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Managed WordPress Hosting: The Smart Choice for Small Business Owners
Updated: February 2023
As a digital agency, we have firsthand experience with various approaches to setting up and managing WordPress websites for clients.
If you're a small business owner or a beginner looking to set up a WordPress website, managed hosting might be the perfect solution for you.
In this article, we will explain what managed WordPress hosting is and why it is a great option for beginners and small business owners. On top of that, we'll list reliable Managed WordPress hosting providers.
What Is Managed WordPress Hosting?
Managed WordPress hosting companies take care of your website's safety, by performing automatic updates, automatic backups, malware detection, security patches, caching, and more. In short, they have additional features and typically handle all the technical aspects of running a WordPress website so you don’t have to worry about it.
Sometimes if you have a standalone site or a client who wants to handle things on their own but does not have the technical team in-house it makes very good sense to use a managed solution where both the control panel and the server itself are managed entirely by the provider.
On the other hand, if you have an agency you might want to consider reading our article on self-hosting WordPress solutions.
Pros and cons of managed WordPress hosting
It is important to weigh the pros and cons before deciding if it is the right fit for your website. Here are some pros and cons that will help you determine whether is this the right solution for you:
Pros
- Beginner friendly:
Managed WordPress hosts often offer user-friendly control panels and other tools to make managing your website and hosting account easier. - Automatic updates:
Many providers handle updates to WordPress and its plugins automatically, saving you time and ensuring your website is always running the latest version. - Enhanced security:
Additional security measures, such as regular malware scans and backups, are often provided to help protect your website from attacks. - Expert support:
Managed WordPress hosting companies typically have a team of WordPress specialists is typically available to offer specialized support for your website. - Easy scalability:
It is often easy to upgrade your hosting plan as your website grows, allowing you to easily add additional resources as needed.
Cons
- Higher cost:
Managed WordPress hosting plans are typically more expensive than other types of hosting, such as shared hosting. - Limited control:
You may have less control over the server and its configuration, as the provider handles most of the maintenance and management tasks. - Limited flexibility:
This means that you may not be able to use other content management systems or run other types of websites on the same hosting plan.
What to consider when choosing a managed WordPress hosting provider
There are a few things to consider when choosing a managed WordPress hosting provider:
Security and available customer support
One of the most important factors is how well they handle security. Another factor to consider is the speed of their servers. You also want to make sure that the provider offers good customer support in case you run into any issues.
Technical features to look out for
Depending on how technical you are and what needs you have you might want to make yourself a list of requirements to evaluate the different solutions on before making your final decisions. This list is not exhaustive but something you can use as a foundation for evaluation.
Does the solution…
Server
- Keep your server up-to-date
- Have a built-in firewall to protect against requests on ports other than 80 and 443
- Provide a way to view log files for debugging
- Give alerts when the server capacity is reaching certain levels
- Provide you with rest API so you can setup/manage WordPress apps
- Provide you with a WP CLI feature so you can update plugins and do database do plugin
- updates and database changes directly via SSH
- Allow you to backup your database regularly
- Provide you with an easy way to restore a backup
- Provide white-labeling options so you can remove all branding from
Site
- Allow you to spin up more than one site per server
- Give you the option to create a staging site and later push changes into your production site
- Have a global CDN (Content Delivery Network) that you can use to serve static files
- Cache your pages and database queries
- Be able to handle large files (files over 2Mb) without breaking
- Option to install SSL on the server
- Option to use a custom domain name
- Option to connect with Cloudflare for added security
Support
- Offer 24/7 support
- Do they actually answer
- When they answer do they answer with a series of questions to scare you away from using their support or do they ask questions to understand and take action on your problems.
Our top picks
I have personally tried out Kinsta and WP Engine with different clients. I have to say that the Kinsta user interface seems a little faster (which puts a smile on my face).
Here is a short list of Managed WordPress hosting companies:
Conclusion
Managed WordPress hosting is a convenient solution for small business owners and beginners looking to set up a website without worrying about technical tasks.
However, it is important to do your research and consider your specific needs and goals before making a decision.
If you have any questions or feel that we have missed any important points in this article, don't hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to update the information for the benefit of others.
Stay tuned for future articles where we will explore more specific topics related to WordPress hosting and management.
