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Are you in search of a dependable, scalable, and user-friendly hosting solution? Cloudways is a notable choice that has garnered considerable recognition.
In this comprehensive review, we will explore what Cloudways offers, the types of content you can host on it, its standout features, benefits, drawbacks, customer support, pricing details, and the audience that would benefit most from using it.
What is Cloudways?
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that simplifies hosting web applications on various cloud providers. You can host your sites on popular cloud infrastructures, including AWS, Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean. With Cloudways, you can leverage the capabilities of these cloud giants without requiring extensive technical expertise.
What You Can Host at Cloudways?
Cloudways offers hosting solutions for a wide range of applications, including:
- WordPress: Ideal for bloggers, businesses, and developers looking for a flexible and scalable WordPress hosting environment.
- Magento: Designed to support the needs of e-commerce websites with robust performance and security.
- Laravel: Perfect for web developers who prefer the PHP framework Laravel for building web applications.
- Drupal: A reliable choice for content-heavy websites and communities.
- Joomla: Suitable for creating a variety of websites, from personal blogs to corporate portals.
- PHP: For developers who require a versatile environment to run custom PHP applications.
Key Cloudways Features
- Multi-Cloud Support: Choose from five leading cloud providers including Digital Ocean, Amazon, and Google, offering flexibility and scalability.
- Data Recovery: Restore deleted servers or applications within 15 days of deletion, ensuring data security.
- Cloudflare Integration: Add Cloudflare Enterprise for just $4.95/month to enhance website performance and security.
- SafeUpdates: Opt for the SafeUpdates addon at $3/app/month, ensuring smooth application updates without disruptions.
- Disk Management: Benefit from automatic and manual disk cleanup, optimizing server performance and storage.
- Caching Options: Implement server-level caching and customize Varnish settings for efficient content delivery.
- Robust Security: Enjoy a dedicated firewall, whitelist IPs for SFTP/SSH and MySQL, and automated offsite backups for enhanced security.
- Application Management: Host an unlimited number of applications on a single server and launch multiple apps with one-click ease.
- User-Friendly Operations: Perform 1-Click operations for server management, cloning, monitoring, scaling, and more, simplifying administrative tasks.
- CRON Job Manager: Effectively manage server CRON jobs to automate tasks and processes.
- Staging Environment: Facilitate development with a developer-friendly staging environment for testing and refinement.
- Managed Security and Backups: Trust Cloudways for managed security and backup solutions, ensuring data integrity.
- Performance Monitoring: Receive notifications for 16 server metrics, keeping you informed about your server’s health.
- Flexible Pricing: Embrace a pay-as-you-go pricing model, allowing cost control and scalability as needed.
- Collaboration Tools: Enhance teamwork with features designed for seamless collaboration among team members.
- Client Billing: Easily transfer servers and billing to clients, streamlining the management of multiple projects.
Cloudways offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to cater to a wide range of hosting needs, making it a compelling choice for businesses and developers alike.
Cloudways WordPress Stack
- Web Servers: Cloudways employs a powerful combination of Apache, Nginx, and Varnish to ensure optimal website performance and delivery.
- Caching Technologies: Benefit from advanced caching solutions like Varnish, Memcached, or Redis, enhancing the speed and responsiveness of your WordPress site.
- PHP Support: Cloudways supports PHP, a crucial component for running dynamic and interactive WordPress websites.
- Database Options: Choose between MySQL or MariaDB for reliable and efficient database management.
- Storage Technology: The infrastructure is powered by Solid State Drives (SSDs), guaranteeing lightning-fast data access and retrieval.
Cloudways’ robust WordPress stack provides a solid foundation for hosting and managing WordPress websites with speed, stability, and scalability in mind.
Benefits of Choosing Cloudways
- Scheduled Maintenance Control: Set your preferred times for server maintenance, including OS updates, security enhancements, and optimizations, ensuring minimal disruption to your operations.
- Global Reach: Access multiple server locations across various cloud providers, providing geographical flexibility and redundancy options.
- Enhanced Performance: Benefit from HTTP/2 support, leading to faster website loading times and improved user experiences.
- Server Management: Enjoy full control over server operations, including starting, stopping, cloning, and restarting servers, giving you flexibility and adaptability.
- Performance Monitoring: Access insightful performance graphs displaying real-time data on traffic, RAM usage, CPU load, and more, enabling informed decision-making.
- Service Restart: Easily restart essential services such as Apache, Memcached, MySQL, New Relic, Nginx, PHP FPM, and Varnish for fine-tuning server performance.
- Version Selection: Choose your preferred PHP and MySQL versions to match your application’s requirements and compatibility.
- MariaDB Support: Opt for MariaDB in place of MySQL for a modern and robust database management option.
- Backup Customization: Tailor backup schedules and retention periods to meet your data protection needs, ensuring data integrity.
- Varnish Configuration: Exclude specific URLs and cookies from Varnish caching, allowing you to optimize the caching process for your unique website.
- TLS Version Control: Select the desired TLS version to enhance website security and compatibility with your audience.
- Security Measures: Strengthen server security by disabling direct access to the server IP and permitting access only to specific IP addresses for SSH/SHTP.
- SSL Integration: Easily install Let’s Encrypt or custom SSL certificates to establish secure connections for your websites.
- SSH Terminal Access: Launch an SSH terminal directly in your browser, simplifying server management tasks.
- PHP Customization: Modify PHP settings to suit your application’s requirements, ensuring optimal performance.
- Git Deployment: Streamline your development workflow by deploying applications via Git integration.
- Complimentary Object Cache Pro: Receive a free Object Cache Pro, valued at US $95, to accelerate your website loading times and deliver an improved user experience.
Cloudways empowers you with a suite of features and controls that enhance server performance, security, and customization, making it an excellent choice for hosting and managing your web applications.
Cloudways Application Metrics
- Traffic Insights: Gain valuable insights into your website’s traffic, including IP requests, bot traffic analysis, URL requests, and HTTP status codes. Understand how users interact with your site.
- PHP Page Analytics: Monitor requested PHP pages, running processes, and identify slow-performing pages. Optimize your application’s efficiency and user experience.
- Database Performance: Track the number of MySQL connections and identify slow queries. Ensure your database operates smoothly and efficiently.
- CRON Job Monitoring: Keep an eye on currently running CRON jobs to manage automated tasks effectively and maintain task scheduling.
- Disk Usage Analysis: Monitor disk usage by your applications and databases. Ensure efficient storage management and allocate resources effectively.
- Access Logs: Access Apache, Nginx, and PHP access logs for in-depth analysis and troubleshooting. Diagnose issues and enhance server performance based on detailed log data.
Cloudways provides comprehensive application metrics that empower you to make data-driven decisions, optimize your application’s performance, and ensure seamless operation.
Drawbacks of Using Cloudways
- Limited Root Access: Cloudways restricts root access to servers. While this limitation enhances security, it may limit advanced users who require more control and customization.
- Lack of Custom Cache Headers: Cloudways does not provide the ability to set custom cache headers for static files. This can be a limitation for users who need fine-grained control over caching strategies.
- No Server-Level Redirects: Server-level redirects are not available within Cloudways, which may require users to implement redirects through alternative methods or scripts. This can be an inconvenience for those who rely on server-level redirects for specific configurations.
Despite these limitations, Cloudways offers many benefits, and these drawbacks may not be significant concerns for all users, especially those looking for managed and user-friendly hosting solutions.
Cloudways Support
- Support Channels: Cloudways offers customer support through both live chat and a ticket system for all users.
- Priority Levels: Users of the free version receive support with normal priority.
- Premium Support: For those seeking higher-priority support, Cloudways offers a premium support option starting at $100 per month with a 6-month commitment. This premium support ensures faster response times and priority assistance for your hosting needs.
Who Should Host at Cloudways?
Cloudways is an excellent choice for:
- Semi-Developers with Technical Expertise: Individuals who possess some technical skills and familiarity with web development but prefer a managed hosting environment.
- Time-Conscious Users: Those who want to save time on the server’s setup, maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting, allowing them to focus more on their core projects.
- Technology Enthusiasts: Users who embrace new technologies and seek hosting solutions that stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in the field.
- Pay-As-You-Go Advocates: Individuals who appreciate the flexibility of a pay-as-you-go pricing model, which allows them to scale their resources as needed and manage costs efficiently.
Cloudways caters to this audience by offering a user-friendly, managed cloud hosting platform that combines convenience and control.
How much does Cloudways Cost?
- Digital Ocean: Cloudways offers plans starting as low as $10, which includes the cost of the Digital Ocean server as well as bandwidth usage.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS plans on Cloudways begin at $36.51, excluding bandwidth costs.
- Google Cloud: Google Cloud plans start at $33.30, excluding bandwidth charges.
- Offsite Backups: You’ll incur an additional cost of $0.50 per GB per server per month for offsite backups.
- Transactional Emails: Sending transactional emails costs $0.10 for every 1,000 emails sent.
- Rackspace Email: Cloudways offers Rackspace email services for an additional $1 per month.
For optimal performance when selecting DigitalOcean, it’s recommended to consider a server configuration with at least 2 virtual CPUs (vCPU) and 4GB of RAM. Keep in mind that pricing may vary based on your specific requirements and usage patterns.
Cloudways Promo Code
Use code KUNALDESAI to get 10% off for 3 months when you register your account.
Conclusion
Cloudways offers a robust, managed multi-cloud hosting solution with a range of features that cater to both beginners and experienced users. Its performance, ease of use, and flexibility make it a compelling choice for hosting a variety of web applications. If you value performance, scalability, and a hassle-free hosting experience, Cloudways is certainly worth considering.
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