Reliable web hosting is critical if you want your website to be secure, efficient, and run buttery smooth.
With the digital boom, there are practically hundreds of managed hosting service providers that have mushroomed in the past couple of years. So picking the right one from this cluster is a headache.
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But not for WittySparks readers! We regularly bring updates and detailed Cloudways hosting reviews of multiple tools, Cloudways multi-site hosting, and other services to help you filter the clutter and get the best in the market.
Once again, we are here with a detailed review of one such Managed Hosting Provider, Cloudways Review. We are sure you might have come across this name before, given the ripples Cloudways is making in the managed hosting market.
But is it really what you need for your website? Should you go ahead with Cloudways for your managed hosting needs? We will try to address these questions in this detailed Cloudways review ahead.
Let’s not waste any more time and get started right away.
What is Manage Hosting?
Imagine you’re running a business and want to create a website to showcase your products or services. You’re excited to start, but realize that managing a website can be daunting, especially if you’re not technically inclined. This is where managed hosting comes in.
With managed Hosting, you can focus on running your business while the Hosting provider takes care of the technical details. Think of it as having your own IT department handle all the server maintenance, software updates, security, and backups, so you don’t have to worry about a thing!
How it’s different from Unmanaged Hosting?
Managed Hosting covers every aspect of your website. Hosting management, unlike Unmanaged Hosting. With Unmanaged Hosting, you only get storage space on the Hosting provider’s server.
On the contrary, Managed Hosting takes care of everything from server maintenance, software updates, security, and backups. So if you are a newbie and do not want to get into the hassle of a website’s technical aspect, Managed Hosting is the right choice.
Even if you are an experienced website owner, it’s better to leave the task of managing technicalities to the experts and focus on growing your business.
Cloudways Review: How can Cloudways help?
Cloudways is not your traditional hosting provider. This managed hosting provider fuses the features of Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Vultr, Linode, and DigitalOcean to deliver exceptional managed Hosting services.
If you have ever tried Virtual Private Server or VPS, you might have an idea of how challenging it is to maintain it. Enter Cloudways. This Cloudways managed hosting provider takes out all the complexities, sets up a single server you can manage on the go with simple UI, and you are ready to roll!
We have been using Cloudways for the past 2 years now. And we are not complaining, not at all! Let’s look at some of the best features in this Cloudways review.
What are the best Cloudways features?
I’ve been using Cloudways for quite some time now. Here are the best features that I would definitely love to highlight in this Cloudways review.
1. Sleek and modern UI
You do not want managed Hosting Services that offer cluttered UI that will make your job even more troublesome. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Cloudways’ UI. Its UI is modern, sleek, and easy to navigate. Its customized panel is way better than those cliché cPanels that you might have used in the past.
A toggle button allows you to switch from Sever-level access to Application-level access. This makes the cumbersome task a bit easier. If you are on the Application-level management page, you can access a multitude of factors like:
- Domain Management
- Disk Usage
- Migration tools
- SSL Management
- Restore button
- CloudwaysCDN
And if you switch to Server-level management, you get access to the following:
- Master Credentials
- Monitoring
- Managed Services
- Setting and Package
- Security
- Vertical Scaling
- Backups
- SMTP
In a nutshell, you can access everything right from your dashboard. If you are a beginner, this might feel overwhelming. But after a detailed Cloudways review, I am sure you can get a hold of it quickly.
2. Advanced Caching
For websites, speed is everything. You cannot have a slow-loading and sluggish website that takes an eternity to load. Thanks to SSD-based VPS, a dedicated server, and Cloudways CDN, Cloudways gives you hyper-fast speed by caching your web pages at different server locations across the globe. CloudwaysCDN is Cloudways’ in-house content delivery network.
Moreover, Cloudways utilizes its caching plugin Breeze to optimize the server. The only catch I found during my Cloudways review is that you don’t get CloudwaysCDN with a free version. But you can get it with any paid plan and start using it to skyrocket your website’s speed.
No more turtle-speed websites that cause your visitors to bounce!
3. Staging
Changes on a website are a regular process. You must do them to ensure your website looks and performs like a pro. But sometimes, you make the changes, and they don’t look as good as you expect them to be. If these changes directly reflect on your website, changing them back is a cumbersome task.
Enter the Staging feature from Cloudways. This is another feature that I would love to highlight in my Cloudways Review. This feature allows you to test the changes you want to make on your website. Once you upload the changes here and are satisfied, you can transfer them to the actual website. This saves you a lot of time and effort.
4. Super-fast Server Response Time
Cloudways uses Apache and Nginx servers, so you can expect an absolutely stellar performance when it comes to server response time! This is an amazing feature as it ensures your visitors won’t have to linger around for a longer period on your website, waiting for it to load.
The average page load speed is around 800ms, which is significantly better than other hosting providers we have used. Overall, quick response time and excellent average load speed from Cloudways will be great news for your SEO guy or team!
5. Reliable Backups
If you own a website, you want a reliable and redundant backup to ensure your data is safe in any catastrophic event. When you are using Cloudways, you can rest assured about your backups. It offers three options for backups:
- Scheduled Backup: Cloudways will automatically back up your data at a certain time of your choosing.
- On-demand backup: You are in control of when you want to back up your files
- Local Backup: You can also back up the data and store it on your website, ensuring added security.
But again, quality services are never free, and so is the backup feature! You will have to pay $.003 per GB. But it’s no different from other hosting providers, as all of them charge something for backup. And trust me; this money is worth it.
6. Server Recovery
We don’t wish you ever have to use this feature! But if you delete your server for some reason, then Cloudways allows you to recover it within 15 days. All you have to do is visit their panel and restore the deleted server, and everything will return to normal!
Apart from these prominent features that make Cloudways a much sought-after managed hosting provider, I also found some other features during my Cloudways review that I loved. Here’s the list of some:
- Multiple data center locations for low-latency access to global audiences.
- Advanced caching technologies like Varnish, Memcached, and Redis for optimized website speed.
- Free SSL certificates with Let’s Encrypt integration.
- Automatic backups with customizable retention periods.
- Dedicated firewalls and security measures to protect against cyber threats.
- SSH and SFTP access for secure file management using Cloudways file manager.
- 24/7 expert support via live chat and ticketing system.
Now, let’s look at some pros and cons of the Cloudways Hosting services.
Cloudways Pros and Cons
Every Hosting provider has something that they can be proud of and something that they want to improve; the same goes with Cloudways. Let’s check out the Pros and cons of Cloudways that I came across during my Cloudways review.
Pros of Cloudways:
- Flexible and scalable managed cloud hosting solution: Cloudways offers managed-to-host solutions that are flexible, scalable, and powered by leading cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr. This allows customers to choose the provider that best suits their needs and budget.
- Simplified Custom Panel: The Cloudways control panel provides an intuitive interface for managing servers and applications, with features like 1-click installations, backups, and server scaling.
- Hyper-fast website performance: Cloudways uses SSD-based Hosting and advanced caching technologies like Varnish, Memcached, and Redis to ensure fast website performance and improved page load times.
- Multiple data center locations: With multiple data center locations around the world, Cloudways ensures low-latency access to global audiences, which can improve website speed and user experience.
- Robust security features: Cloudways provide robust security features like dedicated firewalls, automatic security patching, and malware scanning to protect customer websites and data from cyber threats.
- Automated backups and easy restore options: Cloudways offer automated backups with flexible retention periods and easy restore options, allowing customers to recover data and restore their websites in case of data loss or website downtime.
- Free SSL certificates with Let’s Encrypt integration: Cloudways provides free SSL certificates with Let’s Encrypt integration, ensuring secure data transfer and improved website ranking.
- 24/7 expert support via live chat and ticketing system: Cloudways offers 24/7 expert support via live chat and ticketing system, ensuring prompt resolution of customer queries and issues.
- Affordable pricing with pay-as-you-go plans: Cloudways offer affordable pricing with pay-as-you-go plans and no long-term contracts, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.
- Third-party integrations: Cloudways integrates with popular third-party services and applications like WordPress, Magento, and WooCommerce, providing customers with a seamless experience and greater flexibility.
Cons of Cloudways:
- Limited email hosting: Cloudways do not offer email hosting, so customers have to rely on third-party email hosting solutions.
- Additional fees for some features: Some advanced features like Redis and ElasticSearch require additional fees on top of the base hosting plan.
- The learning curve for beginners: The Cloudways control panel and advanced features may require a learning curve for beginners unfamiliar with cloud hosting and server management.
Cloudways Pricing
Cloudways provides managed cloud hosting services with affordable pricing and flexible plans. In my Cloudways review, I found that a user can enjoy a 3-day free trial without providing credit card details and can cancel anytime with no lock-in period.
Here’s a quick comparison table for your easy understanding
Plan Name | RAM | Processor | Storage | Bandwidth | Object Cache | Price (USD/month) |
Standard | 1GB | 1 Core | 25GB | 1TB | Free | $12 |
Premium | 2GB | 1 Core | 50GB | 2TB | Free | $26 |
Most Popular | 4GB | 2 Core | 80GB | 4TB | Free | $50 |
Enterprise | 8GB | 4 Core | 160GB | 5TB | Free | $96 |
I my Cloudways review, I found that all plans include a Cloudflare add-on, 24/7/365 support, free SSL, free migration, unlimited application installation, team management, dedicated firewalls, and 24/7 Support.
Each plan also includes real-time monitoring, automated backups, a staging environment optimized with advanced Cloudways clear caches, auto-healing, regular security patching, HTTP/2-enabled servers, and SSH and SFTP access. Note that Cloudways hosting prices exclude taxes and include DO Hosting charges.
Cloudways Coupon Code
- Use Cloudways coupon code WITTY20 (20% off for 2 months)
- Use Cloudways coupon code WITTY15 (15% off for 3 months)
Bottom line
If you’re looking for a reliable managed cloud Hosting provider, Cloudways is a great choice. With multiple cloud providers, you can select the one that suits your needs and budget. Their control panel is easy to use, with intuitive server and application management features.
During this Cloudways review, I found that Cloudways uses SSD-based Hosting and advanced caching technologies for fast website performance and multiple data center locations for low-latency access to global audiences.
With Let’s Encrypt integration, they also provide robust security features, automated backups, and free SSL certificates. Their 24/7 expert support and affordable pricing plans make it an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes.
Although there may be a learning curve for beginners, the benefits of using Cloudways make it a reliable and efficient choice for anyone looking for managed cloud hosting services.
We hope you liked this detailed Cloudways review. Don’t forget to grab the exclusive Cloudways coupon code below. You can explore more such reviews on our website. Go check them out right now and keep learning.
FAQs
What are Cloudways’ best features?
Cloudways offers an easy-to-use UI, advanced caching for fast website speed, staging for testing changes, and fast server response time.
What is CloudwaysCDN, and is it included in the free version?
CloudwaysCDN is a content delivery network that caches webpages globally to improve website speed. It’s not included in the free version but is available for paid plans.
How does Cloudways improve website speed?
Cloudways uses SSD-based VPS, dedicated servers, and CloudwaysCDN to cache webpages globally, and their caching plugin Breeze to optimize the server.
Use coupon code WITTY15 (15%), WITTY20Â (20%) off.