Should You Choose Managed WordPress Hosting for your Website?
Should you choose managed WordPress hosting for your website? Deciding on the best options when it comes to Web Hosting can be tricky. That is why we have set out to help you with articles that show you what to expect as you embark on this sometimes frustrating, but ultimately rewarding journey.
The good thing about our write-up is that, unlike most other reviews and analyses that you will find across the web, it is based on our actual experience and on the experiences of the hundreds of people who read our blog on a daily basis.
And if you are still wondering whether or not it is a good idea for you to create your own blog or website, you can read this article to find some inspiration.
About WordPress
Before digging into the advantages and disadvantages of Managed WordPress hosting, we will begin with a brief WordPress introduction.
In the world of Content Management Systems, CMSs, WordPress is, by far, the king. As of the time of writing this article, WordPress commanded 58.5% of the market. Considering that there are over 1.1 billion websites in the world at the moment (with the number growing by the second), that percentage is pretty impressive.
However, if you think those figures are remarkable, consider the fact that the next placed Content Management System, Joomla, commands a distant 7.2 percent of the market share. It is clear that WordPress rules the roost and by a wide margin.
Not surprisingly, the question on whether or not to have a managed WordPress Website is one that is always being asked by multitudes of enthusiasts across the globe. So, what are some of the differences between Managed and Standard WordPress Hosting?
Unmanaged WordPress Hosting
Across the globe, almost all Web Hosting Services providers offer Unmanaged WordPress Hosting in one form or the other. In fact, it is the most popular form of web hosting that you will be able to find out there.
Unmanaged WordPress Hosting draws its popularity from the fact that it is the cheapest type of hosting that is offered by Web Hosting Companies.
All that you need to do in order to get going with WordPress using a the unmanaged hosting option is install the WordPress script and you are good to go.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress Hosting differs from Standard WordPress Hosting in that the web host handles your site’s technical aspects. It means should anything go wrong on your site, the Host will be responsible for coming up with remedies.
With Managed hosting, you don’t have to worry about security, speed, backups and many other important aspects of running your site.
If you are using Managed hosting, make sure to check if they are using LiteSpeed Web Servers as they are super fast for WordPress sites, you can see LiteSpeed vs NGINX comparison as well.
Advantages of Having a Managed WordPress Website
Earlier on, we expressed the view that if you are using WordPress for your website you should seriously consider moving to a Managed WordPress environment, and here are the reasons why;
Speed
One of the major advantages of choosing Managed WordPress hosting is the fact that your website will, under this setup, be considerable faster than is the case with any other Standard Hosting option.
The reason for this has already been mentioned above; everything about the Managed WordPress Hosting setup has been optimized to work well for WordPress.
This translates into faster loading speed for visitors to your site, which is important, considering that today, people do not have the time to wait for a site to load. There are plenty of other things that demand their attention and your site is likely to have a high bounce rate if it is slow.
Speed is of particular importance when it comes to Search Engine Optimization. Search Engines such Google have indicated that they penalize sites that are not optimized to load fast. That is particularly the case for mobile searches.
Support
Another of the selling points for people who are considering moving their sites to Managed WordPress Hosting is the kind of support that they can expect once they sign up for the product.
Having your WordPress website hosted using the standard Web Hosting options that are out there means that the kind of support that you can expect is pretty…, standard.
However, with Managed WordPress hosting, whenever you need to have something addressed you will be directed to dedicated WordPress experts, who are well placed to help you.
Security
The internet is overflowing with threats, many of which have the potential to disrupt and hijack unsecured websites.
Considering its popularity, it is, perhaps, not surprising that most of the malicious software that are lurking out there target WordPress websites.
That is why it is important for you, as the owner of a WordPress website, to do everything in your power to make sure that your site is fully secured, both for your sake and for the benefit of visitors.
With Managed WordPress hosting, you get a level of security that is not available under Standard Web Hosting.
Your Data Gets Backed up On A Daily Basis
Choosing Managed WordPress hosting also gets you daily data backups, an option that is not available with Standard Hosting. Our own host, InterServer, as an example, comes with daily backups and daily security scans.
Another great thing about Managed WordPress hosting is the fact that should something ever go wrong with your site, getting it back online does not fall on your shoulders. Whoever you are hosting your site with will, in this regard, have experts who are on standby to make sure that the malicious software that has attacked your site is removed.
This facility is not available with Standard Hosting, where the buck pretty much stops with you. It is up to you to make sure that you have secured your site and, should something go wrong, it is up to you to make sure that it is cleaned up and put back online. This, no doubt, can be a rather daunting, particularly for beginners.
Disadvantages of Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting does come with its disadvantages;
Managed WordPress Hosting Costs More than Standard WordPress Hosting
This is, perhaps, the most obvious disadvantage that comes with Managed WordPress hosting. With some companies, the cost difference with Standard WordPress Hosting can be noticeably big.
As an example, an entry level Standard Hosting package at Bluehost costs $2.95 per month, while an entry level Managed hosting package at the same company is pegged at $19.99.
However, it is possible for you to find companies where the price disparity is negligible. InterServer, as an example, offers this type of hosting for $8 per month, which is not that different from its Standard Shared Hosting package which costs beginning from $5 per month.
The same applies for 1&1 web hosting, where Managed WordPress Hosting starts at a lowly $0.99
With Managed WordPress Hosting, you are Limited in the Number of Scripts that you can Install
This is another drawback for those who are considering having Managed WordPress Hosting. Everything about this setup is pretty much WordPress, meaning you cannot install any other scripts (Such as Joomla and Drupal) using your package.
You are pretty much under somebody else’s control
If you are technically savvy and would like to take control of your site, then Managed WordPress hosting is not for you. Here, you pretty much have very little control over your site’s technical aspects, which can be a drawback for those who are looking to tinker with their websites.
Conclusion
Despite these negatives, it is clear that there is an overwhelmingly high number of advantages that can be gained from choosing Managed WordPress hosting. We have gone down this route ourselves and have, so far, had no qualms about the decision.
In fact, this is a route that we recommend for our readers, particularly those who do not have the technical abilities that are needed to be able to manage their own sites.
This type of hosting takes away most of the technical burden that comes with the standard form of Web Hosting, leaving you to do what you wish to do the most; that is, explore your creativity.
If you need more help before creating your site, feel free to read our article on how to create a website in a few easy steps.