Loading...When it comes to web hosting, there are a plethora of options available, each with its own set of features, benefits, and drawbacks. Cloudways stands out as a unique and powerful solution for those looking for a managed cloud hosting platform that offers flexibility, performance, and ease of use. This detailed Cloudways review will cover everything you need to know about this hosting provider, including its features, pricing, performance, support, and more. Whether you’re considering Cloudways for your WordPress site or any other web application, this review will help you make an informed decision.
Contents
What is Cloudways Hosting?
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that simplifies the process of deploying, managing, and scaling web applications on popular cloud infrastructure providers. Founded in 2011, Cloudways has established itself as a reliable hosting solution that caters to developers, agencies, and businesses of all sizes. Unlike traditional hosting providers that offer shared, VPS, or dedicated hosting, Cloudways leverages the power of cloud hosting, providing access to five leading cloud providers: DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS (Amazon Web Services), and Google Cloud Platform.
Cloudways Features Review
1. Cloudways Managed Hosting
One of the primary selling points of Cloudways is its fully managed hosting service. This means that Cloudways takes care of server management tasks, such as server setup, security, updates, and backups. This allows you to focus on your business and web applications without worrying about the technical aspects of server management.
2. Choice of Cloud Providers
Cloudways offers the flexibility to choose from five top-tier cloud infrastructure providers:
- DigitalOcean: Known for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
- Linode: Offers powerful performance and scalability.
- Vultr: Provides high-performance SSD-based cloud servers.
- AWS: Amazon’s robust and scalable cloud platform.
- Google Cloud: Google’s powerful and reliable cloud infrastructure.
This variety ensures that you can select the cloud provider that best fits your needs and budget.
3. Easy Deployment
Cloudways makes deploying web applications incredibly easy. With just a few clicks, you can launch a new server and deploy your preferred application, such as WordPress, Magento, Laravel, or custom PHP applications. The platform offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the deployment process, even for beginners.
4. Performance Optimization
Performance is a critical aspect of web hosting, and Cloudways excels in this area. The platform uses advanced caching mechanisms, such as Varnish, Memcached, and Redis, to ensure fast loading times and optimal performance. Additionally, Cloudways provides a built-in CDN (Content Delivery Network) integration through Cloudflare, further enhancing the speed and reliability of your website.
5. Scalability
Scalability is one of the core advantages of cloud hosting, and Cloudways makes it easy to scale your resources as your website grows. With just a few clicks, you can increase server resources such as CPU, RAM, and storage without any downtime. This flexibility ensures that your website can handle increased traffic and demands as your business expands.
6. Cloudways Security
This hosting company takes their security seriously and offers a range of features to protect your website and data. These include:
- Regular security patches and updates
- Dedicated firewalls
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
- IP whitelisting
- SSL certificates
- Automated backups
These security measures ensure that your website remains safe from threats and vulnerabilities.
7. User-Friendly Control Panel
Unlike traditional hosting providers that use cPanel or Plesk, Cloudways has developed its own intuitive control panel. The Cloudways control panel is designed to be user-friendly and provides easy access to all the essential features and settings, including server management, application deployment, backups, and monitoring.
Cloudways for WordPress Hosting
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world, powering over 40% of all websites. Cloudways offers specialized WordPress hosting that leverages the platform’s powerful infrastructure and optimization features to deliver exceptional performance and reliability.
1. One-Click WordPress Installation
Cloudways simplifies the process of setting up a WordPress site with its one-click installation feature. You can quickly deploy a new WordPress site with the latest version, ensuring that you have access to all the latest features and security updates.
2. Managed WordPress Hosting
With Cloudways’ managed WordPress hosting, you don’t have to worry about server management, updates, or security. Cloudways handles all these tasks, allowing you to focus on creating content and growing your website.
3. Performance Optimization for WordPress
Cloudways offers several performance optimization features specifically designed for WordPress, including:
- Advanced Caching: Cloudways supports multiple caching solutions, such as Varnish, Memcached, and Redis, to ensure fast loading times.
- CDN Integration: Cloudways integrates with Cloudflare CDN to deliver your content quickly and efficiently to users worldwide.
- Optimized Stack: Cloudways uses a highly optimized stack that includes NGINX, Apache, and MariaDB, providing the best performance for WordPress sites.
4. WordPress Staging Environment
Cloudways provides a staging environment for WordPress, allowing you to test changes and updates before deploying them to your live site. This feature is essential for ensuring that updates do not break your website and that everything works as expected.
5. WordPress Security
Cloudways offers robust security features to protect your WordPress site, including:
- Free SSL Certificates: Encrypt your website traffic with free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt.
- Regular Backups: Automated backups ensure that you can quickly restore your site in case of any issues.
- Bot Protection: Cloudways includes bot protection to prevent malicious bots from attacking your website.
Cloudways Pricing
Cloudways’ pricing is straightforward and transparent, with pay-as-you-go plans that allow you to pay only for the resources you use. There are no long-term contracts or hidden fees, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes. Here is a breakdown of Cloudways pricing for each cloud provider:
DigitalOcean Pricing
- 1GB RAM: $10/month
- 2GB RAM: $22/month
- 4GB RAM: $42/month
- 8GB RAM: $80/month
Linode Pricing
- 1GB RAM: $12/month
- 2GB RAM: $24/month
- 4GB RAM: $50/month
- 8GB RAM: $90/month
Vultr Pricing
- 1GB RAM: $11/month
- 2GB RAM: $23/month
- 4GB RAM: $44/month
- 8GB RAM: $84/month
AWS Pricing
- 1.75GB RAM: $36.51/month
- 3.75GB RAM: $86.77/month
- 7.5GB RAM: $176.26/month
- 15GB RAM: $274.33/month
Google Cloud Pricing
- 1.70GB RAM: $33.18/month
- 3.75GB RAM: $73.50/month
- 7.5GB RAM: $138.52/month
- 15GB RAM: $225.93/month
These prices include the cost of both the cloud infrastructure and Cloudways’ managed services. Additionally, Cloudways offers a free 3-day trial, allowing you to test the platform before committing to a plan.
Cloudways Promo Code
Cloudways frequently offers promo codes and discounts for new users. By using a Cloudways promo code, you can save money on your hosting plan and enjoy all the benefits of the platform at a reduced cost. Be sure to check Cloudways’ website or trusted hosting review sites for the latest promo codes and offers.
Performance and Uptime
Performance and uptime are critical factors when choosing a hosting provider, and Cloudways excels in both areas. By leveraging the power of top-tier cloud providers, Cloudways ensures that your website delivers fast loading times and remains available to your users at all times.
Speed
Cloudways uses advanced caching mechanisms and an optimized stack to deliver fast loading times. The integration with Cloudflare CDN further enhances speed by distributing your content across multiple servers worldwide, ensuring that users can access your site quickly, regardless of their location.
Uptime
Cloudways guarantees 99.99% uptime, ensuring that your website remains accessible to users at all times. This high level of reliability is achieved by using redundant infrastructure and regular monitoring to detect and resolve issues before they impact your website.
Customer Support
Cloudways offers 24/7 customer support to assist you with any issues or questions you may have. The support team is available via live chat, email, and ticketing system, ensuring that you can get help whenever you need it.
Support Channels
- Live Chat: Available 24/7 for immediate assistance.
- Email Support: Send an email and receive a response within a few hours.
- Ticketing System: Submit a ticket and track the progress of your issue.
Cloudways Knowledge Base
Cloudways also provides an extensive knowledge base with articles, tutorials, and guides to help you make the most of the platform. Additionally, the Cloudways Community Forum is a valuable resource where you can connect with other users, share tips, and get advice.
Ease of Use
Cloudways is designed to be user-friendly and accessible, even for those with limited technical knowledge. The platform’s intuitive control panel makes it easy to manage servers, deploy applications, and monitor performance.
CloudWays Control Panel
The Cloudways control panel is a custom-built interface that provides easy access to
all the essential features and settings. From the control panel, you can:
- Launch New Servers: Deploy new servers with your preferred cloud provider and application.
- Manage Applications: Install, update, and manage your web applications.
- Monitor Performance: Track server and application performance with real-time metrics.
- Configure Backups: Set up automated backups and restore your site if needed.
- Access Security Settings: Manage SSL certificates, firewalls, and other security features.
Cloudways vs WP Engine vs FlyWheel vs other Hosting Providers
When selecting a managed WordPress hosting provider, it’s crucial to compare different options to determine which one best meets your needs. In this Cloudways comparison, we’ll examine how Cloudways stacks up against 10 other popular managed WordPress hosting providers. This comparison will cover key aspects such as performance, pricing, features, and support to help you make an informed decision.
Managed WordPress Hosting Comparison: Cloudways vs. Competitors
Below is a detailed comparison table of Cloudways and 10 other managed WordPress hosting providers:
| Feature/Provider | Cloudways | WP Engine | Kinsta | SiteGround | Bluehost | Flywheel | A2 Hosting | DreamHost | InMotion Hosting | HostGator | Nexcess |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | High (Cloud providers) | High (Google Cloud) | High (Google Cloud) | Moderate (Shared/VPS) | Moderate (Shared/VPS) | High (Google Cloud) | High (Turbo Servers) | High (DreamPress) | Moderate (Shared/VPS) | Moderate (Shared/VPS) | High (Nexcess Cloud) |
| Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Starts at $25/month | Starts at $35/month | Starts at $6.99/month | Starts at $19.95/month | Starts at $15/month | Starts at $11.99/month | Starts at $12/month | Starts at $6.99/month | Starts at $5.95/month | Starts at $19/month |
| Cloud Providers | DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud | Google Cloud | Google Cloud | None (In-house) | None (In-house) | Google Cloud | None (In-house) | None (In-house) | None (In-house) | None (In-house) | None (In-house) |
| Ease of Use | High | High | High | High | High | High | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | Moderate |
| Customer Support | 24/7 Live Chat, Email | 24/7 Live Chat, Phone, Email | 24/7 Live Chat, Email | 24/7 Phone, Chat, Tickets | 24/7 Phone, Chat, Tickets | 24/7 Live Chat, Email | 24/7 Live Chat, Phone, Email | 24/7 Live Chat, Tickets | 24/7 Live Chat, Phone, Email | 24/7 Phone, Chat, Tickets | 24/7 Live Chat, Phone, Email |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free CDN | Yes (Cloudflare) | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Staging Environment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backups | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated | Automated |
| Scalability | High (Flexible) | High (Flexible) | High (Flexible) | Moderate | Moderate | High (Flexible) | High (Turbo Servers) | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High (Flexible) |
| Security Features | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 3 Days Free Trial | 60 Days | 30 Days | 30 Days | 30 Days | 30 Days | 30 Days | 97 Days | 90 Days | 45 Days | 30 Days |
Cloudways vs. Competitors Summary
- Performance: Cloudways, WP Engine, Kinsta, Flywheel, and A2 Hosting offer high performance due to their use of powerful cloud infrastructure or optimized servers. SiteGround, Bluehost, InMotion Hosting, and HostGator provide moderate performance with shared or VPS hosting.
- Pricing: Cloudways offers a pay-as-you-go model, which can be cost-effective for many users. HostGator and InMotion Hosting provide the most affordable starting prices, while WP Engine and Kinsta are on the higher end.
- Cloud Providers: Cloudways stands out by offering multiple cloud provider options, including DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud. WP Engine, Kinsta, and Flywheel use Google Cloud, while other providers rely on their own infrastructure.
- Ease of Use: All providers offer user-friendly interfaces, but Cloudways, WP Engine, Kinsta, SiteGround, Bluehost, and Flywheel are particularly noted for their ease of use.
- Customer Support: Most providers offer 24/7 customer support through various channels. Cloudways, WP Engine, Kinsta, and Flywheel provide highly responsive support.
- Free SSL and CDN: Cloudways, WP Engine, Kinsta, Flywheel, and Nexcess include free SSL and CDN integration. Other providers may require additional configuration or fees for CDN.
- Staging Environment: All listed providers offer a staging environment for testing changes before deploying them to the live site.
- Backups: Automated backups are a standard feature across all providers, ensuring data safety and quick recovery.
- Scalability: Cloudways, WP Engine, Kinsta, and Flywheel offer high scalability with flexible resource adjustments. Other providers have moderate scalability options.
- Security Features: Advanced security measures are standard across all providers, including firewalls, SSL certificates, and regular updates.
- Money-Back Guarantee: Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial, while other providers offer varying money-back guarantees, with DreamHost providing the longest at 97 days.
Start a Free Trial with Cloudways NOW
From this Cloudways review comparison, It’s evident that Cloudways is a robust managed =hosting provider with a range of features that cater to different user needs. Its flexibility in choosing cloud providers, high performance, and user-friendly interface make it a compelling choice. However, WP Engine, Kinsta, Flywheel, and other competitors also offer strong features and benefits, making the decision ultimately dependent on your specific requirements and budget.
Cloudways Customer Reviews
Here’s what other satisfied customers have to say about Cloudways
Cloudways Autonomous Review
Cloudways Autonomous refers to an advanced feature or service offered by Cloudways that aims to provide automated management and optimization for cloud hosting environments. This feature is designed to enhance the user experience by automating various aspects of server and application management, allowing users to focus more on their business and less on the technical details of hosting.
Cloudways Autonomous Key Features
1. Automated Scaling Cloudways Autonomous can automatically scale server resources up or down based on traffic patterns and resource usage. This ensures that your website remains performant during traffic spikes without manual intervention.
2. Intelligent Monitoring The platform continuously monitors your server and application performance. It can automatically detect and resolve issues, ensuring optimal performance and reducing downtime.
3. Self-Healing Servers In case of server issues, Cloudways Autonomous can automatically restart services or even migrate your application to a healthy server if needed, minimizing disruption and ensuring high availability.
4. Performance Optimization Cloudways Autonomous optimizes server settings and configurations to ensure your applications run efficiently. This includes tuning caching mechanisms, database optimizations, and more.
5. Security Management The autonomous system handles security updates, patches, and configurations automatically. It also continuously monitors for threats and vulnerabilities, providing proactive protection.
6. Backup Automation Automated backups are managed by Cloudways Autonomous, ensuring that your data is regularly saved and can be restored easily if needed. You can customize the backup frequency and retention policies.
7. Resource Management The platform optimizes resource allocation and usage, ensuring that your server’s CPU, RAM, and storage are used efficiently. This helps in reducing costs and improving performance.
8. Simplified Management Interface Even with these advanced automated features, Cloudways provides a user-friendly interface where users can monitor and control their hosting environment. The dashboard offers insights and controls without overwhelming users with technical details.
2024 Cloudways Autonomous Benefits
1. Reduced Manual Effort By automating many aspects of server management, Cloudways Autonomous frees up time for users to focus on their core business activities rather than technical maintenance.
2. Improved Performance and Reliability With intelligent monitoring, automated scaling, and self-healing capabilities, Cloudways Autonomous ensures that your website or application remains fast and reliable.
3. Enhanced Security Automated security management provides continuous protection against threats, ensuring that your data and applications are secure.
4. Cost Efficiency Automatic resource management and scaling help optimize costs by ensuring you only pay for the resources you need, avoiding over-provisioning or under-utilization.
5. Peace of Mind Knowing that your hosting environment is being proactively managed and optimized gives you peace of mind, allowing you to focus on growing your business.
Cloudways Autonomous represents a significant advancement in managed cloud hosting, offering a blend of automation, performance optimization, and security that is designed to simplify hosting management. By leveraging these autonomous features, users can enjoy a hassle-free hosting experience with the assurance that their applications are running at peak performance and security. Whether you are a small business, a large enterprise, or a developer, Cloudways Autonomous provides the tools and automation needed to succeed in the digital landscape.
2024 Cloudways Review Wrap-up – Is it the right hosting for your business?
This 2024 Cloudways Review discussed various aspects such as customer support, performance ease of use etc. of the provider. Cloudways is a powerful and flexible managed cloud hosting platform that offers a range of features and benefits for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re looking for WordPress hosting, eCommerce hosting, or hosting for custom web applications, Cloudways provides the performance, security, and support you need to succeed.
With its choice of top-tier cloud providers, advanced caching mechanisms, robust security features, and user-friendly control panel, Cloudways stands out as a leading hosting solution in the market. The transparent pricing and pay-as-you-go model make it an affordable option for businesses, while the 24/7 customer support ensures that you have help whenever you need it.
If you’re looking for a reliable and high-performance hosting platform, Cloudways is definitely worth considering. Use a Cloudways promo code to get started and take advantage of the free trial to see how the platform can benefit your business.
In summary, this Cloudways Hosting review has highlighted the key aspects of the platform, including its features, pricing, performance, and support. By choosing Cloudways, you can ensure that your website operates smoothly, securely, and efficiently, helping you achieve your business goals in the digital world.