Managed WordPress Hosting: Everything You Need to Know

You’re all set with a plan to create a compelling website and gear it for success. You’ve decided WordPress is the right choice as the CMS and website builder for your website. Now, all you need is a domain name and some computing space, generally called web hosting or hosting space.

Web hosting is the source that powers your WordPress website. When you buy web hosting, you’re basically purchasing the computing resources to build, run, and host your website. Hence the name, hosting!

Confusion comes in when choosing between different hosting providers. Also, the presence of different types of managed hosting like, shared, dedicated, VPS, etc. doesn’t make it any easier. And ultimately, choosing the one that fits your budget and meets all your needs!

Well, no need to worry now, as this article will take you through everything you need to know about managed WordPress hosting. Giving you all the facts, insights, and little details to enable you to make the best decision for your WordPress website!

What is Managed WordPress Hosting?

Managed WordPress hosting as the name suggests is a type of hosting service that provides users with convenient features and functionality that is tailor-made for WordPress.

It is a plan where your provider ‘manages’ your site and server for you. The provider will also take care of general yet necessary tasks like maintaining security, updating your site, backups, etc. (we’ll get to this later). So, all your focus is on growing your website and its user base!

These types of hosting providers have different plans, right from basic to advanced based on the traffic, active users, no. of websites, etc. Think of a ready-made platform with all the necessary features, themes, and plugins to get you started with your WordPress journey.

Types of Website Hosting

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is a type of hosting where websites (can range from a few to hundreds) share the same computational resources like processing power, RAM, storage space, etc.

The major advantage of shared hosting is the cost. It is cheap owing to the large user base, as hosting providers can serve many users with a single server. This lowers the cost of maintenance, which translates to cheap prices.

But, it is also its greatest weakness. As server resources are divided between so many websites, sometimes there are not enough resources available. For example, if one site has a huge traffic inflow, it will occupy most of the server’s power, and the rest of the websites have to make do with what’s left 🥲.

This can lead to slow website loading, outages, and bad performance. Also, there can be an issue of security. Yes, security is not subjected to just one type of hosting but if the intruder gains access to the server, every website hosted on it is automatically in danger. As shared hosting has a large number of users, just imagine if there’s a security breach. 😱

That’s why in shared hosting, you also often speak of the “bad neighbor effect”.

Finally, shared hosting caters to a large user base with a variety of needs and wants. Thus, the server, setups, and support are not geared exclusively for WordPress.

Dedicated Hosting

Well, dedicated hosting as the name suggests is dedicated server space and hosting, built just for you! AN entire server, all the processing power, RAM, storage space, etc. only for you! NO sharing, no performance lags..ever, you get complete control over the server, and choose the software and hardware you want. Build a server built just for your WordPress website!

Of course, exclusivity comes with a price tag, and folks it’s a big one 🤯! Also, you’d need the expertise to run it or hire someone to manage it.

Yes, there are managed dedicated servers where the hosting provider takes care of administration and maintenance. But then again, it adds to the price

This makes it a great option for businesses/stores/e-com platforms who don’t want to meddle with the technological side of the business and just work on growing their business!

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

VPS hosting comes between shared and dedicated hosting. You share a server with other websites, but, with a few other websites, each running on a virtual machine.

What it means for users is that each website is assigned with its own resources that cannot be exceeded. This takes care of the “bad neighbor effect”, offering more stability and performance to users.

VPS hosting also gives you more control over what is on your server. You’re free to choose which software to install, programming language(s) to use, etc. You also have the flexibility to use more resources if the need comes (short-term) and of course, increase your resources as your website grows!

The price tag becomes the issue again, but it is comparatively a better bargain than dedicated hosting. But, then again either you manage and maintain your server, or go with managed VPS hosting. Be ready to pay for it, if you do!

Cloud Hosting

This type is basically the big brother of VPS hosting. Here, too, you place your website on a virtual machine. However, this one has access to a whole host of (distributed) servers instead of a single machine. The servers don’t even have to be in the same location, giving you more insurance against failure and downtime.

Plus, the main benefit of cloud hosting is that you can instantly scale up and down the resources you use depending on your needs. This is a good way to accommodate high-traffic times but also keep costs under control when you only pay for things you are actually using.

At the same time, customization options in a cloud setup are limited and dependent on what the hosting provider offers. In addition, because this type of hosting works very interdependently, it can be vulnerable to downtime if there are connection problems. Plus, cloud hosting also calls for its own skill set and, if you don’t use your resources right, can lead to higher costs than necessary.

Features of Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress hosting is dedicated to providing WordPress as a Service. This means your provider will also know the platform inside and out. This can be invaluable, especially if you’re new to WordPress and don’t know much about how to optimize your site.

So what makes managed WordPress hosting a better choice? You’ll have better performance and fewer headaches thanks to these benefits of managed WordPress hosting.

There are no set criteria for what a managed plan should look like, so what you’ll get varies from provider to provider. However, most managed hosting options will:

Ready to Use

Managed WordPress hosting makes installation, setup, and configuration of your WordPress website down to a few clicks. If you do it manually, WordPress is famous for its five-minute installation. There are a few steps involved like setup, file upload, database configuration, etc. But you can do it manually with countless detailed resources available online.

Managed WordPress hosting providers also offer custom dashboards which make your WordPress journey more simple, and intuitive. Although it’s not that different from the default WordPress dashboard, you’ll have all that’s important readily available, without having to search for it. So you can already start working on your website with a custom dashboard that managed WordPress hosting providers offer!

Simplified Staging

Staging allows you to have a copy or stage your website, where you can try out new designs, content, etc. These staging and live sites can be synced to push changes to the live website. Managed hosting makes it effortless with a single-click staging environment.

Automatic Updates

WordPress has a very active community, working all year round to make it the best CMS and website builder. This means constant updates to the core software, themes, and plugins.

It is crucial to update, especially the core software as it holds major security and bug fixes. Managed WordPress hosting provider takes care of this, so you can focus completely on your website and provides options for updating your themes and plugins automatically.

Automatic Site Backups

Backups hold the same importance as updating WordPress core software. Managed hosting offers automatic backups to ensure you always have a copy available in case of any security breach or data loss. They also have a defined process to restore a website from its backup, in case of a crash or any other mishap.

Speed and Performance

Managed WordPress hosting is built to handle WordPress, so your website performs exceptionally. The server and database are configured and optimized for one thing: WordPress. What this means for users is seamless performance and a WordPress website that is optimized to run without any problem!

There is also uptime monitoring that ensures a team is always behind your site, ready to diagnose and solve any performance issues.

If you run an e-commerce site, shoppers will bounce to a faster website before your site even fully loads. In site load times, milliseconds count. Managed WordPress hosting ensures your site is lightning-fast.

Scaling Options

Most sites will fail or crash when they get a big spike in traffic. And visitors get to see nothing but a white screen or an error message. Managed WordPress hosts measure your uptime, thus, any spike in traffic can be easily handled.

The host can scale your site’s resources at a moment’s notice to handle the flood of traffic.

Expert WordPress Support

A lot of support teams will only be able to help you with the actual server hardware when something goes wrong. So, if the issue is with your site, then you’re left on your own, having to search through Google looking for the magic fix.

A managed WordPress host will not only be able to diagnose and solve server and hardware issues for you. But, they’re also staffed by a team of WordPress experts that will be able to help you troubleshoot any issues that might arise. And of course, the goal of a solid managed WordPress host is to help you avoid experiencing any site issues in the first place.

Security Sweeps and Scans

Most people don’t want to admit it, but there’s a chance your site could be hacked. Security is typically the farthest thing from people’s minds. Why would somebody want to hack my site?

The last thing you want is to wake up one morning and realize your site’s been hacked. Then, you have to go through the process of fixing your site, which can be a real headache if you don’t have solid technical skills.

With a managed WordPress host your server environment will be much more secure. Plus, since they’re WordPress experts they’ll be well aware of any common security holes and vulnerabilities and be able to patch the issues effectively.

WordPress-optimized Hosting Infrastructure

Managed WordPress hosts only offer and cater to WordPress websites, thus, an optimized infrastructure, geared for WordPress. A website built for maximum performance and optimization, right from day one!

WordPress-optimized Caching

Caching is a component that stores data, to serve future requests for the same data faster. Hosts usually implement optimized caching at the server level, which eliminates the need for a separate cache plugin but also offers greater performance.

This bump in performance while keeping the website light is possible owing to server level caching instead of application level.

Note: All these features are taken from different managed hosting providers. So, all these features may or may not be present in one single hosting provider and their platform. It is also subject to the plan which you’ve chosen.

Pros of Managed WordPress Hosting

No Technical Know-How

In my opinion, this is the biggest advantage of managed WordPress hosting for most people. You don’t need to get your hands into the complexities of maintaining a website, database, architecture, server, cybersecurity, etc.

Saves time for Managing

As the host handles the general maintenance for you, including updates, backups, malware scans, security checks, etc. You can completely focus on working on your website!

Faster Load Time

Managed hosting providers optimize the server and their services for WordPress. That translates into experience improving and enhancing built-in optimizations, and SEO, to ensure faster load times and great overall performance.

Constant Support

What you get for the price is a support team that you can reach out to, and solve any problems in both, WordPress and hosting. A team of experts hired solely to address and resolve any and every user query and problem with WordPress or hosting service.

Cons of Managed WordPress Hosting

More Expensive

Managed hosting costs more than self-hosted WordPress. No unlimited websites, or storage as you get from other hosts. There are some things that you can otherwise get for free like an SSL certificate, etc. But some hosts do show it as a paid offering.

Not so Cool Billing Model

The billing model is not pocket friendly at all. Apart from the cost of managed hosting, etc., most hosts use monthly visits as a key billing metric, so the bills for high-traffic websites 📈📈📈 🤯.

No Integration, just WordPress

Also, it’s only for WordPress — you can’t install any software that isn’t WordPress. For example, if you use Mautic for email, Matomo for analytics, etc. You won’t be able to do that with managed hosting.

No Ownership or Control

With managed hosting, you don’t get complete ownership over your website and its content. You cannot manage the ad settings and other features like choosing the security plugins, editing themes, etc. that otherwise would be available.

Is Managed Hosting the Right Choice for You?

Yes, one can agree that managed WordPress hosting is the best option if you take the hefty price tag off of it. But, we both know that’s not possible.

So, how does one decide whether managed WordPress hosting is the right choice for their website? let’s go at it one by one…

When to go with Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress Hosting is for people who want something that is ready-made and works right out of the box. In general, managed WordPress is for those who want a functioning website that loads fast, works smoothly, and requires zero to nil manual work.

If you want a website but no hassle of maintaining it, something that is making you money, then you can consider managed hosting. A good quality host goes a long way in establishing your website and its success. So, if you’re serious, managed WordPress hosting is a good investment.

Small businesses and big corporations should definitely consider it. The cost of managed hosting pales in comparison to that of hiring a system administrator. Purchasing a managed WordPress hosting plan will be cheaper than paying someone to work for your company and solve the issues.

When to not go with Managed WordPress Hosting

If you’re just learning WordPress and doing it as a hobby, if you’re managing many low-traffic generating websites at the same time, a high-traffic static website, if you’re a developer/budding developer learning to take charge and control everything on your server, if you have other integration like Mautic, Matomo, etc.

Basically, if you have the technical knowledge or do not mind learning the mysteries, then it’ll be better for you to go with unmanaged or self-hosted WordPress.

What you get is complete freedom, a whole new experience, and loads of learning. If you’re wondering where to learn from, there are a great many resources available. Ps. we’re one of em’ too, doing our best to offer All-Thing-Everything WordPress.

Selecting the Best Managed WordPress hosting

• Service Guarantee: What service guarantees are on offer? You wouldn’t want your e-store to be down with the traffic of the Black Friday sale, right? So check about the service guarantee and what uptime guarantee is the host offering!
• Expert Support: Most hosting providers offer support, limited in scope and nature. So, make sure to check the support on offer and try to find something that offers 24×7 support!
• Site Migration Options: This is important as you could find yourself in a position to switch hosting services. If you have an existing site, ask the potential hosting provider about their site migration options.
• Pricing: Make sure that you check all the boxes when setting your budget and choosing between different hosting providers. Remember that cheap hosting often costs more in the long run, so make sure you vet different hosts and their plans thoroughly.
• Reviews: Check the host’s reputation and name in the market, especially for the services that you plan to take. Check out different websites for reviews, you can also check the Google business page of the host for reviews and customer queries to best assess their customer management and service ethics.

Conclusion

The final choice comes down to main factors: Budget and Need. If you’ve got the budget and are sure that your website requires this investment, then you should definitely go for the service.

And if you decide that you would like to save on money and decide that you would like to go for self-hosted WordPress, then yes there will be a learning curve but it’ll be quite fruitful if you go this way.

Read to know more about Self vs. Managed WordPress Hosting. This will take you through everything you need to know and the difference between both types of hosting in detail, enabling you to choose the best option that best meets your needs.

If you’ve decided to go with Managed hosting, but confused between choosing the best one, finding the right domain name, or the whole process of setting up your WordPress website. Feel free to drop all your questions/thoughts/opinions down in the comments or in a mail to us at [email protected].

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