What is Managed WordPress Hosting?
What is a managed WordPress site? To understand this, you first need to understand what hosting is in general. Website hosting refers to storing your website data on a public computer (called a server) to make it available to other people. That way, visitors can enter your website address to view your site in their browser.
Since very few people own servers themselves, the common way to do this is to rent space from so-called hosting providers (who in turn rent servers in data centers). These are companies whose job it is to provide you with the resources needed to host your site online. They usually offer different packages for hosting your website with different levels of service.
There are two main differences in this area: managed and unmanaged hosting: the latter is what most people go for. It simply means that you are given server space where you can place your website and that the provider ensures that the servers keep running. However, the rest is largely up to you. No one will manage the site upload for you, nor will they monitor or perform maintenance tasks for your site.
Managed hosting is when you choose a host that also takes over a large part of the management of your site. If you’re not sure what that means, this post goes into detail about managed hosting, explaining what it is and how it can help you. You will receive a full description of managed hosting, its benefits and a list of the best providers. You’ll also learn who these providers are, along with some highlights about each of them.
What is Managed WordPress Hosting?
What is managed hosting? Managed hosting means that a host offers various services along with server space, making running your site much easier.
While unmanaged hosting providers also offer plans with different features (e.g. different amounts of storage space or priority support), managed hosting goes much further.
With a managed WordPress website, your hosting provider takes over many of the tasks that would normally fall to the site owner. This includes things like updating your website, making backups, running security checks and monitoring it.
Services offered by managed WordPress hosting
The services that managed hosting providers offer typically include two different levels of management:
Server level management – This refers to the ins and outs of your WordPress hosting operating system. This means that a host’s team will handle and manage your website and provide support in the event that your website receives a surge of visitors resulting in a crash. Support can also help you if your site suffers from website errors or something much worse, like a hacker breach.
Application level management – More high-level technical services. These services include: performing website backups, performing updates, managing WordPress plugins, and implementing security measures to prevent cyber-attacks.
However, that’s not all. Managed hosting providers also usually help you get an edge on their service. When you purchase a hosting package from a provider, they guide you through the process of integrating your website on their servers.
So instead of having to navigate the hosting process alone, you’ll have someone by your side to help you.
Key Benefits of Managed WordPress Hosting
Unlike unmanaged hosting, managed hosting offers a number of advantages.
1. A dedicated support team
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest strengths of managed hosting is the hands-on approach that a team of experts will provide. Technical problems can occur on any website, which can take a lot of time and energy if you try to solve them yourself.
So having someone personally help you solve any problems you may have will take a load off your shoulders. These teams are usually available 24/7 to support you by answering any questions or concerns you may have.
Additionally, managed WordPress hosting providers typically only work with that specific platform. By focusing solely on WordPress, the support team has a higher level of knowledge than the average support team that manages several other platforms.
2. A refined hosting experience
Following on from the previous point, by focusing their efforts on one platform, a managed WordPress hosting provider can deliver an optimized environment tailored to working with WordPress. This results in higher levels of performance and uptime.
For example, on shared hosting you typically use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) along with caching plugins to ensure your pages load quickly. On the other hand, well-managed WordPress hosting providers will take care of this for you and guarantee fast page loading without any extra effort on your part.
3. Customized inspection and maintenance
Unlike support, having website services means that the host’s team regularly monitors your website and checks it for suspicious activity. They also take care of the maintenance of your site and can solve any technical problems. That’s why you can rest assured that there are people in the background already taking care of you, rather than seeing a problem and having to wait for support. This also saves you a lot of time.
For example, when there is a new critical WordPress update, you can trust the managed WordPress hosting provider to handle it on your behalf. They have a team that ensures that your website is not powered by outdated software that may be vulnerable to attacks.
4. Strong safety and security infrastructure
Managed hosting can provide a higher level of security. You may take very good care of your site, but what you may not have is a strategy for dealing with bugs, spam, or any cyber breaches that may arise. And if you’re the one primarily handling your site’s security, you may not have the same resources as a host’s team of experts.
This is an advantage with managed hosting because your host and their team already have a strategy and the capabilities to quickly and efficiently resolve any issues you may encounter. The host will likely implement preventive measures, monitor your website for suspicious activity, and perform regular WordPress backups to restore your website if something were to happen.
5. Regular backups are handled automatically
As we mentioned earlier, backups are the key to security, but we don’t always have the time to perform them regularly. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to a managed hosting provider’s plans and look at their process for backups. Some providers make nightly/daily backups, while other providers make weekly copies. You need to decide how often you want your website to be backed up and look for the option that suits what you want.
With a support team offering services such as backups, updates, increasing a website’s security and providing support, this will lead to your website running faster, smoother and more reliably.
Who should be your next managed WordPress hosting provider?
Independently managing all aspects of a WordPress website can be a daunting task. Unmanaged WordPress hosting is practically a part-time job. You need to constantly monitor your website, make regular backups, perform updates and much more.
It can be exhausting to handle everything yourself or even split it between you and someone else. If you are not a technical expert, it can also be frustrating to troubleshoot problems yourself. If you are running unmanaged hosting, you may have the option to seek support. But it can also take the form of an “FAQ” or sending an email and waiting for a response.
This is why managed hosting makes it easier. It takes away this stress with its dedicated support, list of services and increased security. Most managed hosting providers, as you can see, offer 24/7 contact support, so you can have any issues resolved quickly and efficiently by the host’s team.
That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best Managed WordPress hosting providers.
- Nick Schaeferhoff is a WordPress expert who writes for WP-Engine.