Cloudways Review: Is Its Hosting Really That Good?
You’re considering Cloudways for your hosting provider. Now you want to know how they compare with the rest.
But, hold on, just a second.
Cloudways was a product I tried out for a client project. They have received a lot of positive press for being a unique company in an otherwise established industry.
They’ll need some background information about web hosting, as with any product.
Let’s discuss the differences between cloud hosting, and traditional shared hosting.
Your website files are usually stored on a portion of a server you rent from a hosting provider (hence “shared hosting”). A cloud is a network of data centers that hosts website files in a distributed and decentralized manner. In other words, your files are distributed “everywhere”. The network resources required to host and deliver your files can be rented by you.
For a second, imagine real-world housing. Hosting traditional is similar to buying a home, townhouse, or condominium. It’s yours to keep and do what you like. It is affordable and predictable. However, if you have extended family members who want to visit your home one day, it might be difficult for you to host them all. Cloud hosting allows you to access any house in the world from anywhere at any time and you only pay per night. Although it is more costly on a daily basis, cloud hosting can be very affordable for extended families who want to share their home. The 12 bedroom house is yours for the night.
The largest tech companies around the globe create the cloud. There aren’t many. Amazon is the largest. They are closely followed Google, Microsoft and Oracle as well as a few smaller ones such Digital Ocean.
Cloud hosting gives you more access to resources than shared hosting.
You can have a fixed amount of resources for a server with shared hosting. The server also has a fixed amount of resources. You might have 1GB of memory dedicated to you on a server with 10GB.
Let’s say there are 10 customers using the shared server with 1GB each. 9 customers use the full 1GB allocation, sometimes slightly more. Now, your 1GB of memory can only be used if you bring the server up. You might be throttled, or your site may be taken down by a customer. A good web host will have network engineers that have developed ways to balance traffic, but this is the core of the setup.
Cloud hosting is a service that charges per usage of resources. It uses a distributed network with servers that have almost infinite resources. Your data does not reside on one server. It’s instead copied across a network around the globe. When one server is overwhelmed, another server will start returning the data.
This is why NetFlix runs in Amazon’s Cloud and Twitter runs in Google’s Cloud. These are extreme examples, but they do illustrate the point. They experience huge spikes at random points in the day that can only be handled by a cloud.
Cloud hosting is a great choice for websites with high traffic, such as viral news sites and sites that go through regular launches. However, it doesn’t require you to commit to a fixed amount of resources.
Cloud hosting can be expensive and complex to set up. This can make cloud hosting uneconomical for small businesses and DIYers. Most businesses cannot afford the time and money required to set it up correctly.
Cloudways is the answer.
Cloudways’ current plans and pricing
What are Cloudways?
Cloudways, a managed cloud hosting company based in Malta, is what you might call Cloudways. Cloudways offers hosting through large cloud companies but manages the process by offering custom setup software, support and price smoothing to make cloud-hosting more affordable for small businesses and DIYers.
They also compete with cloud companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft.
Cloudways is also a competitor to traditional web hosting companies such as:
- Bluehost
- SiteGround
- Hostwinds
- Hostinger
- Dreamhost
- InMotion Hosting
Are you still confused? Yes, I am too. I write reviews and explain the process to my clients.
This is in some ways a pro point for Cloudways. They want to be unique in the hosting market. It’s difficult to find anything truly new. This is not something that happens often. It’s worth pointing out.
Cloudways offers shared hosting at guaranteed prices, but with the same guaranteed resources. This deal is not for many businesses. However, if you are aware that you will have very high highs or really low lows in website traffic and you don’t want (or need to deal with) the technicalities of cloud hosting with Amazon, Google, and others, this arrangement could be a good fit.
Let’s now look at the pros and cons of Cloudways hosting.
Cloudways Pros
Cloudways reviews are plentiful online. Most of them include user-generated reviews that are based on personal experience and anecdotes. This is fine, but I prefer a different approach. In my best web hosting article I said that there is no “best” webhost. Based on your needs, budget, experience, and expertise, the “best” web host is the one that will work best for you. These are the benefits (and disadvantages) of Cloudways.
Simplified Pricing
Cloudways’ simplified pricing is one of the greatest advantages for cloud hosting providers. Cloud hosting pricing has been traditionally quite complex. It can be hard to determine exactly how much you will end up paying because you only pay for the services you use. Take a look at Google Cloud’s pricing calculator.
Cloudways offers simple monthly pay-as you-go plans. Cloudways doesn’t require you to calculate or guess — simply choose the monthly rate that suits your needs.
A chatbot is also available that can recommend a plan to you based upon the number of websites, traffic volume and purpose of your site. blog, digital agency, etc. ).
Overall, Cloudways’ pricing structure is simple and easy to understand, which is a major competitive advantage when comparing it with other cloud hosting providers.
Cloud Host Variety
Cloudways also offers the option to select your Cloud Host. Cloudways hosts several cloud hosts including Amazon, DigitalOcean, and Google.
Cloudways is essentially a middleman. Cloudways is not the actual hosting platform; they act as an intermediary between you hosting and cloud hosting platforms.
Cloud hosting is a great option. However, this only works if your website traffic fluctuates and you don’t want the hassle of dealing with technicalities like Amazon or Google cloud hosting.
Performance
A good hosting server will not only host your website files but also deliver them as fast as possible to every visitor who visits your domain name address.
There are many factors that affect how fast your website loads. It is possible to have the fastest server on the planet and still have a slow website because of issues on your side. You want to make sure your server is fast enough that you can focus on your side of things.
TTFB, or Time to First Byte, is a great way to approximate performance. Network engineers can be a bit sloppy, so if you have the exact type of website you run, you can request detailed allocation specs. With my hosting reviews, I aim to give you a summary of the tradeoffs that can be used to make the right decision for your website.
Here’s what DigitalOcean did via Cloudways when my website was first set up using a clean WordPress installation –
TTFB’s.0127s is quite fast, especially when compared to performance of budget shared hosts such as Web Hosting Hub, Hostinger or even GoDaddy Hosting. It’s actually quite fast, no matter what you compare it with.
There are tradeoffs. Cloudways charges more for more usage. Cloudways is a great choice if you want a platform that can handle high volumes of traffic without slowing down your performance.
Cons of Cloudways
Cloudways is like any other web host. Cloudways complaints can be found online in a multitude of places. There are many valid complaints about Cloudways. Some are just anecdotal. These are some of the cons I encountered while using Cloudways to host my website.
Complex Setup
Cloudways’ biggest problem is its complexity.
Cloudways claims to be the cloud hosting company that simplifies the process, making it simple for business owners to set up their hosting and concentrate on their business. However, Cloudways hosting is more complicated than traditional hosting.
First, the video on how to move your WordPress website is not included. Then again, you won’t find any onboarding videos (or guides) that will help you get set up on their platform. Although we did receive a few emails, customer support was not available. However, if you want to get started, it’s almost like navigating a maze.
Our account was also difficult to set up. It’s not as easy as just entering your details and then diving in. Cloudways will need to verify your details and it took several conversations with support before we could access our account.
Finally, we had to migrate our account after the three-day trial (more details in a moment). Although this could have been user error it was still quite complicated, even for someone who has reviewed many hosting companies. It was impossible to tell if it worked the first time.
Limited Trial Period
Cloudways has a simplified pricing structure but one major problem: the limited trial period.
Hosting platforms usually come with a guarantee or trial period so that you can try them before you commit. Cloudways provides three days of free trial, and you can take advantage of that time to help you with the setup and migration.
This is not likely to matter if you are committed to cloud hosting. If you are just testing it, this may not matter to you.
Custom Backend
Most hosting companies offer an account area that allows you to access billing and account information. It will also include links to your actual server backend/dashboard.
Most hosting companies use cPanel for their server backend/dashboard. cPanel allows you to access your server’s backend/dashboard. You can install any application (e.g. WordPress), set up email addresses and get your FTP information for uploading files. It’s easy to use and most hosting companies use it. You can also get help online with it.
Cloudways doesn’t use this setup. Cloudways uses a proprietary backend to manage your account and server administration. Although it is seamless, it’s not something you can google or do yourself.
It is simplified, which allows Cloudways to offer a personalized experience. However, it is overwhelming and restricting. It is difficult to find the right place, and it feels too technical. This makes it hard for me to “focus” on my best work, which is running my business.
This adds to the complexity of a platform rather than making it simpler and more user-friendly.
Conclusion
Cloudways is a unique option for people who want the benefits of cloud hosting but don’t need to understand the details. Cloudways isn’t as simple as traditional hosting companies but it streamlines the process of setting up a cloud host.
Cloudways’ current plans and pricing
Cloudways is the best option for those who want the benefits of cloud hosting but don’t want the technical setup, fluctuating payment, and other hassles.
If you are looking for a reliable hosting company that is simple to use and can handle regular website traffic, then InMotion Hosting might be the best choice. They are affordable, reliable, and easy to use.
You might be more confused than ever about web hosting and website setup.
