feature enhances the delivery of your content to users around the globe, leading to improved user experience.
Free website migration
Switching hosts can be a hassle, but not with Cloudways. They offer free migration of your site from your existing host to their platform, ensuring minimal downtime and hassle.
WordPress Multisite
Managing multiple WordPress sites is easy with Cloudways. They support WordPress Multisite, which lets you manage multiple sites from a single dashboard, making site management more efficient.
CloudwaysBot
To help you monitor your server and applications, Cloudways offers a smart assistant. CloudwaysBot sends alerts and recommendations via email or Slack, keeping you updated on your server’s status.
Application and server cloning
If you need to clone your server or an application, Cloudways makes it easy. You can clone your entire server or a single application with just a few clicks, saving you time and effort.
Application and server backup
Keeping backups of your server and applications is crucial. Cloudways provides automated backups that you can restore with one click. For extra peace of mind, you can also create on-demand backups anytime you want.
Domain mapping
Cloudways allows you to map your own domain name to your applications. This helps improve your branding and SEO by allowing your applications to have their own unique domain name.
SSL certificate
Securing your website and improving your SEO is easy with Cloudways. They offer free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt, which you can install on your site. If you prefer, you can also install your own custom SSL certificates.
Remember when I said earlier, that “It depends. .” now its that part.
However, I personally was sold when I experienced and increase in website speed by up to 30% on average.
Get a Free Trial on Cloudways 👈
Missing Features – The Downside (Honest Cloudways Review)
No email hosting on Cloudways
While it’s true that Cloudways does not offer email hosting as part of their website hosting package, this decision aligns with their focus on providing top-tier website hosting service. They recommend using dedicated email providers for better performance and deliverability. In fact, integrating your site with a specialized email service like Gmail SMTP server or a fully managed email service, which is a small additional cost, can offer a more reliable email solution.
No domain name registration
Although Cloudways does not provide domain name registration, this isn’t necessarily a downside. Many website owners prefer to keep their domain registration separate from their hosting service for added security and flexibility. This approach allows you to change your hosting service without any disruption to your domain, if the need arises. There are numerous domain registrars available where you can purchase and manage your domain name. e.g. NameCheap
Charges for additional customer support
While some may view Cloudways’ charge for additional customer support as a downside, it’s worth noting that their standard support via the knowledge base or live chat is quite comprehensive. If you do require more extensive support, such as phone or ticket support, the premium support add-ons ensure that you receive the best possible service. This model allows Cloudways to provide higher quality support to those who need it, while keeping costs down for those who don’t.
Low storage for basic tier
The storage offered by Cloudways for their basic tier plans may seem limited, especially for AWS and Google Cloud servers. However, it’s important to consider that these plans are designed to cater to smaller sites with less resource-intensive needs. If you have a large or growing website, you can easily upgrade your plan to accommodate your increased storage needs. This tiered approach allows Cloudways to offer competitive pricing for all types of users.
Complex interface
It’s true that Cloudways’ interface might be a bit complex for beginners who are not familiar with cloud hosting. However, this complexity also means that Cloudways offers a wealth of features and functionality to users. With a little time spent learning the interface, even beginners can leverage these powerful features to get the most out of their hosting experience. Moreover, Cloudways offers extensive documentation and support to assist users in navigating and utilizing their platform effectively.
Is Cloudways hosting the Right Choice for You? (Public and Author Opinion)
Deciding whether Cloudways is the right choice for you depends largely on your specific needs and technical expertise. If you’re seeking high-performance hosting at a manageable price and are not deterred by a slightly more complex management system, Cloudways could be an excellent fit.
This service is particularly beneficial for users comfortable with technology, as it offers the flexibility of choosing from five distinct cloud hosting providers while handling server configuration and maintenance.
However, if you’re a beginner who prefers simplicity over customizability, you might find traditional hosting more suitable. Other options: 👉 BlueHost , NameCheap , Hostinger
In my opinion, Cloudways offers a unique balance between performance and price, making it an excellent choice for the tech-savvy entrepreneurs and online business owners, but perhaps less so for those seeking simplicity above all.
There must be a reason behind Digital Ocean’s offer of $350 million to acquire Karachi based hosting company
