It’s important that your website provides a strong foundation for running and mounting your business. For that, you have to make sure that your website is in the best possible hands. So, instead of appointing developers with WordPress experience to manage your site and its framework, you may consider using a Managed WordPress Hosting solution. Thus, your company will have peace of mind and time savings. In this article, we will explain exactly what managed WordPress hosting is, when, and why you should choose it.
First, Let’s talk about a few Hosting basics
Firstly, we hope that you all might be familiar with the term ‘hosting’. To put it simply, hosting (or web hosting) is a service you purchase from a web host company in order to store data and make your website ready for use online.
In the past, we have shared articles about the various kinds of hosting available in the market. For example, Shared hosting is a beginner-friendly, type of hosting which is low-priced and sees you sharing a server with many other users. One of the most popular web hosts, Bluehost offers different hosting packages starting from $3.95/month.
On the other hand, if you don’t want your website to run online and visible to others, there is no need for a hosting provider. This process is called installing WordPress locally where the only person who can view that site is you. Installing WordPress locally is usually meant for the purpose of developing your website. It helps you to examine the new WordPress features, learn how to develop and create websites with WordPress before migrating them to the live server.
Now let’s come to Managed WordPress hosting. Choosing managed hosting to host your website server is like having a group of WordPress and hosting experts working on your website, clearing away the cost and burden of regulating your site’s hosting in-house. Let’s dive into the details of it.
What is Managed WordPress Hosting?
Managed WordPress Hosting is designed particularly to support WordPress sites. It offers optimal technology and resources to handle WordPress websites. As the name suggests, it’s a hosting plan where your provider controls your site and server for you.
Managed WordPress Hosting prevails as a separate option from other kinds of hosting because managed WordPress websites have unique needs. They have distinct server resource footprints than other types of websites, have unique security issues, and supporting them accurately requires WordPress proficiency.
Managed WordPress hosting has a number of convenient features to make it easier to manage, secure, and speed up your WordPress site. While most hosting plans leave the larger part of the work to you, managed hosting takes the responsibility of keeping your site running off your shoulders. It handles the entire installation process for you.
They also provide a foolproof dashboard that allows you to update, regulate, and backup all of your present and future installations. i.e, you don’t have to learn how to use a control panel to manage your website. In other words, cooperating with a managed WordPress hosting company takes care of all the technical aspects of hosting for you – including security, performance, and other factors.
All websites are saved on computers all of which have memory, a processor, a hard drive, ports that control internet traffic, and much more. They all need to be watched out on an operating system level. If there’s a bug in the operating system, it has to be addressed. If there is a malware function, it needs to be cleared. This just leads to a lack of time for the routine things that have to be done to keep your site moving. This wouldn’t happen if you are opting for a managed hosting provider.
In short, managed hosting is not just a form of hosting plan, but a description of service you will gain. It just frees the website owners from technicalities so that they can completely focus on building a website and creating content.
Also read: Shared v/s VPS v/s Managed WordPress hosting
Who should choose Managed WordPress Hosting?
Managed WordPress Hosting is particularly rightful to large and corporate-level enterprises due to its higher security, high performance, and reliability. Any company that believes in their WordPress site is going to want a host that specializes in WordPress.
Managed WordPress Hosting prices differ, with plans starting from $25 to $2,000 per month based on the resources and level of support they provide. Businesses spend money on managed hosting because they know that the advantages of the service far exceed their costs. They save time and money because they do not have to pay separately for engineers to manage their sites. Partnering with an experienced Managed WordPress host also better your site performance by further strengthening the bottom line through key metrics like conversion rate, time on site, and so on. Some of the features provided by all Managed WordPress hosting plans are:
- Automated daily site backups
- Malware scanning
- Core WordPress updates
- Create staging sites
- Website migrations
- WordPress specific one-click backups
If you don’t know enough about WordPress, servers, and all other technical aspects muddled in running a website, managed hosting can be a blessing. It saves you time and tension, and helps to build a site that’s secure and performs more effortlessly. Plus, you will get immediate help whenever you need it. However, if you’re on a tight budget, saving money early on and switching to managed hosts when you can easily afford to do so is a justifiable trick. Also, it is better to choose unmanaged hosting or shared hosting if you prefer to make all the important decisions of your website on your own.
Getting the right Hosting Provider
To get the finest option, you have to consider various factors such as security, backups, server reliability, etc while selecting the hosting provider. If you are leaving the liability for managing your site on the shoulders of your hosting provider, it’s important that they know how to optimize a WordPress site. Ensure that the hosting provider has features such as pre-installed and pre-configured WordPress sites, inherent plugins, etc to handle backups and caching. Check what it provides in terms of security and performance optimization.
This may sound a little frightening, but there are lots of companies offering Managed WordPress hosting services that confuse users. So, we’d suggest checking out our hand-picked choice of managed hosting providers for the website owners. These providers offer plans that are comparatively affordable, WordPress-specific, and rightly managed – making them a top-notch for anyone in need of help to run their site.
Also, the provider should be open about what it does to keep your site safe and maintain the speeds and up-time. Contact the sales team through chat and ask them outright if you have any doubts regarding its functioning.
The Final Say
To encapsulate, anyone responsible for managing a high-traffic WordPress site should look for an experienced Managed Hosting Provider if they do not have WordPress specialists as staff. Having said that, Managed WordPress hosting plans aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they can save you a lot of time and take technical works out of your hands. Though Managed WordPress hosting offers many great features and advantages, it definitely has a few flaws such as the pricey service, low flexibility with plugins, etc. So, we recommend you to read the pros and cons of Managed hosting before you finalize your website hosting plan.
These are some of the frequent questions asked by our readers regarding Managed WordPress Hosting.
Frequently Asked Questions about Managed WordPress Hosting
What is Managed WordPress Hosting?
In simple words, your WordPress-expert hosting provider manages and maintains your site and server for you. They will take care of updates, backups, security scans etc enabling you to focus fully on creating content or promoting your business or any other activity that demands your attention.
Is Managed WordPress Hosting worth it?
It is a godsend option for those who don’t have the time or technical expertise to dedicate for the maintenance of their website. It may be more expensive than shared hosting but totally worth it with the services you will get. Also, go through this article to get an in-depth idea about the pros and cons of Managed WordPress Hosting.
Do I need Managed WordPress Hosting?
If you have a WordPress website with moderate to high traffic and you have the budget but no time or technical expertise to improve its performance, then go for it. If you are a beginner with low traffic website and tight budget, it is better to choose shared hosting.
Can I choose Managed WordPress Hosting without a WordPress website?
No. Managed WordPress Hosting is exclusively for WordPress. But you can choose shared hosting.
Is Managed WordPress Hosting secure?
Your hosting provider will take all safety measures including WordPress, theme, plugin updations, run security scans and also maintain regular backups in case your site is attacked. So you are comparatively safer.