Many businesses rely on WordPress to design and host their website. Aside from blogging, WordPress is a great tool for creating search-optimised, e-commerce-ready sites.
WordPress provides many more functions, features and benefits. One way to maximise everything the platform offers is through managed WordPress hosting services. This concierge service handles the technical aspects of your website, optimising its performance so that you can focus on other business-critical matters.
What is Managed WordPress Hosting?
Most WordPress hosting plans leave the majority of the work to you. This means you’ll have to take care of the site speed, security and WordPress updates, among others. A managed WordPress hosting plan, on the other hand, assumes most of the responsibility of keeping your website running. The goal is to make website management a stress-free experience for your business.
Below are the common features included in managed WordPress hosting services:
- Automated daily site backups
- Automated WordPress core updates
- Enhanced security through restricting file access
- Malware scanning
- Server configuration
- The ability to create staging sites quickly
- Website migration
- Performance optimisation features
The inclusion of your managed hosting plan depends on the service provider you’ll work with. You can talk to your provider if you want a fully managed WordPress hosting solution or if there are any functions you want to handle yourself.
Advantages of Managed WordPress Hosting
One of the biggest benefits of this service is that it’s tailored to WordPress alone. General hosts, or those that host websites on various platforms, can’t always optimise their systems to one specific platform since they need to run different kinds of software.
On the other hand, managed WordPress hosts work exclusively with WordPress. This means they can tailor their operating system, file system and command line tools for optimal performance. Website caching, for instance, is easier to do with this kind of optimisation. You can do it on a server-side level instead of simply using front-end WordPress plug-ins.
Managed WordPress hosting also offers the following benefits:
- Zero downtime: A managed hosting plan gives your website the scalability it needs to accommodate surges in traffic. No matter how much traffic you get, your website won’t go down or run slower.
- Premium support: You’ll get technical support from WordPress experts so they have more experience than people who don’t specialise in the platform. Also, some hosting plans offer 24/7 support services. You can contact your provider anytime a problem arises.
- Better website speed: Many businesses turn to shared hosting for a more economical option. However, this can interfere with your site performance since the speed is divided among all the users. Meanwhile, managed WordPress hosting lets you enjoy the full extent of your website speed. The server-side caching solution can also dramatically improve your loading speed because each page is cached as efficiently as possible.
- Finely tuned dashboard: Most regular hosting dashboards offer only basic functions, whereas managed WordPress hosting dashboards have everything you need to run a WordPress site. The latter will give you visitor statistics, user information, plug-in details and other useful data. It will also tell you which WordPress version you’re using.
Disadvantages of Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting also has downsides. Here are a few of them:
- Higher prices: Managed WordPress hosting is slightly more expensive than shared hosting or unmanaged commodity-based WP hosting services. However, the cost is due to the additional services that come with the hosting, such as a bigger storage space, faster site speed and 24/7 technical support.
- Low plug-in flexibility: WordPress hosts have strict policies especially when it comes to plug-ins. Managed hosting may take corrective actions to remove problem plug-ins if they impact the service delivery. This feature only affects you negatively if you rely heavily on these additional features. But if they affect the quality of the hosting service, your website may be better off without them anyway.
How to Know if Managed WordPress Hosting is for You
When considering managed WordPress hosting, you need to think about two factors: your budget and needs. For small businesses that are still building their website, unmanaged hosting may be the better option. This will allow you to make key decisions with your site. Maintaining your site personally in the early stages of its launch also helps you become familiar with its architecture, giving you useful technical knowledge.
But if you want to elevate your site performance, managed WordPress hosting can help you optimise your website. The price tag is worth it since you’ll be getting benefits that will help grow your website and your business. Having an expert take care of your site also allows you to focus on more important, income-generating tasks.
The good news is that managed hosting plans can be customised according to your needs. Look for a provider who can tailor their hosting plan to suit your requirements. This way, you can maintain control over your website management while letting an expert take care of the technical, stressful aspects.
Black Label Hosting provides a suite of managed WordPress hosting plans for all your hosting needs. Our hosting plans are designed for digital marketing agencies that need the bandwidth, storage and speed to meet the demands of their clients. Check out our hosting plans today to find one that suits your needs.