Need super-fast, reliable speeds for your creative website? Discover which is best for you; WPX Hosting vs. Cloudways. Plus, get answers to FAQs for informed decisions…
In the fast-paced digital landscape, having a high-traffic website is every creative’s dream.
Whether you’re an artist, blogger, or business owner, your website is your digital canvas, and you need a reliable hosting provider to ensure it’s always accessible and performing at its best.
Two popular names in the managed hosting arena, WPX Hosting and Cloudways stand out as top choices.
But which one is the ultimate choice for creatives with high-traffic websites?
In this article, we’ll explore both hosting providers’ features, performance, and support to help you make an informed decision.
What is Managed Hosting?
Managed hosting is a web hosting service that handles your technical details. It includes server management, backups, security, and technical support.
With managed hosting, you can focus on building your website and growing your business. You don’t have to worry about the technical aspects of running and maintaining your website.
You can leave these tasks to the experts who can handle them efficiently and effectively.
Managed hosting is a convenient and reliable choice for website owners who want to avoid technical hassles. It is especially beneficial for:
Starts from: $11 per month
WordPress 1-click install: Yes
On Cloudways’s secure website
Standout features:
Managed hosting, Free trial, Free domain name, Pay-as-you-go pricing
Starts from: $20.83 per month
WordPress 1-click install: Yes
On WPX’s secure website
Standout features:
Super-fast hosting, Free malware removal, 30-sec support reply, 99.95% uptime
Who is Managed Hosting Best for?
Managed hosting is a web hosting service that takes care of the technical details for you. It includes server management, backups, security, and technical support.
With managed hosting, you can focus on building your website and growing your business. You don’t have to worry about the technical aspects of running and maintaining your website.
You can leave these tasks to the experts who can handle them efficiently and effectively.
Managed hosting is a convenient and reliable choice for website owners who want to avoid technical hassles. It is especially beneficial for:
- Creative websites: Managed hosting lets you showcase your creativity with fast and secure websites. Easily install and update software to enhance functionality and performance.
- Commerce websites: Managed hosting can help you sell your products or services online with reliable and scalable websites. You can easily create and manage your online store with platforms like WooCommerce.
- Media-rich websites: Managed hosting can help you deliver your media content online with high-quality, high-performance websites.
Best Alternative Shared Hosting:
Pros of Choosing Cloudways Hosting
Cloudways
- 24/7 Expert Support
- Pay-as-you-go Pricing
- Free SSL Certificate
- Free Site Migration
- 3-Day Free Trial
- Free Cloudware CDN
- Cost-effective: Cloudways offers pay-as-you-go pricing, so you only pay for the resources you use. This can be especially beneficial for creatives on a budget or those with fluctuating traffic.
- Scalability: Cloudways makes it easy to scale your hosting up or down as needed, so you can always get the resources you need. This is important for creatives with growing businesses or websites.
- Performance: Cloudways uses high-performance cloud servers to deliver fast and reliable hosting. This is essential for creatives with media-rich websites or those who rely on their website for their business.
- Staging: Cloudways offers a staging website function, which allows you to create a copy of your live website to test changes before making them live. This is a great way to ensure that your changes will not break your live website. We use Cloudways on YourGuitarBrain, and their staging feature was a lifesaver on a recent site re-design.
- Features: Cloudways offers many features, including multiple cloud providers, server stacks, and team management tools. This makes it a good option for creatives with a variety of needs.
- Choice of cloud providers: Cloudways offers a choice of multiple cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Vultr. This allows you to choose the cloud provider that best meets your needs.
- Multiple server stacks: Cloudways supports multiple server stacks, including WordPress, Magento, Drupal, Joomla, and Laravel. This makes it a good option for a wide range of websites and applications.
Cons of Choosing Cloudways Hosting
- Extras Cost: You have to pay extra fees for some services or features that are not included in your plan. For example, you have to pay for extra bandwidth usage beyond your plan limit, which isn’t an issue if you choose the right amount to start with.
- Server Layer: Cloudways only offers managed services for the server layer. This means that you will need to manage your own applications and databases or contact customer support for more advice.
Pros of Choosing WPX Hosting
WPX Hosting
- Free Malware Removal
- 30 sec Average Support Response
- Free Fixes If Site Offline
- Free Site Speed Optimization
- 30-day Money-Back Guarantee
- 99.95% Uptime
- Speed: WPX Hosting is known for its exceptional speed. This is important for creatives with media-rich websites or those who rely on their website for their business.
- Support: WPX Hosting offers 24/7 support from experienced WordPress experts. This is important for creatives who need help with their website or WordPress installation.
- Features: WPX Hosting offers a variety of features that are beneficial for creatives, such as free website migrations, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and free SSL certificates.
- Fully managed: WPX Hosting is a fully managed hosting provider, which means that they will take care of all aspects of server management, including security, updates, and backups. This can save creatives a lot of time and hassle.
- Optimized for WordPress: WPX Hosting is optimized for WordPress, which means that you can get the best possible performance and security for your WordPress website.
- Free CDN: WPX Hosting offers a free CDN, which can help improve your website’s performance and speed.
- Unlimited Email: You get unlimited email accounts with every plan. You can also create unlimited subdomains and databases for your websites.
- Piece of Mind: You get a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are unsatisfied with their service. They also offer a pro-rated refund if you cancel after the first 30 days.
- Limitless Migrations: You get unlimited website migrations to WPX Hosting for free. They also offer free site performance optimisations, which they help speed up your site by tweaking some settings or installing some plugins.
Cons of Choosing WPX Hosting
- Pricing: WPX Hosting is more expensive than some other managed hosting providers. This can be a challenge for creatives on a budget.
- Limited features: WPX Hosting only offers managed WordPress hosting. This is not ideal for creatives who need to host other types of websites or applications.
- No pay-as-you-go pricing: WPX Hosting does not offer pay-as-you-go pricing. This means you have to commit to a monthly or annual plan.
Server Type: Cloudways Offers More Flexibility and Scalability
One of the main differences between Cloudways and WPX is the type of server they offer.
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that lets you choose from three different cloud providers: DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud.
This gives you more flexibility and control over your server location, performance, and scalability. You can also easily switch between different cloud providers or scale up or down your server resources as per your website needs.
WPX, on the other hand, is a managed WordPress hosting service that runs on its own servers with SSD storage and LiteSpeed Web Server + LiteSpeed Cache.
This means you have less flexibility and control over your server location, performance, and scalability.
You can only choose from three data centre locations: the USA, UK, and Australia. You must upgrade to a higher plan or contact their support team for custom solutions if you need more server resources than your plan limit.
Speed: WPX Hosting and Cloudways Have Pros and Cons
Speed is crucial for any website. A fast website can improve user experience, SEO ranking, conversion rate, and revenue. A slow website can do the opposite. Therefore, you should consider how fast your web hosting service can make your website.
WPX Hosting and Cloudways have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to speed.
WPX Hosting uses its own superfast CDN (Content Delivery Network) called XDN (eXceptional Delivery Network), which has over 37 global locations and can handle dynamic and media-rich content.
WPX Hosting also uses SSD storage and LiteSpeed Web Server + LiteSpeed Cache, which are faster and more efficient than Apache or Nginx. These features can ensure that your website loads and performs fast and smoothly for your visitors.
Cloudways depends on third-party cloud providers, which may not be as fast or reliable as WPX Hosting’s servers. Cloudways also does not use LiteSpeed Web Server or Cache, which are faster and more efficient.
Some speed tests show that WPX Hosting is usually faster than Cloudways. However, this does not mean that Cloudways is always slower than WPX Hosting.
There may be some situations where Cloudways can be faster than WPX Hosting. For example, if you choose a cloud provider that is closer to your audience or market. Or if you optimize your website code or use a caching plugin.
Pricing: Cloudways Wins the Cost Battle
Pricing is a crucial factor for creatives who want to save money and avoid wasting resources.
Cloudways and WPX Hosting have different pricing models and features that can affect your budget and website needs.
Here is a summary of their pricing options:
Cloudways:
- Pay-as-you-go, cost-efficient
- Flexible pricing based on hourly or monthly usage
- No long-term contracts or hidden fees
- Choice of five different cloud providers with different performance and pricing levels
- Pricing starts from $11/mo for DigitalOcean
WPX Hosting:
- Competitive but pricier
- Fixed pricing based on annual or monthly billing
- No pay-as-you-go option
- Choice of three data centre locations with similar
- Pricing starts from $20.83/mo
Conclusion
So, let’s cut to the chase: which is better, Cloudways or WPX hosting?
In the showdown of pricing, performance and features, Cloudways (sign up here to claim $25 credit) takes the lead.
Still, If you need a fast and reliable hosting solution with excellent support for WordPress and don’t mind paying a premium, WPX Hosting is a great choice.
FAQ: Managed Website Hosting
Q1. What is the difference between managed and unmanaged website hosting?
Managed hosting, such as WPX Hosting and Cloudways, takes the technical burden off your shoulders.
They provide services like server management, automatic backups, and security measures. In contrast, unmanaged hosting requires you to handle these aspects yourself, which can be time-consuming and may require technical expertise.
WPX Hosting and Cloudways offer managed hosting, ensuring your website runs smoothly without extensive technical knowledge.
Q2. What are the benefits of managed website hosting?
Managed hosting comes with several advantages. WPX Hosting and Cloudways offer high-speed performance, excellent uptime, and security features.
This translates to faster-loading websites, increased reliability, and protection against online threats. With features like custom CDNs (WPX Hosting) and pay-as-you-go pricing (Cloudways), you can tailor your hosting to your needs, ensuring optimal performance and cost-efficiency.
Q3. Who should use managed website hosting?
Managed hosting is ideal for creatives, businesses, and individuals who want to focus on their content and not worry about server management.
WPX Hosting’s 24/7 support ensures you have assistance when you need it, making it perfect for those without technical expertise.
Cloudways, with its flexible pricing and scalability, suit those who anticipate fluctuating traffic or have budget constraints.
Q3. What features should I look for in a managed website hosting plan?
When choosing a managed hosting plan, key features to consider are speed, uptime, security, support, and pricing.
WPX Hosting’s custom CDN and 99.95% uptime guarantee cater to speed and reliability. Their security features include free SSL certificates and DDoS protection.
In contrast, Cloudways offers a pay-as-you-go model, making it cost-effective for budget-conscious users.
For support, WPX Hosting’s 24/7 live chat with an average 30-second response time can be a valuable resource.
Q4. How do I manage my managed website hosting account?
Managing your managed hosting account is typically straightforward. Both WPX Hosting and Cloudways offer user-friendly interfaces for account management.
You can easily adjust settings, monitor performance, and install applications.
Should you encounter issues or need assistance, WPX Hosting provides 24/7 customer support via live chat, while Cloudways focuses on infrastructure-related support, helping you address your specific needs.
Q5. How do I migrate my website to managed hosting?
Migrating your website to managed hosting, whether with WPX Hosting or Cloudways, is typically a straightforward process.
Most providers, including these two, offer migration services to assist you in seamlessly transitioning your website to their servers. This service often includes:
Website Backup: Both WPX Hosting and Cloudways will back up your existing website to ensure no data loss during migration.
Server Setup: Their experienced teams will configure the new hosting environment to optimize performance for your specific needs.
Content Transfer: They will move your website’s files, databases, and content to the new server.
Testing and Verification: After migration, your website is thoroughly tested to ensure it’s functioning correctly on the new hosting.
DNS Update: The final step involves updating your domain’s DNS settings to point to the new managed hosting.
So, whether you opt for WPX Hosting or Cloudways, rest assured that their migration services are designed to make your transition as smooth and worry-free as possible.
