If you have a WordPress website or are thinking about creating a website you have probably run across the term Managed WordPress Hosting. You may have noticed it seems to cost significantly more with little explanation. We wanted to expound on the difference and which one you should probably choose.
Most of the low end hosting you may have seen during your search for the perfect host is Shared Hosting. These hosts keep costs down by packing as many sites as possible onto their servers. If your site is small with not much traffic (as most sites are in the beginning) this option may be a good solution.
When should you consider moving?
Let’s get this out there right away, we recommend moving to a Managed WordPress Solution if your website is tied to your lively hood. If you are making money from your website you need professionals watching your back. Making sure that if the unthinkable happens you are back up in no time.
The purpose of Managed WordPress Hosting is to give you a completely hassle-free hosting experience so you can focus on running your business. Here are just a few of the advantages of Managed WordPress.
Speed
Speed is more important than ever. Especially since 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. With professionals Managing your WordPress core, updates, backups, caching and more you know your site will stay snappy.
With shared hosting like what you find on GoDaddy for $10 per month, you won’t have consistent speed because the resources of the server are spread across hundreds and even thousands of websites. Your site might load quickly one minute and then load slowly the next. What we typically see are sites that load slowly most of the time because there just aren’t enough resources to go around.
Security
Cheap shared hosting requires your constant attention to keep your site backed up and updated. Or the knowledge of how to set up and configure automation or management software. With Managed WordPress Hosting your site’s security is constantly monitored and if something should get through your site can be restored quickly, and the original issue fixed.
Did you know most “hacks” happen when your CMS is out of date? Check out this article from Cloud Living explaining why you should always keep WordPress and any other CMS you might be using updated. With Managed WordPress Hosting, WordPress is updated and backed up automatically every night.
SSL
Managed WordPress Hosting from Prairie Giraffe includes a free SSL to keep your customer’s information coming to and from your website encrypted.
This helps to prevent “man in the middle” attacks, where someone intercepts the traffic from your site and can see your customer’s personal information.
An SSL also allows your site to show as secure when someone visits your site. As of early 2018 Google is penalizing websites that aren’t secure so this is another reason to make sure your site has an active SSL.
With Managed WordPress Hosting this is taken care of for you so you never have to worry about it.
Optimized
Database, WordPress, CDN, everything is optimized to run as fast and securely as possible. No more worrying about what you don’t know. In addition to maintenance and upkeep, Managed WordPress servers are specifically configured for WordPress.
Speed is the critical for user experience and SEO. Once you get someone on your site, you don’t want them to bounce because your site took too long to load, you need a server that is optimized to load your site quickly.
Dedicated Resources
Unlike cheaper shared hosting plans you have dedicated resources. Your site will not be packed in with hundreds or even thousands of other websites all fighting for the same CPU, RAM, Bandwidth.
Uptimes
Your server and site are managed so someone is watching to make sure your site doesn’t go down. Even if you should suddenly have a surge of traffic. With most shared hosting plans you are probably going to have your site become unreachable, crashing, or being charged high overages if you exceed your allowances for site visits.
Managed WordPress Hosting with cloud servers, a surge is no big deal. If the surge isn’t a surge but the new normal. As in your website just became very popular and you’re getting tons of traffic, the server can be scaled to fit the new load. No need to move your site, deal with support, or hire someone to migrate your site. If you’re using Prairie Giraffe’s Managed WordPress Hosting the server is scaled so you have the resources you need and that’s that.
Who doesn’t need Managed WordPress Hosting?
If you have a small hobby blog or are just starting out with WordPress you really don’t need Managed Hosting. We would recommend signing up with Cloudways instead. They have affordable rates for those who are just getting started.
The one exception would be eCommerce. This also ties back to the beginning when we said: “if your website is tied to your lively hood.” If you’re going to be making money off of your website we highly recommend going with a Managed WordPress plan from the start.
Have questions or need more information? Contact us about Managed WordPress or any other Hosting question you may have. We’d love to help.
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