Running a successful business in the modern digital realm is an exercise in multi-tasking. You’re handling security, marketing, content creation, social media, sales, and loads more. It is easy to get lost by the workload, especially if you take a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to hosting your website or take on shared hosting.
That’s why managed WordPress hosting is an excellent solution for businesses wanting to streamline their productivity and focus on important tasks. In the following page, we will explore why this approach – instead of a VPS or shared host – can be one of the best decisions you make for your organization.
What Is Managed WordPress Hosting?
It’s probably best to start with the specifics of managed WordPress hosting, what it is, and how it is different to other options.
Managed WordPress hosting provides ready-made features and support to help websites operate security, quickly, and seamlessly. In other words, you will leave the technical expertise of building and managing your website to professionals.
How does this compare to other types of hosting? Well, let’s look at the three WordPress hosting options that make up online sites:
Shared WordPress Hosting
One common way to host a WordPress site is by sharing the hosting with a low-cost service like Bluehost, GoDaddy, HostGator, or other providers. As the name suggests, you literally share server space with other websites, but the cost of hosting is affordable at between $5 and $30 per month (depending on your plan/provider).
Affordability makes shared hosting ideal for people building a small business site on a budget, those not seeking to use WordPress long term, or first-website builders. As you might expect, there are downsides, including hidden costs (domain registration, SSL certificates, integrations, etc.). Hosting companies also throttle performance, even if they offer “unlimited resources.”
Performance, in general, can be an issue. To cover costs, providers consolidate by adding hundreds of sites onto a single server. It is not uncommon to experience random bouts of slow performance on a WordPress site with shared hosting.
DIY Hosting
Short on money but high on skills? A DIY approach to hosting can be the answer to managing your WordPress site. Although, you’ll need to have plenty of technical knowledge and a lot of time on your hands. Most DIY hosting is from folks who are trying to cut costs or retain their budget, but it is easy for this approach to go wrong.
If you think you can try DIY hosting because you like to tinker, you will be in for a rude awakening. Don’t forget you are using your money, business resources, and time. Unless you are properly prepared and have the knowledge, you should avoid taking this approach.
Managed WordPress Hosting
And that leads to the third – and what we think is the best – WordPress hosting option. While probably not the avenue for large organizations, using a managed hosting service is perfect for small and medium businesses (SMBs). While it costs more than shared hosting, it is a worthwhile investment that allows you to focus on building your business.
Benefits of Managed WordPress Hosting
Below we will dive into the main reasons why choosing managed WP hosting is a wise choice for your business:
Expert Support
Of course, support is also part of shared hosting services, but it has limits. When you use managed WordPress service, the support team will have a complete understanding of WordPress. The whole purpose of the provider is to manage your WP sites, so expect micro-level expertise and quick problem-solving.
For example, if there is a plugin conflict causing issues, or a theme not quite working correctly, a managed WordPress team will be able to identify and solve the issue quickly. Thanks to a deep understanding of settings across WP, your site will be fine-tuned to peak performance.
Being dedicated to a single CMS really does make a difference in make-or-break situations. Shared hosting services cover multiple CMS’ so simply cannot offer the same level of expertise.
WordPress Security Optimization
Security is something of an internet/tech buzzword that is easy to ignore. In fact, millions of small business owners either ignore important security measures or implement them incorrectly. Either way, the result is your business may be at risk in an environment of increasingly sophisticated cyberattack methods.
Nothing is a guarantee and there is no fool-proof way to thwart threat actors. Even so, using managed WordPress hosting comes with several security benefits for your site:
- Daily backups with quick access restore.
- Optimized WordPress security plugins.
- Password protection.
- Two-factor authentication.
- Restricted login attempts.
Those are nice perks, but a managed WP host will also act as an anti-virus guardian, actively removing malware if you do suffer a hack. It is worth noting that this benefit usually comes at an extra cost.
Smoother Performance
A quick way to put customers off is by having an unresponsive and slow WordPress website. When someone engages with your site, they want to be able to move between pages efficiently, scroll smoothly, and have a generally good experience. Shared hosting can often hit snags in performance as the hosting company manages resources across a range of sites.
With managed WordPress hosting, the whole service is dedicated to WordPress. Not only will you see consistent smooth performance, but load times are faster and uptime is better. Other performance-related features include global server locations, CDN, and other services that are all set up by the managed WP host provider.
What to Expect from Managed WordPress Hosting
Selecting a managed WordPress host can be complex because there are loads of providers. Moreover, there is no specific set of features that define what managed services should look like. Flexibility and variety of criteria depend on the provider you use and the plan you choose. However, some standard managed hosting options for WP include:
- Actively scan your WordPress site for security threats and handle attacks if they happen.
- Manage all updates, including plugins and site-wide, while also creating backups.
- Deal with performance optimization to ensure a fast site.
- Configure your site server.
- Create test sites for you to see updates before going live.
- Provide ongoing dedicated support with WP expertise.
Should I Choose a Managed WP Hosting Plan?
You now know exactly what managed WordPress hosting is and are ready to decide whether this is the hosting your business requires. While the benefits are obvious, there are considerations you need to make before getting a managed plan. The most notable is the extra cost of a managed hosting service over a shared server hosting alternative.
While managed WP hosting costs more than shared servers, it is not prohibitively expensive. If your budget stretches to a managed plan, whether you want to move forward depends on the specifics of your business and your site demands:
- For users who are completely new to WordPress, server management, and the general technicalities of running a website, managed hosting is a savior. You don’t need to worry about learning curves, and you can save time and resources that you can put to use in other areas of your business.
- On the other hand, if you want to make decisions about your website and have more control, an unmanaged plan may be best. For users with technical knowledge who can maintain a site themselves, many of the benefits of managed hosting may seem pointless.
Conclusion: Why Managed WordPress Hosting is For You
As you can see above, managed WordPress hosting can transform your WP site by improving performance, security, and by providing consistent expert support. So, if your business fits into one of the following categories, choosing a managed host is a good option:
- Site owners with minimal technical knowledge.
- Bloggers who use their website to build their reputation.
- Freelancers building their own WordPress site.
- eCommerce brands that need optimum site performance and uptime.
- Small or medium business looking for hand-off external or internal sites.
- Organizations that require expert support and ongoing reliability.
Last Updated on March 10, 2022 6:50 pm CET by Markus Kasanmascheff
