Cloudways Web Hosting Service Review

About Cloudways

Committed to simplifying the complexity of cloud hosting, Cloudways stands out for its unique approach and affordable plans that offer the performance, flexibility and support you need to grow your business faster. 

Unlike most other cloud hosting platforms on the market, Cloudways allows users to leverage the power of leading cloud providers such as Amazon, Google and DigitalOcean, all through an intuitive platform and security framework that makes it easy for anyone to get started. 

Featuring pay-as-you-go plans that make it simple to scale and reallocate resources on an as-needed basis, 24/7 support, world-class server security and 99.99 percent uptime, Cloudways offers businesses the benefits of cloud hosting without the work of managing it directly.

Key Features of Cloudways Hosting 

Cloudways is not just about hosting; it’s about delivering a seamless experience. It offers users the premium performance and features they expect, plus the support they deserve, all for a price they can handle. So people can concentrate on growing their business and let Cloudways handle the behind-the-scenes. 

Flexible Scaling 

Cloudways puts their customers in control. Choose from more than 60 data centers around the world to best serve your user base, and adjust server RAM, processing power and storage in just a few simple clicks, which is particularly helpful for sites that experience fluctuating traffic or start-ups who want to upgrade as they grow. It also allows businesses the flexibility to reduce resources during certain seasons. 

One-Click Solutions 

Featuring the user-friendly, seamless experience of traditional hosting services combined with the speed and scalability of enterprise-focused cloud-based providers, Cloudways makes managing servers, applications and backups smooth and simple. Effortlessly deploy apps like WordPress, WooCommerce and Magneto, plus switch PHP versions at the server level with a single click. And, with automatic backups, users can easily restore their website with one click to ensure minimal downtime. You can even clone an entire server or make copies of specific sites with only a click. 

Advanced Caching 

Cloudways combines several server technologies to form a proprietary caching stack, featuring Memcached, Varnish, Nginx and Redis to help you achieve lightning-fast load times for optimal user experience and SEO best practices. This essentially caches your web pages on various global servers to decrease page load times and improve speed and reliability. 

Additional Valuable Features 

Free Site Migration: To help ensure a smooth transition, the experts at Cloudways will move an existing website over to their cloud servers absolutely free (one time only).  

Free SSL Certification: All plans come with a built-in SSL certificate to help boost website security and earn your HHTPS designation at no extra charge. 

Free Staging Environment: Install updates, try out new themes, test out plugins and more on a staging version of your site that allocates a safe space to test out changes before rolling them out live.  

Team Collaboration: Git integration, streamlined team management settings, and simplified project organization features allow teams to collaborate efficiently and effectively. 

Cloudways Pricing

Pricing on Cloudways varies based on the cloud provider and server specifications. While most hosting services offer yearly or multi-year subscriptions, Cloudways offers transparent, pay-as-you-go pricing with no hidden costs. For example, plans using DigitalOcean as a cloud service start as low as $11 a month, while the advanced capabilities and reach of AWS or Google Cloud cost more per month. While these plans come with an allotted RAM, storage space and bandwidth, Cloudways makes it easy to add or reduce resources as needed. 

Cloudways Promos Codes and Discounts 

Discounts and promo codes are often available directly on Cloudways.com, with special savings available during seasonal sales like the Cloudways Black Friday event. Cloudways also makes it easy to try out their super fast hosting services without ever entering a credit card with their three-day free trial (available on DigitalOcean hosting plans only). 

Cloudways WordPress

Cloudways makes it easy to deploy and optimize your WordPress site at an affordable price while enjoying the ultra-fast speed, reliability and security of their managed cloud hosting service specifically for WordPress. Featuring all of the perks and similar starting prices of their standard hosting plans, Cloudways WordPress plans makes it easy for individuals or agencies to focus on growing their business while enjoying extra features like automatic WordPress updates, one-click installation and more. 

Cloudways Cloudflare Enterprise 

In an effort to enhance website performance and security, Cloudways introduced the Cloudflare Enterprise Add-On. In addition to offering advanced features like Edge Page Caching and Argo Smart Routing to optimize speed and page load times, hacker attacks are blocked by an intelligent firewall that updates itself to deal with the latest threats and includes rulesets specifically for WordPress and Magento. Finally, DDoS attacks are mitigated within three seconds, so your website will always be available. 

Cloudways Login and Setup

Cloudways acts as a bridge between users and cloud providers to simplify the sometimes complex integration and management of cloud hosting. Users select their desired cloud provider and Cloudways manages the setup, maintenance and support, offering a hassle-free hosting experience.

Getting started with Cloudways is straightforward: Sign up, select your cloud provider, choose your server, and deploy your website. Cloudways offers a user-friendly dashboard that simplifies website management, including team collaboration and one-click controls for ultimate customization and flexibility.  

Cloudways Support 

Support is readily available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through live chat, ticketing, and a comprehensive knowledge base, ensuring users alway get the assistance they need. Cloudways also offers Advanced and Premium support add-on services to provide more one-on-one personal interactions, including a private Slack channel and direct phone support.  

Cloudways Performance 

Cloud hosting services are known for their ultra-fast speeds and superior reliability, and Cloudways is no different. With features like built-in caching and CDN integration, Cloudways excels in performance with industry-leading page load times. Uptime and response times are excellent, with Cloudways ensuring that websites remain fast and accessible.

Site Speed and Uptime

With industry-best optimization features like built-in advanced cache and CDN and the ability to source and scale resources from a variety of servers at any given time, Cloudways is able to provide some of the best site upload speeds (0.5 seconds) and uptime available. In fact, they even guarantee a 99.99 percent uptime, meaning your site will remain accessible no matter what. Plus, their Cloudflare Enterprise option only helps to solidify peak performance with special enhancements to promote maximum speed and reliability. 

Security

Security on Cloudways is top-notch, with robust firewalls, two-factor authentication, free SSL, IP Whitelisting, regular security patching, dedicated WAF and bot protection, safeguarding it from emerging threats.The Cloudways Cloudflare Enterprise add-on further bolsters this with enhanced security features, ensuring that your website remains safe from threats.

How Cloudways Compares to the Competition

Cloudways offers a unique proposition with its managed cloud hosting solution. While each provider has its strengths, Cloudways’ flexibility, performance and scalability make it a compelling choice for many users.

Cloudways vs. Siteground 

When comparing Cloudways to SiteGround, another highly rated hosting service, one of the most striking differences lies in their hosting infrastructure. Cloudways stands out for its unique approach to managed cloud hosting, allowing users to select from several top-tier cloud providers like AWS and Google Cloud. This flexibility offers scalability and performance customization, plus peak speed and reliability that can meet the needs of growing websites and applications. SiteGround, on the other hand, is known for its shared hosting (though they also offer other hosting, including cloud, as well), with a strong emphasis on WordPress optimization and user-friendly managed services. While SiteGround offers excellent customer support and is known for its user-friendly cPanel, Cloudways excels in providing a more flexible, fast and scalable hosting environment that’s designed for individuals and businesses looking to grow their businesses backed by the latest hosting technology. 

Cloudways vs. Kinsta

Cloudways and Kinsta both offer premium managed cloud hosting solutions, but they cater to slightly different audiences due to their underlying infrastructure and pricing strategies. Kinsta exclusively uses the Google Cloud Platform to deliver its hosting services, focusing on providing a premium, managed WordPress hosting experience. Cloudways, however, offers a broader selection of cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud and DigitalOcean. This diversity allows for a more customized hosting experience, where users can choose the best provider based on their specific needs, such as location, budget or performance requirements. And while Kinsta’s singular focus on WordPress might appeal to some, Cloudways allows users to choose their preferred CMS, including WordPress, offering an overall more versatile, flexible and lower priced solution for a wider range of web projects.

Bottom Line: Why We Love It

While many consider cloud hosting to be a major advancement in the industry, its often complex infrastructure and advanced customization may seem intimidating or overwhelming to the average user. Cloudways aims to simplify that experience by partnering with the biggest cloud hosting providers, including DigitalOcean, Amazon and Google, to provide access to the best servers, while handling all of the backend management and support of properly configuring and running those servers. This gives users access to the incredible speed and reliable service that cloud hosting is known for, plus a user-friendly platform, robust security features, and responsive customer support that has made Cloudways a leading provider in the hosting industry. Whether you’re launching a WordPress site, scaling an eCommerce platform, or simply exploring cloud hosting options, Cloudways offers the flexibility, scalability, security and great performance you want while saving you both time and money.