As a busy website owner, chances are you have a long to-do list. However, if you don’t find the time to perform day-to-day maintenance and optimization, then you could be heading for disaster.
Fortunately, there is a way to make running a successful website feel effortless – let someone else do all the hard work for you! By partnering with a managed hosting provider, you’ll get a premium service that’s specifically designed to make your life easier.
In this post, we’ll discuss what managed hosting is, and how it differs from other plans. We’ll then share six reasons why you may want to choose a managed WordPress hosting provider in 2024. Let’s get started!
An introduction to managed WordPress hosting
Every hosting provider is different, and may offer different types of services. For example, some web hosts may specialize in dedicated hosting for businesses, while others give customers a choice between shared, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), or dedicated servers. However, regardless of your provider, you can typically purchase WordPress hosting as either a managed or unmanaged service.
If you opt for unmanaged hosting, then your provider is responsible for maintaining and securing the server – and that’s typically the extent of their involvement. It’s your responsibility to maintain your WordPress website. This often includes performing vital tasks such as scanning your site for malware and creating regular backups.
Managed hosting is the polar opposite. With a managed WordPress plan, your provider will take a more hands-on approach to helping you build and run a successful WordPress website. Some web hosts even enhance their plans with features that are designed to make your site easier to maintain.
Top benefits of choosing managed WordPress hosting
Managed hosting plans can vary greatly between providers, so we’re not going to pretend that every company offers the exact same benefits. However, if you shop around and scrutinize each candidate carefully, you should have no problems finding the right hosting plan for your site. With that in mind, here are six reasons why you may want to opt for managed WordPress hosting in 2024.
1. Automated backups
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of creating regular backups. Without access to a recent backup, something as simple as a database error could wipe your site from the internet.
With a backup in your corner, this potential disaster becomes a minor inconvenience. You can simply hit restore, and your website will be back online:
Most website owners understand that creating regular backups is a must. However, when life gets busy, it’s far too easy to let ongoing maintenance slip to the bottom of your to-do list. This may not seem like a major problem – until it’s too late.
A managed WordPress hosting provider can handle this essential task for you. At Freshy, we perform file system backups daily and back up your database every hour. Even better, you can tell us when you want us to perform this task, and our team of experts will create a schedule to suit your needs:
When choosing a managed package, it’s also important to examine where your backups will be stored. If a provider stores your copy in one location only, then this represents a single point of failure. There’s always a chance this backup may be unavailable when you need it the most, or that it becomes corrupted.
At Freshy, we create multiple backups of your site across different sources, including Amazon S3 Cloud and a physical hard drive. In the extremely unlikely event that one backup is inaccessible, we’ll seamlessly fall back on our second source.
2. Speed optimization
When it comes to growing your audience, speed is everything. Studies suggest that 40 percent of people abandon a site that takes longer than three seconds to load. If your content is underperforming, then you might struggle to keep visitors on your site.
Performance can also dictate where you appear in the search engine results. Google has already confirmed that it uses page speed as a ranking factor. In addition, the search giant recently announced that it will take page experience signals into consideration when ranking websites.
This page experience project includes many performance-focused metrics, such as Largest Content Paint (LCP). LCP is how long it takes to render the largest content element on a webpage. If your hosting provider is slowing down your site, then you may struggle to meet this metric.
There are many different hosting providers on the market. However, you may experience a performance boost by opting for a managed provider that targets WordPress specifically:
Managed WordPress hosting companies will provide an environment that’s optimized for the world’s most popular Content Management System (CMS). This often translates to reduced page loading times and a smoother performance. At Freshy, we fine-tune our servers to provide lightning-fast performance for all of our WordPress customers, so you can impress Google and your visitors.
3. Enhanced security
WordPress is a popular target among hackers. During the first six months of 2021, the Wordfence Web Application Firewall blocked over 4 billion malicious requests. These are worrying statistics for any website owner:
Even worse, these are only the attacks that Wordfence has successfully blocked. Far too many hackers succeed and manage to wreak havoc across WordPress websites. In fact, when Wordfence surveyed WordPress users in 2020, 25 percent of respondents confirmed that they had dealt with a hacked site in the month before the survey.
Security is a huge concern for many website owners. However, with unmanaged plans it’s your responsibility to protect your site against these threats. While following security best practices can help fend off the bad guys, there’s no such thing as too much protection. By partnering with a managed hosting provider, you can add another layer of security to your website.
The right hosting provider will have guidelines, tools, and systems in place to lock down your site. For example, all of our Freshy hosting plans come with built-in privacy protection, plus a complimentary Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate.
4. Access to a team of WordPress experts
Even with an experienced WordPress hosting provider in your corner, you may still encounter problems from time-to-time. Here, customer support can help you resolve whatever issue you’re experiencing and restore your site to tip-top health.
Even if your website is running smoothly, you may have some ideas for optimizing or enhancing your site. Being able to discuss your needs with an expert can mean the difference between bringing your ideas to life, or falling at the first hurdle.
Many hosting plans include some level of customer support. However, by opting for managed WordPress hosting, you’ll have access to a team that specializes in your chosen platform:
At Freshy, all of our customer support staff are seasoned WordPress experts who have years of experience. If you need help with a quick edit, then our team is more than happy to step in and make these changes for you.
Whether it’s editing text, adjusting a photo, or tweaking a form, no change is too small:
We also understand that starting a new website can be daunting. That’s why we offer one hour of complimentary support to all of our customers.
5. Greater flexibility to customize your plan
With unmanaged hosting providers, you can typically expect to choose from a range of ready-made packages. This may include shared hosting, a VPS, or a dedicated server.
Many providers offer several tiers within each hosting category. For example, a plan may include a set number of databases, or a certain amount of Solid-State Drive (SSD) storage. These plans often target different categories of customers. For instance, unlimited storage is ideal for enterprises.
When it comes to hosting, every website’s requirements are unique. If you opt for a managed provider, then there may be some scope to customize your chosen package. This might include choosing which SSL certificate you want to use, or the amount of physical storage you require.
At Freshy, we can modify your hosting plan to meet your exact needs. This helps you ensure that you’re providing the best possible experience to your visitors, which is great news for your conversions. Moreover, since you aren’t paying for any unnecessary features or resources, you can be confident that you’re getting the very best value for money.
6. Scalability
As a website owner, your hosting needs can change over time. Your website may start to attract more traffic, or you might publish lots of high-resolution images and videos.
If your hosting plan can’t keep up with these growing demands, it may impact your website’s performance. Your typical internet user isn’t willing to wait around while your site loads, so this can be disastrous for your conversions and sales. Poor performance can also damage your search engine rankings.
At the other end of the scale, you may require less resources. This might be due to a downturn in traffic, or perhaps you overestimated your initial requirements. Paying for resources that you no longer require can be terrible for your bottom line.
With this in mind, you may struggle to turn a profit if your hosting provider refuses to adapt to meet your current needs. Depending on your choice of managed WordPress hosting provider, you may have lots of scope to adjust your plan.
At Freshy, we offer scalable hosting that grows with you. In this way, we can guarantee you’ll always have access to the resources you need in order to continue providing a good experience to your visitors. You can also avoid paying for services that you don’t need.
Conclusion
We’re not going to pretend that running a successful WordPress website is easy. However, a managed WordPress hosting provider does most of the work for you, including daily backups, site optimization, and regular updates.
By opting for a managed provider such as Freshy, you’ll benefit from rock-solid security and professional WordPress support. If you want to discuss how our team can design a hosting package that exceeds every item on your wishlist, then contact us today.
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