Cloudways Review 2023: Unrivalled Performance! 💯

Last Updated on   September 17 2023,
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Name: Cloudways

Description: Cloudways is a renowned managed cloud hosting platform providing robust performance, superior security, and an intuitive platform for all your website hosting needs. It's a solid choice for those who wish to enjoy the power of cloud hosting without the usual complexities.

Offer price: 10.00

Currency: $

www.cloudways.com

Summary Conclusion

In my 20 years as a digital marketing consultant, I've encountered various hosting platforms, and Cloudways stands out with its simplicity, performance, and security. The absence of built-in domain and email hosting may be off-putting to some, but the top-notch cloud hosting experience they deliver makes them a top contender in the market. Their scalable solutions can cater to everyone from bloggers to large businesses, making them a reliable choice for a wide array of users.👍🏻

  • 📈 Uptime: 99.99% Uptime Guarantee
  • 🌍 Server Locations: More than 25+ locations globally across 5 cloud service providers
  • ⚡ Performance: Excellent, thanks to CloudwaysCDN and advanced caching
  • 💽 Storage: SSD based storage for better performance and speed
  • 🚀 Bandwidth: Depends on the selected cloud provider
  • 🔒 Free SSL Certificates: Yes, via Let's Encrypt SSL
  • 🔄 Backup: Automated backups (frequency depends on your preference)
  • 🛡️ Malware Protection: Yes, dedicated firewalls and regular security patching
  • 🕵️ Additional Security: Two-factor authentication and IP whitelisting
  • 👥 Customer Support: 24/7/365 Live Chat, Support Tickets, Phone, Online Knowledge Base
  • 💳 Payment Options: Credit Cards, PayPal
  • 📝 Contract Terms: Pay-as-you-go, Monthly
  • 💯 Refund Policy: Cloudways does not typically offer refunds, but instead provides a free trial
  • 🆓 Free Trials: Yes, available for three days without needing a credit card
  • 🎉 Promotional Deals: Yes, Click to see available promotions
Overall
92%
92%
  • ricing & Value - 88%
    88%
  • Ease of Use - 90%
    90%
  • Features - 92%
    92%
  • Performance - 95%
    95%
  • Security & Reliability - 94%
    94%
  • Customer Support & Resources - 91%
    91%

Pros

  • 😃 User-friendly Platform: Cloudways offers an intuitive and user-friendly platform even for non-technical users.
  • 🚀 High Performance: With Cloudways, you'll experience exceptional loading speeds and reliable uptime.
  • 🌐 Choice of Data Centres: With multiple cloud providers, users can choose their preferred data centre location.
  • 🔐 Excellent Security: Robust security measures, including free SSL, firewall, and regular patches, are in place.
  • 🔄 Automated Backups: Cloudways provides automated backups to ensure your data is always safe.

Cons

  • 💔 No Inbuilt Domain Registration: You'll need to register your domain elsewhere, as Cloudways does not offer this service.
  • 📧 Lack of Standard Email Hosting: Email hosting is not a default feature, though it is available as an additional paid service.
  • 💰 Premium Support Costs Extra: While basic support is provided, priority support incurs additional fees.

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Introduction to our Cloudways Review:

Welcome to our expert Cloudways review!

As a seasoned digital marketing consultant with 20 years of experience, I’ve witnessed first-hand the evolution of web hosting services. With cloud hosting emerging as a potent and versatile solution, especially for businesses keen on ensuring uptime, security, and scalability, it's essential to pick a provider that can deliver on these fronts.

In this detailed Cloudways review, we will be delving into the nitty-gritty of what this hosting service brings to the table. From how it fares in easing the hosting experience to the range of features it provides, especially for eCommerce and WordPress users; we will examine it all.

This Cloudways hosting review will dissect and evaluate its various facets, ensuring you have a comprehensive understanding of what to expect.


Overview:

Credibility:

As someone who has been immersed in the world of digital marketing for two decades, credibility is a facet I refuse to compromise on. Cloudways was founded in 2009 and has since made significant inroads in the cloud hosting space. The company is headquartered in Malta and has a global workforce that helps cater to its customer base around the world. It’s managed to earn a solid reputation, and my experience corroborates their claim of providing simplified cloud hosting solutions.

History and Purpose:

Cloudways was conceived with the vision of bridging the gap between powerful cloud hosting and its usability for the average user. By providing managed cloud hosting, Cloudways enables individuals and businesses to harness the full potential of cloud servers without grappling with the complexity that usually accompanies them.

Basic Features and Functionalities:

Cloudways offers a host of impressive features such as:

  • Choice of Five Top Cloud Providers: DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud.
  • User-friendly Control Panel: The intuitive interface ensures even beginners can hit the ground running.
  • Managed Security: Free SSL certificates, regular security patching, and dedicated firewalls to safeguard your data.
  • Performance Optimisation: In-built caching technologies such as Varnish and Memcached guarantee lightning-fast load times.
  • Managed Backups: Automated backups ensure data safety and easy recovery.
  • 24/7 Support: Expert support accessible via live chat, ticketing, and phone for urgent matters.

In the next sections, we will delve deeper into the usability, features, security, performance, customer support, and pricing of Cloudways. This Cloudways review aims to furnish you with the insights required to make an informed decision. Stay tuned!

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Ease of Use:

In this section of our Cloudways review, let’s talk about the user experience, which is paramount in choosing a hosting provider. With my 20 years of experience, I can affirm that an intuitive user interface can make or break the hosting experience for both rookies and seasoned professionals.

Cloudways Review of User Interface:

One of the standout features of Cloudways is its user interface, which is clean, well-organized, and easy to navigate. The dashboard clearly displays all the essential options, ensuring that you don't have to hunt through layers of menus to find what you need. Everything, from deploying servers to managing applications, is just a click or two away. This streamlining is particularly beneficial if you're managing multiple sites.

Learning Curve:

The Cloudways platform strikes a fine balance; it's accessible for beginners, yet robust enough for experienced developers. For someone new to cloud hosting, the guided onboarding process and the knowledge base articles are incredibly helpful. They’ll find that the learning curve is quite gentle compared to other cloud hosting providers.

Server and Application Management:

What impressed me about Cloudways is how they have abstracted the complexities of server management. You can easily scale your servers, backup or restore applications, and tweak performance settings without the need for advanced technical know-how. Throw in the fact that many site management processes are already automated such as migration and backup, and this hosting service is off to a great start. This makes Cloudways an excellent choice for entrepreneurs, small businesses, or anyone who prefers focusing on their core business without the distraction of server management.

Cloudways Review of One-Click Operations:

Cloudways boasts a multitude of one-click features. You can deploy apps, add team members, enable backups, and much more, all with just one click. This not only speeds up numerous processes but makes them foolproof too.

Actually, the first thing we noticed in this Cloudways hosting reviews is how easy it is to set up compared to most conventional hosting services. The “simple, fast, and convenient” slogan in this case is definitely truth in advertising. You can actually build and deploy a site within minutes and all it takes to install third-party apps is a single click.

Cloudways Review of Customization and Advanced Options:

For advanced users, Cloudways offers ample room for customization. Whether you want to create custom webhooks, integrate with Git, or have access to the command line, Cloudways has you covered. It’s a platform that caters to both ends of the spectrum – simplicity for newcomers, and depth for the seasoned.

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Setup Process

In this section of our Cloudways review, I’m going to walk you through the setup process. Being a digital marketing consultant with 20 years of experience, I’ve had my fair share of setups, and I must say, Cloudways makes it a breeze.

Step 1: Signing Up

You start by signing up on the Cloudways platform. It’s a straightforward process where you need to provide your email address, choose a password, and fill in some basic information. Cloudways offers a free trial, so you don't have to enter your credit card details immediately.

Step 2: Launching a Server

After you’ve signed up, you’ll be taken to the Cloudways dashboard. Here, click on the “Launch” button. This brings up a page where you can select your desired application (such as WordPress), name your managed app and server, and choose your project.

Step 3: Selecting Your Cloud Provider

Next, you’ll need to select your cloud provider. Cloudways partners with several top cloud providers, including DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud. Choose the one that fits your requirements and budget.

Step 4: Server Size and Location

After selecting a provider, you’ll need to choose your server size based on your expected traffic and resource needs. Next, select a server location. Ideally, this should be close to your target audience for optimal performance.

Step 5: Launch the Server

Finally, click the “Launch Now” button. Cloudways will now set up your server – this might take a few minutes. Once it’s ready, you’ll see it listed on your dashboard.

Step 6: Domain and SSL Configuration

After your server is up, you’ll want to point your domain to it and install an SSL certificate for security. Cloudways provides easy tools to do both within the dashboard.

Step 7: Application Configuration

The last step is to configure your application. If you chose WordPress, for instance, you would need to set up your admin account, choose themes, and install necessary plugins.

Challenges:

For the most part, the setup process is smooth. However, some users may find the array of options daunting, especially if they’re not familiar with cloud hosting. I recommend taking the time to read through Cloudways’ extensive knowledge base if you find yourself puzzled at any stage. It’s also worth mentioning that, although Cloudways’ support is generally good, their response times can sometimes be a little slow during peak periods.

So, that’s the setup process! Continue reading this Cloudways review to learn about the features and functionalities that can be unlocked once your server is up and running.


Features in my Cloudways Review

In this section of our Cloudways review, we will delve into the features that Cloudways offers. With 20 years of experience in digital marketing, I understand the importance of robust and varied features in a hosting platform, so let’s break them down.

Cloudways Review of Types of Hosting

Cloudways exclusively offers cloud-based hosting services. This means you don’t get the typical shared or dedicated hosting options. But let me tell you why that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Shared Hosting

Cloudways does not provide traditional shared hosting. However, their cloud hosting infrastructure can be used similarly to shared hosting but with better performance and scalability.

VPS and Dedicated Hosting

Cloudways specializes in managed cloud hosting which is similar to VPS hosting. With Cloudways, you have a dedicated amount of server resources and can easily scale them as your site grows. This is perfect for websites that need flexibility, as cloud hosting allows you to increase resources during high-traffic periods.

Specialized Hosting

Cloudways offers optimized hosting solutions for popular applications like WordPress, Magento, Joomla, and Drupal. These specialized hosting plans come with performance-optimized server stacks, security enhancements, and simple deployment processes.

Cloudways Review of Domain Names

Well, perhaps we spoke too soon when we said that our Cloudways review was off to a great start. One issue we noted with this particular hosting provider? The fact that it doesn’t have its own domain name registry.

So, Cloudways does not offer domain registration services, but you can easily secure a domain name from a separate service and point your domain from any domain registrar to your Cloudways server. Additionally, you can add as many domains and subdomains as you need.

Cloudways Review of Website Builder:

For this Cloudways hosting review, Cloudways doesn’t have its own proprietary site-building platform.

However its one-click installer makes it easy to install various CMS applications which can then be used to build your website. Users have the option to create a site on the platform using WordPress’ Elementor Page Builder. This linkage allows site creators to build from the ground up and put it online in next to no time.

Cloudways Review of CMS Applications:

Cloudways has the virtue of being compatible with practically any PHP-driven application. Also, it works with three specific building platforms: WordPress, Magento, and Laravel.

WordPress:

WordPress is actually the very foundation of Cloudways as a hosting service. Today, it can easily boast of hosting over 600,000 WordPress sites, offering solutions for individual site owners, ecommerce entrepreneurs, and agencies.

WordPress is just a click away on Cloudways. You can perform one-click installations, migrations, and even choose a server that is specially optimised for WordPress.

Site Staging:

While Cloudways has fallen flat in some key aspects of our Cloudways hosting reviews, there’s one particular area where it cannot be faulted: creating staging environments that will help developers and site owners pinpoint critical issues before deployment.

Cloudways’ Staging Environment offers users a secure space in which to test out their sites before going live. Among its features is the ability to test how sites work on five different cloud providers, IP whitelisting, as well as SSL-enabled staging.

Cloudways Review of eCommerce:

How does the hosting service fare in eCommerce. Here's what we found out for our Cloudways hosting reviews.

Cloudways is particularly strong in eCommerce hosting with its optimized servers for Magento, and easy installations for other eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce. They provide a fast, scalable, and secure environment for online stores.

Cloudways offers a specific hosting package for those working with scalable online shop building platform Magento and also for WordPress’ eCommerce plugin WooCommerce. It is so easy to set up, that all you need to do is select a server, launch your store, and start selling almost immediately. Whichever you choose, you will have access to a host of tools and solutions to make storefront building and online store management so much easier.

With regard to SSL certificates, these are already included in all Cloudways pricing plans.

Cloudways Email Hosting Rating:

Here’s another issue to note in this Cloudways review. Unlike other hosting service packages that have a set number of domain-specific email addresses already bundled in, Cloudways users have to depend on a third-party email hosting provider to add email addresses to their website.

The Cloudways email hosting add-on Rackspace is not free but it's reasonably priced and allows for unlimited email accounts. It can be thrown into your hosting plan of choice and it works fine. However, we feel that not including this as part of the standard Cloudways pricing package is a bit of a deal-breaker.

Cloudways Review of Databases:

In this Cloudways review, we note that the platform offers Thunderstack for database hosting.

Specifically geared towards MySQL users, Thunderstack offers a built-in SQL manager with its own suite of tools and allows for remote connections. It’s also been optimised for speed and users can further augment its functionality through a number of easy to install plugins and widgets.

You can create as many databases as you need, and manage them using the phpMyAdmin tool.

However, as with the email add-on previously mentioned, we take issue yet again with Cloudways for charging extra for database hosting.

Cloudways Review of Developer Tools

Developers will feel right at home with Cloudways. The platform supports multiple PHP versions, allows for Git integration, and offers a range of other tools like SSH and SFTP access, WP-CLI, and a free SSL installation.

Scalability

Cloudways truly shines when it comes to scalability. Offering a platform-as-a-service cloud hosting solution, it provides you with the ability to scale your server resources almost instantly. This ensures your website can handle sudden traffic spikes without experiencing any downtime or performance issues. With the choice of five different cloud providers (DigitalOcean, Linode, VULTR, AWS, and Google Cloud), you have ample flexibility to select a plan that meets your specific needs and can easily grow with your business.

Site Migration

Cloudways offers a smooth site migration process, removing any technical headaches you might anticipate when moving your site. With their free migration plugin and dedicated migration team, they ensure that the transition to their platform is hassle-free. One free site migration is included in every new account, which is especially beneficial for first-time users or those with larger websites. Cloudways support is also on-hand to assist with any issues that might arise during the migration, ensuring a seamless transition to their hosting platform.

Stay tuned in our Cloudways review as we move on to discuss security, a critical aspect of any hosting service.

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Security in my Cloudways Review

Security is paramount when it comes to web hosting. In this part of our Cloudways review, we’ll examine the security measures that Cloudways has put in place to ensure that your data remains safe and your website remains online.

Cloudways Review of SSL Certificates

Cloudways provides free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates that are easy to install. Having an SSL certificate is crucial for encrypting data between your website and its users, particularly if you are running an eCommerce store or handling sensitive data.

Cloudways Review of Automated Backups

Cloudways offers automated backups, which is a lifesaver. You can set the frequency of backups as per your preference, ranging from hourly to weekly. This ensures that you have a safety net in case things go south, and you need to restore your site to a previous state.

Cloudways Review of Malware Protection

While Cloudways doesn’t offer built-in malware scanning, it does implement strong server-level security measures to prevent malware attacks. For additional protection, users can install security plugins or services on their application level.

Cloudways Review of Firewalls

Cloudways servers are safeguarded by OS-level firewalls that filter out malicious traffic and keep out potential intruders. This helps in mitigating brute force and other hacking attempts on your website.

Two-Factor Authentication

Cloudways adds an additional layer of security by offering Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). With 2FA enabled, you’ll need not only your password but also a one-time code from your mobile device to log in.

Cloudways Review of IP Whitelisting

You can create an allowlist of IP addresses to restrict access to your server. This is particularly useful if you want to grant secure access to your team or third-party services.

Server Monitoring

Cloudways offers real-time server monitoring which allows you to keep an eye on over 16 different metrics. This can be instrumental in spotting unusual activity that could indicate a security issue.

Support and Security Patching

Cloudways’ support team is proactive in rolling out security patches to protect against vulnerabilities. Their team keeps track of any emerging threats and acts promptly.

See more Cloudways security features


Performance and Uptime:

In this section of our Cloudways review, we'll turn our focus towards performance and uptime – two critical factors that can make or break your website's success. Let's see if Cloudways lives up to the mark in delivering blazing fast speeds and stellar uptime.

Cloudways Review of Server Locations

Cloudways operates more than 65 data centres worldwide with locations in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.. This is particularly advantageous as you can select a server that’s geographically closer to your target audience, thereby reducing latency and loading times.

Note, however, that only its Frankfurt, London, and Sydney locations host servers for all five of its affiliate IaaS services; other locations only host one or two at the most.

CDN

CloudwaysCDN is Cloudways' own content delivery network. Integrating CloudwaysCDN can dramatically increase the speed of your website for a global audience. It does this by distributing your content across a network of servers around the world, ensuring that it’s delivered from the location nearest to each visitor.

This is further bolstered by Breeze, a cache plugin specifically developed by the hosting service to improve the performance of WordPress sites.

Cloudways Review of Speed Results

In this Cloudways review, let me tell you – Cloudways is nothing short of impressive when it comes to speed! I rigorously tested it using tools like Pingdom and GTmetrix, and opted for London as the test location. Cloudways came through with flying colours, posting an astonishing speed of just 274 ms! For perspective, any speed under 500 ms is deemed fast, so 274 ms is absolutely brilliant. If your priority is a rapid website (and frankly, it should be), Cloudways is undoubtedly a top pick.

Cloudways Review of Average Uptime

Cloudways promises an impressive 99.99% uptime guarantee. From my experience, they live up to this claim. Downtime is nearly non-existent, and any scheduled maintenance is communicated well in advance. This level of reliability ensures that your website is accessible around the clock.

Cloudways Review of Bandwidth

Cloudways offers varying bandwidth options depending on the plan you choose. It’s vital to select a plan that offers sufficient bandwidth to handle your website’s traffic without incurring additional charges.

Webspace Limits/Storage

Cloudways exclusively uses SSD storage, which is not only faster but also more reliable than traditional HDD storage. The amount of SSD storage space you get depends on the plan you choose. SSD drives contribute significantly to the performance boosts that you can experience with Cloudways.

See more Cloudways performance features


Customer Support & Online Resources in my Cloudways Review

A robust customer support system is a cornerstone of any reputable hosting provider. In this part of the Cloudways review, we'll take an in-depth look at the customer support and online resources available to Cloudways users.

Support Options

Cloudways offers a variety of support channels to cater to different preferences and needs:

  • Live Chat: Available 24/7, live chat is often the quickest way to get in touch with a Cloudways support representative.
  • Email Support: You can reach out to Cloudways via email if you prefer a more formal line of communication or have an issue that doesn't require an immediate response.
  • Phone Support: While Cloudways doesn't offer direct phone support, you can request a call back from the support team.
  • Online Ticketing: For more complex issues, you can raise a support ticket. This is particularly useful for keeping track of ongoing issues.

Cloudways Review of Response Time

In my experience, Cloudways is quite prompt in its response times. Live chat usually connects you to a representative within minutes. Email and ticket responses typically come through within a few hours, which is commendable.

Helpfulness & Knowledge of the Support Team

The support team at Cloudways is well-informed and helpful. They seem to have a deep understanding of the platform and hosting in general. Most of my queries were resolved efficiently. The team members are polite and willing to go the extra mile to help you out.

Cloudways Review of Online Resources

In addition to one-on-one support, Cloudways offers a wealth of online resources:

  • Knowledge Base: A comprehensive collection of articles and guides covering a broad spectrum of topics related to Cloudways and web hosting.
  • Community Forum: Engage with other Cloudways users and share experiences, ask questions, or provide assistance.
  • Blog: Regularly updated with insightful articles on web hosting, web development, and Cloudways itself. The blog is a great fountain of information and those looking for a third-party provider for specific functions will find it an excellent resource as it regularly features top ten lists for Cloudways apps and plugins.

See more Cloudways support features


Environmental Impact in my Cloudways Review

Cloud-Based Infrastructure

As a digital, cloud-based company, Cloudways does not own any physical data centres itself but rather utilises the infrastructure of other major providers, such as Google Cloud and AWS.

Google Cloud's Sustainability Efforts

Google Cloud, one of Cloudways' key infrastructure providers, has been matching its energy usage with 100% renewable energy since 2017. They've also committed to operate on carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030.

AWS's Commitment to Renewable Energy

Similarly, AWS, another provider whose resources Cloudways utilises, has a long-term goal to power their global infrastructure using 100% renewable energy. As of 2020, they are already at 65% renewable energy usage.

Indirect Support for Sustainability

In essence, when you choose Cloudways, you indirectly support the sustainability efforts of these leading cloud providers. However, it's important to note that Cloudways, as a company, does not have a directly stated policy on environmental sustainability or eco-friendliness.


Cloudways Pricing and Transparency:

As an experienced digital marketing consultant, I understand that pricing is one of the most significant factors when choosing a web host. In this segment of the Cloudways review, I’ll dissect their pricing structure, looking for any hidden costs and evaluating their transparency. What's the value for money with Cloudways pricing? Are there Cloudways promo codes to apply?

Overview of the Pricing Structure

Cloudways operates on a pay-as-you-go pricing model, which means you only pay for the resources you use. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with fluctuating traffic as it allows for scalability. They offer a range of plans, each backed by different cloud providers such as DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud.

Hosting Plan details

Free Plan:

Unfortunately, Cloudways does not offer a free subscription.

Cloud Hosting:

Cloudways pricing for cloud hosting are all dependent on which cloud service you want to use.

Here are the current ranges being offered:

  • Digital Ocean: $10 to $80 monthly
  • Linode: $12 to $90 monthly
  • Vultr: $11 to $84 monthly
  • Amazon Web Services: $36.51 to $274.33 monthly
  • Google Cloud: $33.18 to $225.93
cloudways review of pricing
cloudways-pricing

Cloudways WordPress Hosting:

For Cloudways pricing on both WordPress and WooCommerce hosting, it follows the standard Cloud hosting price range above and is as low as $10 monthly and can go as high as $721.94 per month depending on the IaaS provider you choose.

Cloudways Review of Initial vs. Renewal Rates

One of the refreshing aspects of Cloudways is that they don't have different initial and renewal rates. What you see is what you pay. This pay-as-you-go model means there are no surprises when it’s time to renew.

Additional Costs

Cloudways is pretty transparent with their pricing. However, it’s important to understand that certain add-ons like email hosting and additional backups come with extra costs. Always read through the terms page details of what's included and what's not before making a decision.

Cloudways Review of Payment Options

Cloudways accepts all major credit cards.

Contract Terms

You can opt to be billed monthly or hourly, depending on your preference. There are no long-term contracts, and you can cancel at any time without penalties.

Cloudways Review of Refund Policy, Money-Back Guarantees

Cloudways does not have a traditional refund policy because of its pay-as-you-go structure. However, they offer a 3-day free trial that lets you test their services without any commitments.

Cloudways Review of Free Plans or Trial Periods

As mentioned earlier, Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial which allows you to get a feel for their services without entering any credit card information.  Surprisingly, this is the shortest free trial period of any hosting provider we’ve encountered.

Promotional Deals or Discounts

Cloudways often has promotional deals or discounts, especially during festive seasons or special days like Black Friday. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on their website or sign up for their newsletter to stay informed about any promotions.

>>Check the latest Cloudways promo codes and discounts<< 


User Cloudways Reviews

In order to provide a well-rounded perspective in this Cloudways review, it's necessary to consider the opinions of other users. User reviews and ratings often reveal real-life experiences with a service, shedding light on its strengths and potential weaknesses.

Cloudways Reviews on TrustPilot

cloudways-trustpilot

Cloudways has a high rating on TrustPilot, with an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars from over 1600 reviews at the time of writing this review. Users frequently commend Cloudways for its robust performance, exceptional customer support, and flexibility. However, some users reported difficulties in understanding the platform initially, indicating a potential learning curve for beginners.

Cloudways Reddit

On Reddit, Cloudways generally receives positive feedback. Users appreciate its scalability, performance, and transparency in pricing. Cloudways' support staff are also praised for their responsiveness and expertise. Nonetheless, some users have pointed out that the lack of cPanel could be a disadvantage for those accustomed to this interface.


Personal Experience

20 years experience sign or stamp

As a digital marketing consultant with over 20 years of experience, my personal experience with a web hosting provider is paramount to the success of the various projects I handle. In this section of the Cloudways review, I will share my firsthand experience with Cloudways.

Signing Up and Initial Impressions

Signing up with Cloudways was a breeze. The interface was clean, and the information required was straightforward. My initial impression was that the platform was built with a focus on performance. I was also impressed by the variety of applications and services that Cloudways integrates with, such as WordPress, Magento, and Laravel, to name a few.

Website Migration and Performance

I decided to migrate one of my existing WordPress sites to Cloudways to assess its performance. The migration process was smoother than I anticipated, thanks to the Cloudways WordPress Migrator plugin. The performance boost was noticeable right away. My site’s loading times were significantly reduced, and the backend was more responsive.

Scalability and Flexibility

As someone who has dealt with multiple clients with varying requirements, the scalability options of Cloudways were a boon. Being able to scale the resources as per the demand without requiring migration was an excellent feature. It's something that I find extremely useful, especially for clients who have seasonal traffic spikes.

Customer Support

Though my experience with Cloudways was generally smooth, I did encounter a hiccup during the setup of an SSL certificate. I reached out to the support via live chat and was connected to a representative within a minute. The support agent was knowledgeable and resolved my issue promptly.

Security Features

Security is a top priority for me and my clients. Cloudways impressed me with automated backups, free SSL certificates, and dedicated firewalls. These features provide an added layer of protection for the websites hosted on their platform.

Final Thoughts on Usability

After having used Cloudways for multiple projects, I can confidently say that it's a powerful, scalable, and performance-oriented hosting solution. The platform might have a slight learning curve for those who are accustomed to traditional hosting with cPanel, but once you get a grasp of it, it’s a game-changer.

This personal experience section of the Cloudways review is based on my usage, and I must say, Cloudways lives up to its reputation for performance and reliability.


Conclusion and Recommendations to our Cloudways Review:

In this Cloudways review, we've dissected the various aspects of Cloudways hosting service. As an experienced digital marketing consultant, I’ve had the privilege of working with numerous hosting solutions. Cloudways certainly stands out for its performance, scalability, and security features.

To wrap up this Cloudways review, Cloudways is one of the best managed cloud hosting platform for WordPress. It's one that truly focuses on cloud hosting alone as opposed to those who offer hybrid and scalable hosting.

What is it best for?

  • High-Performance Websites: With its robust server infrastructure and caching mechanism, Cloudways is ideal for websites where speed is a critical factor.
  • Scalable Projects: For businesses that may need to scale their resources frequently, Cloudways offers a flexible and easy scaling solution.
  • E-commerce Stores: The combination of performance, security, and scalability makes Cloudways an excellent choice for e-commerce websites.
  • Managed WordPress Hosting: If you are looking for hassle-free WordPress hosting, Cloudways takes care of many technical aspects, allowing you to focus on content.

What is it not best for?

  • For this Cloudways hosting reviews, we feel that it is probably not a good option for beginners.  It has a certain degree of complexity and definitely requires a dedicated budget as some add-ons will cost you.
  • Small personal blogs or websites with minimal traffic might not require the extensive features and may find more cost-effective options elsewhere.
  • Users who are accustomed to cPanel and are not willing to adapt to a different control panel.

Cloudways Alternatives:

When weighing up Cloudways alternatives, consider:

  • Server Location Options: Some alternatives may offer more data center locations.
  • Pricing Structure: Investigate the pricing model and see if pay-as-you-go or a fixed plan suits you better.
  • Control Panel: Are you looking for a specific control panel like cPanel or Plesk?

Here is a list of the best Cloudways Alternatives:

Ranking Key Features Price (Basic Plan) My View
🥇 Bluehost One-click WordPress install, free domain for 1st year, free SSL certificate, unmetered bandwidth, and 24/7 customer support. $2.95/month Check Pricing Best for beginners due to its user-friendly interface, affordability, and comprehensive features. It also has strong ties with WordPress.
2. SiteGround Managed WordPress hosting, free SSL, daily backups, CDN, email, staging tool, and 24/7 support. $3.99/month Check Pricing Best for overall performance, features, and exceptional customer support. It’s particularly favored among WordPress users due to its specialized hosting services.
3. Kinsta Managed WordPress hosting, free migrations, daily backups, automatic scaling, Google Cloud Platform infrastructure. $30/month Check Pricing Best for businesses that rely heavily on WordPress. It offers high performance, security, and scalability.
4. A2 Hosting Turbo servers for faster loading, free account migration, anytime money-back guarantee, and 24/7/365 support. $2.99/month Check Pricing Best for developers due to its range of developer-friendly tools, and also for its high-speed performance.
5. WP Engine Managed WordPress hosting, daily backups, threat detection, SSL, CDN, staging environments. $30/month Check Pricing Best for WordPress users looking for high-performance hosting with top-notch security features and support.
6. Hostinger LiteSpeed Cache, WordPress acceleration, free SSL, 24/7/365 support, 99.9% uptime guarantee. $1.39/month Check Pricing Best for budget-conscious users seeking an excellent balance between affordability, performance, and features.
7. InMotion Hosting Free domain, SSD storage, free SSL, security suite, and 90-day money-back guarantee. $2.49/month Check Pricing Best for small to medium-sized businesses due to its solid performance, security features, and customer support.
8. DreamHost Managed WordPress hosting, free domain, SSD storage, free SSL, 97-day money-back guarantee. $2.59/month Check Pricing Best for those looking for strong privacy protection, a long money-back guarantee period, and steady performance.
9. Cloudways Managed cloud hosting, SSD-based hosting, free SSL, dedicated firewalls, 24/7/365 support. $10/month Check Pricing Best for users who want a mix of performance and flexibility without the hassle of managing a cloud server.
10. GreenGeeks Environmentally friendly, unlimited web space, data transfer, free domain name, nightly backups, and 24/7/365 support. $3.95/month Check Pricing Best for eco-conscious users seeking robust hosting features with a focus on renewable energy without compromising speed and security.
  • Cloudways vs Siteground: Comparing both hosting services, Siteground is easier to use and cheaper than Cloudways pricing, but Cloudways is the speedier option.
  • Cloudways vs Kinsta: Both platforms stand shoulder-to-shoulder in terms of performance, but Kinsta provides better features for WordPress sites.
  • Cloudways vs DigitalOcean: DigitalOcean offers a more raw infrastructure with root access for more technical control.

Cloudways Review Final word:

For this Cloudways hosting review, Cloudways excels in performance, security, and scalability. But while Cloudways is an excellent option for cloud hosting, particularly for those on WordPress, we do recommend that users shop around for alternative solutions and hybrid options featuring a site builder and hosting service depending on their budgets and requirements.

It’s always wise to do your own due diligence. Take advantage of their free trial period, and assess whether Cloudways aligns with your needs and preferences. Remember that what works best for one project may not be the best fit for another. Happy hosting!

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FAQs:

Does Cloudways offer shared hosting?

No, it doesn’t. Cloudways is strictly a cloud-based managed hosting service.

Can I use Cloudways hosting for an online store?

Yes, particularly if your site was built using Magento or WooCommerce.

Does Cloudways offer options as to which cloud service to use?

Yes, it currently allows users to choose from Digital Ocean, Vultr, Amazon Web Services, Google, and Linode.


That’s all for now:

Thanks for reading our Cloudways hosting review, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for our ever-growing blog of review and comparison articles. Check out related website builder, and eCommerce platform review and comparison articles such as;

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