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Every business with a website or application needs infrastructure, whether it’s a small e-commerce site or a development agency building numerous web applications. Servers, often from public cloud providers, host these websites and applications. However, many small businesses need more expertise or resources to manage their cloud services.
While public cloud providers remove the need for businesses to maintain their own on-premises infrastructure, all cloud services still require knowledge to configure and support infrastructure. Even a provider like DigitalOcean, which puts simplicity at its core and provides users with a wealth of tutorials and documentation, requires technical knowledge and training. Larger cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and GCP take even longer to learn, as their interfaces can be incredibly complex. Luckily, many services enable small businesses to benefit from a cloud service like DigitalOcean without managing the backend themselves.
Managed hosting providers like Cloudways allow developers and businesses to offload infrastructure management, configuration, and support. This enables companies to focus on their core activities, like creating engaging websites or building software applications, without worrying about hosting issues.
Managed hosting involves a third-party provider handling the setup, administration, management, and support of servers and applications. These services typically include operating system updates, patching, 24/7 support, network and hardware management, basic security measures like virus and spam protection, and performance monitoring and remediation.
By outsourcing hosting management, organizations can eliminate the need for in-house hosting infrastructure experts, similar to outsourcing other tools and services.
When comparing hosting vs. managed hosting, the latter offers significant advantages in cost savings, performance, security, support, and pricing transparency, making it an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes. The benefits of utilizing a managed hosting provider, include the following:
Cost and time savings: Small teams often don’t have the time or existing talent to manage their cloud services internally, and hiring someone to work on cloud services can be expensive. By leveraging managed hosting solutions, businesses and developers can save time and money by offloading cloud work to an external managed hosting team.
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Improved performance and reliability: Managed hosting services specialize in understanding the optimal configuration of cloud services for speed and reliability. They ensure that the right data centers, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), and caching solutions are employed to serve your application best, whether you’re using managed dedicated hosting or other hosting solutions.
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Enhanced security and backups: While public cloud providers have built-in security features, managed hosting services can set up enhanced security measures such as firewalls, manage your SSL certificates, and conduct security patching. Managed hosting teams can also perform regular backups, so your work is never lost.
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Dedicated support: Managed hosting providers offer dedicated, around-the-clock support. If outages or other issues arise, a full-service support team quickly resolves them, ensuring minimal downtime.
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Pricing transparency: Public clouds can often have complex pricing models. Managed hosting providers offer businesses more insight and control over their costs by providing subscription plans with flat and transparent pricing, simplifying the hosting vs. managing debate.
Specialized services: Managed WordPress hosting is one example where providers offer specialized hosting solutions tailored for WordPress sites, optimizing performance, security, and updates for this popular platform.
Learn how to host WordPress on DigitalOcean in 2024 and choose between unmanaged or managed server options for optimal website performance with the linked article.
Colin Richardson, Co-Founder of the digital agency Bigfork, explains why he uses Cloudways for his SilverStripe, PHP-based websites:
“Cloudways reduces the setup time for new hosting compared to configuring a stack ourselves, which frees up our developer’s time. It’s a reliable and secure hosting solution, so I rest assured that my customers enjoy a seamless hosting experience.”
Selecting the right managed hosting provider is essential for businesses, especially smaller ones that need to focus on their core operations. The decision can be challenging with numerous providers available, each offering different specializations and services. Below are vital factors to consider when choosing a managed hosting provider.
1. Cost and pricing transparency
Understanding a managed hosting provider’s cost structure and pricing is key. Businesses should look for providers that offer transparent and upfront pricing to avoid unexpected costs. The 2023 DigitalOcean Currents report highlights that cost remains a significant consideration, particularly for small businesses aiming to control expenses in a challenging economic environment. Providers often offer various pricing models depending on the services and public clouds used, so comparing and finding the best fit for your budget is essential.
2. Type of website or application
Your website or application’s specific needs should guide your choice of a managed hosting provider. Some providers specialize in hosting for particular platforms, such as WordPress, while others offer more generalized solutions. Assess the compatibility of your website or application with the provider’s offerings to ensure optimal performance and support. This is particularly important for businesses with unique or high-demand applications that require specialized hosting environments.
3. Support tiers
The level of support offered by a managed hosting provider can significantly impact your experience. Providers typically offer support tiers, from essential support to premium, 24/7 assistance. Evaluate the support options available and consider the responsiveness and expertise of the provider’s support team. Reliable, round-the-clock support can be invaluable, particularly for businesses without in-house IT staff.
4. Security services
Security is a critical factor in choosing a managed hosting provider. Ensure the provider offers robust security measures, including virus and spam protection, regular security updates, and monitoring. Additionally, consider whether the provider has disaster recovery options to protect against data loss and ensure business continuity. Comprehensive security services are essential for safeguarding your data and applications from potential threats.
5. Performance and scalability
Evaluating the provider’s performance capabilities is essential for businesses requiring high-performance solutions, such as those running resource-intensive applications. Look for providers that offer dedicated servers and scalable resources to meet growing demands. Scalability ensures that your hosting solution can adapt to increased traffic and workload without compromising performance.
Cloudways offers managed cloud hosting, simplifying cloud management complexities. Unlike traditional cloud hosting, where users take on the responsibility of server management and maintenance, Cloudways handles these tasks for its customers. It offers more options for digital agencies, e-commerce shops, bloggers, and freelance developers hosting their websites on WordPress, PHP, and Magento.
Cloudways is particularly well-suited for those with limited technical expertise or who simply prefer a hands-off approach to hosting. It is suitable for businesses of all sizes and offers a user-friendly dashboard and advanced features like automated backups, server scaling, and application monitoring. Here are the leading products and features provided by Cloudways:
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Managed applications: WordPress Hosting, WooCommerce Hosting, PHP Hosting, Magento Hosting, Laravel Hosting, Drupal Hosting
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Managed cloud hosting: DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud
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Solutions: Agency Hosting, Ecommerce Hosting, Developers, SMB Hosting, Multisite Hosting, Bloggers & Publishers Hosting
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Cloudways Managed Security
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DNS
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Cloudways Support
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Cloudways Autonomous
Nick Bird, Managing Partner of digital agency Squarebird, explains how easy these features are to use:
“We have a few clients with event websites, where visits can go from two an hour to 2,000 a minute. With Cloudways, we can go in and scale the server up with a few clicks and have it ready in about five minutes, which is great. Cloudways also makes it easy to calculate and invoice clients for the additional bandwidth usage.”
With Cloudways managed hosting, you also get transparent pricing since you only pay for what you use. Pricing is based on server usage, with no limits on the number of websites or visitors per server. You also get detailed information about the server stack so that you can make informed decisions based on your website needs.
→ Start your cloud journey with Cloudways.