[Hidden-tech] Alternative to SiteGround?

[Sam McClellan]

One thing that's not being discussed specifically so far is managed 
WordPress hosting. WordPress is a complex script running a lot of 
complex scripts (plugins) and is susceptible to malware so it needs 
needs to be updated at least every few months and it needs fast, secure 
hosting which is set up specifically for WordPress to perform well and 
be secure. This can include:

  * A faster webserver than regular Apache, such as LiteSpeed or nginx,
    that is "tuned" for best WordPress performance.
  * Fast SSD drives rather than regular hard drives.
  * Server-level caching and the ability to easily add your site to a
    content delivery network (CDN) for increased speed and to lower your
    server load.
  * DDoS protection which keeps a network attack from bringing down your
    site.
  * Daily offsite backups.
  * Regular malware scans.
  * Free SSL certificates.

There are two tiers of managed WordPress hosting.

One is regular shared hosting that is optimized for WordPress, of which 
SiteGround, FastComet, Bluehost, GoDaddy and others are examples. 
Usually they are normal web hosting companies that offer specific plans 
for WordPress.

Then there are so called VIP companies that are more in the range of an 
IT team for your site and, of course, cost more than normal hosting. 
These include WP Engine, Kinsta, Flywheel, and us (Itabix) that go above 
just hosting and essentially partner with you to make sure your website 
is live and optimized. They typically include a staging site, assist in 
site setup and security hardening, and will usually migrate your site 
from another hosting provider at no charge, and generally take over the 
tasks of managing a WordPress website to a lesser or greater degree.

One way to tell the difference is if you run into problems. The regular 
hosts will offer advice and fix issues with their service and may or may 
not pull a backup if you get into trouble, but they won't step in and 
work on your WordPress site if it has issues - you are responsible for 
it. If you get hacked, they will typically give you a deadline to get it 
fixed or they will shut you off. If it breaks, beyond restoring a backup 
you are on your own.

A VIP hosting company should step in and help you get your site up and 
running again. They will handle updates to your site, and fix it if 
something goes wrong. They are WordPress experts that you can call on if 
you have a problem or a question.

As far as updating your site, our experience is that WordPress updates 
fail about 1 in every 40 times - obviously more complex sites with lots 
of plugins fail more often. They are also more likely to fail if it's 
been a long time since the last update. A VIP hosting company takes 
measures to avoid that - either the ability to quickly pull a backup if 
it fails and/or by testing updates on a staging site first.

We recommend staging site updates to anyone managing their own WP 
installation. You make a copy of the site and update there first, then 
if it tests well you update the main site. If you're hosted by a company 
using cPanel, it includes the ability to clone your site to a staging 
site, otherwise there are plugins like Duplicator that will make it 
relatively easy to make a copy of your site. Typically you install it in 
a subdirectory like www.yoursite.com/wp-staging, we prefer to create a 
subdomain that points to a directory outside of the main site's 
directory so that it's completely separate and isn't vulnerable to 
hacking if the main site is hacked.

I'd welcome any additions or other opinions.

Sam



*Sam McClellan*

**

*Itabix, Inc*

**

*one place for all things **web***

**

*sam at itabix.com*

**

*https://itabix.com*

**

*Main - 413.587.4600*

**

*Toll-free - 877-7ITABIX (877.748.2249) *


On 3/24/2021 4:00 PM, RA Cohen via Hidden-discuss wrote:
>
> Try fastcomet.com
>
> Not the cheapest around, but I've had very good experience with them 
> with a highly-themed and plugged-in WordPress site.
>
> -Roy
>
> -- 
> Roy A Cohen CEO
> 413-223-9007 opt 1
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