Cloudways review

Looking for an honest Cloudways review that cuts through the noise? Whether you’re contemplating if Cloudways is the optimal hosting choice for your website or eager to compare its performance against the competition, this review dives deep into its features, performance, security, and scalability to give you a clear verdict on its managed cloud hosting services.

Key Takeaways

• Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting provider offering high performance, user-friendly managed WordPress hosting services with a 99.99% uptime and 24/7 support, targeting digital agencies, ecommerce stores, and SMBs across over 200 countries.

• Users can select from a range of cloud providers like DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, and AWS, and the platform boasts an intuitive user interface, advanced caching, free SSL, automated backups, and comprehensive security and monitoring features.

• Cloudways excels in scalability with easy vertical scaling options within the dashboard that don’t require server downtime, and its flexible and stable hosting solutions have proven to deliver top performance even under high traffic loads.

Unveiling Cloudways - A Managed Cloud Hosting Solution

Cloudways serves as a managed cloud hosting platform, focusing its services on digital agencies, ecommerce stores, and online businesses. Providing Cloudways hosting services to over 500,000 WordPress websites for clients across over 200 countries and more than 12,000 agencies globally, Cloudways surely has a broad reach.

Their Managed WordPress hosting is designed for performance and simplicity, providing advanced caching, CDN integrations, and an optimized tech stack designed to enhance WordPress site performance without necessitating an in-house IT team. With a 96% customer satisfaction rate and 24/7 support that boasts an average response time of 90 seconds, Cloudways instills strong client trust.

The platform offers robust flexibility and scaling options through its high performance hosting and flexible cloud hosting plans, making it a reliable hosting provider. In comparison to traditional hosting, the hosting server allows users to scale servers using 1-click solutions, offering a very stable hosting environment with a guaranteed 99.99% uptime.

As for the cost, Cloudways stands out with its industry-best cost-to-performance ratio. With a pay-as-you-go pricing model that starts at $11 per month and avoids any hidden costs, Cloudways ensures compelling value for its users.

The Allure of Cloud Hosting with Cloudways

Cloudways offers its users the ability to select from top-notch cloud hosting providers like DigitalOcean, Google Cloud Platform, and Amazon Web Services. As a leading cloud hosting provider, this flexibility is certainly an attractive feature, especially when combined with the platform’s fully optimized stack with advanced cache layers like Memcached, Varnish, and Redis, and CDN integrations for enhanced WordPress performance.

Targeting digital agencies, ecommerce stores, and SMBs, Cloudways offers significant bandwidth and storage for growing businesses, while providing excellent Cloudways support for unlimited monthly visitors. Such commitment to customer support, with a 90-second average response time, has resulted in high customer satisfaction, as reflected in their high Net Promoter Score.

When it comes to performance, Cloudways is recognized for providing faster website performance and a broad selection of hosting plans that offer more flexibility and control compared to competitors like Bluehost. But does it really live up to this claim? We’ll find out as we put Cloudways to the test.

Getting Started with Cloudways

Starting with Cloudways is straightforward. The signup process offers various options, including:

• using LinkedIn

• using Google+

• using GitHub

• using a traditional email address

And the best part? You don’t need a credit card to start a free trial.

During the server configuration step, users can select their managed WordPress hosting needs. This range includes smaller sites hosted on DigitalOcean to larger sites on Google Cloud or AWS. Creating a server on Cloudways is a straightforward process that involves a few clicks and a short wait time, making the process seamless.

Though Cloudways is designed with developers in mind, its setup process is accessible enough for beginners. This commitment to a user-friendly experience is an indication of Cloudways’ dedication to serving a wide range of users, regardless of their technical expertise.

Navigating the Cloudways User Experience

The user interface of Cloudways is notably impressive. Inspired by Google’s Material Design principles, it utilizes the ‘Atmosphere’ design system for flexibility, scalability, and usability. The dashboard boasts enhanced navigational elements such as global side navigation, visually refreshed server management, and interactive elements, aimed at streamlining the user experience. Quick access to critical features such as server/application credentials and Quick Actions are thoughtfully placed within the user interface to facilitate ease of use.

After the initial login, a popup greets users, highlighting the benefits before they proceed to server configuration. The dashboard offers a comprehensive overview, including a resource center for assistance. This user-centered design approach has been refined through extensive usability testing across key user journeys, which is reflected in its robust usability score. But let’s dive a bit deeper into the tools at your disposal and how Cloudways makes scaling simple.

Tools at Your Disposal

Cloudways ensures premium site security with the following features:

• Free SSL

• IP whitelisting

• Regular security patching

• Dedicated firewalls

• Bot protection

This level of security is essential for any online business, especially considering the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber threats.

In addition to security, Cloudways provides more extensive data backup and restore features than typical providers, offering:

• flexibility and control over automated backups

• the ability to configure backups for manual or automatic execution

• the option to define the intervals between backups

• offsite backups at an additional cost, calculated based on the data volume backed up

Additionally, all Cloudways plans – except the DigitalOcean Base level – come with Free Object Cache Pro for enhanced database performance. The platform also boasts an optimized server stack capable of managing high loads efficiently, including the ThunderStack caching formula.

Finally, Cloudways provides comprehensive server resource and traffic monitoring, tracking aspects like:

• IP and URL requests

• Bot traffic

• Status codes

• PHP and MySQL usage

This level of detailed reporting can be invaluable for businesses looking to optimize their online presence.

Scaling Made Simple

One of Cloudways’ major selling points is its scalability. The infrastructure allows for vertical scaling, a cost-effective solution for adding more CPU, Memory, and Storage to an existing server within the same region, without data loss or server change.

Users can easily scale server resources up with a few clicks directly from the Cloudways dashboard, and the changes are typically applied within minutes and without any server downtime. This flexibility is particularly useful for businesses that experience unpredictable traffic or are in growth mode.

However, it’s worth noting that scaling options vary depending on the cloud provider. For DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr, server size increases require simultaneous scaling up of CPU, Memory, and Storage. In contrast, AWS and GCP offer greater flexibility by allowing both increase and decrease in server sizes.

While scaling down involves cloning the server for Digital Ocean, for AWS and other cloud providers, reversing to original server resources is a straightforward process. This ease of scalability ensures that businesses can adjust their resources to match their needs, ensuring cost-effective and flexible hosting solutions.

Putting Cloudways to the Test

Now that we’ve covered what Cloudways promises, it’s time to test their services. We decided to use the Digital Ocean Standard plan for our tests, which included:

• 2GB RAM

• 1 processor core

• 50GB storage

• 2TB bandwidth

The performance of the Digital Ocean Standard plan on Cloudways left a positive impression, demonstrating impressive results. But let’s break it down and look at the real-world load times, responsiveness, and results of stress testing.

Real-World Load Times and Responsiveness

Upon moving a WordPress site to Cloudways, we noticed a significant increase in page speed by more than 100%, enhancing the Time To First Byte (TTFB) and ensuring better performance during high traffic periods.

Server response times for Cloudways’ Digital Ocean Standard offering were solid, with an average response time of 0.063 seconds during tests. In terms of load performance, Cloudways managed to maintain average load times around 2 seconds, with server response times averaging at 94 milliseconds.

These outcomes favorably highlight the robust performance capabilities of Cloudways. In fact, when compared to several other hosting services tested, Cloudways outperformed many, further solidifying its position in the market.

Stress Testing Scalability

We didn’t stop at load times and responsiveness. We also conducted a stress test, simulating 250 visits per minute on a WordPress website hosted by Cloudways. The results were impressive, with response times ranging between 277ms-720ms and averaging 365ms, which is considered exceptionally good.

During the heavy traffic simulation, the server’s CPU usage on Cloudways only spiked to 5%. This shows high efficiency in managing resources under load, a critical aspect for any online business expecting high traffic volumes.

These results certainly speak volumes about Cloudways’ ability to handle pressure while delivering top-notch performance. The platform’s robust infrastructure and efficient resource management make it an ideal choice for businesses that experience heavy traffic or are in growth mode.

Is Cloudways the Host With the Most?

Now that we’ve completed all the testing, it’s time to tackle the big question: Does Cloudways outshine the rest? Well, there’s no denying that Cloudways is competitive in the industry, promoting a cost-to-performance value aimed at successful online businesses.

Their pricing starts at $54 per month for the DigitalOcean hosting plan, which includes 80GB of storage and 4GB RAM. While this may seem steep compared to some other affordable hosting provider options, the flexible features and service’s flexibility might justify the cost for certain users.

However, it’s important to note that Cloudways faces stiff competition in the cloud hosting market. Alternatives such as Bluehost, DreamHost, and InMotion also vie for the attention of online businesses, offering their own unique features and competitive pricing, making it essential to compare the best hosting providers among web hosts.

Given the robust performance, user-friendly interface, impressive scalability, and extensive security features we experienced, Cloudways stands strong in the market.

Summary

Looking back at our Cloudways journey, we’ve uncovered a lot about this managed cloud hosting platform. From its feature-rich offerings and flexible hosting plans to its impressive performance outcomes, Cloudways has proven itself to be a strong contender in the hosting market.

The platform’s user-centric design, inspired by Google’s Material Design principles, ensures a seamless user experience. The array of tools at the users’ disposal, from advanced security features to extensive data backup options, make Cloudways a robust and reliable hosting solution.

Perhaps one of the standout features of Cloudways is its scalability. Whether you’re a growing business with fluctuating traffic or an established business looking for cost-effective hosting solutions, Cloudways offers the flexibility and scalability to meet your needs.

So, is Cloudways the host with the most? Well, based on our review, we’d say it certainly has a lot to offer. But like any smart business decision, the choice of a hosting provider should be based on your specific needs and budget. So, give Cloudways a try, and you might just find it’s the perfect fit for your hosting needs.