The Journey of Using VPS Hosting
When I first started in digital marketing, I experimented with several virtual hosting platforms and even bare VPS servers to build different types of websites. Each option had its unique advantages. For instance, when buying a virtual server on Alibaba Cloud, it was perfect for beginners. The setup was user-friendly, allowing for a simple, one-click installation process.
Whenever I talked with non-technical friends, they often thought that setting up a WordPress site was challenging. But once they took the first step and tried setting up the site themselves, they realized it wasn’t as complex as they had imagined.
Similarly, setting up a WordPress site on a VPS is not that difficult, especially if you use tools like the BaoTa panel. This tool allows for a one-click installation process and provides a visualized backend to manage everything easily. While VPS requires more hands-on management compared to virtual hosting, it gives you greater control over configurations.
A good analogy I once read on the internet explained the difference between cloud hosting and VPS hosting well. Think of VPS as renting a room in a house, where each room has its kitchen and bathroom, while cloud hosting is like renting the entire house.
Currently, I’ve moved all my websites to Cloudways. Cloudways optimizes the hosting experience by handling everything from caching to SSL installation and server scaling. This makes managing websites much more efficient.
Introduction to Cloudways
Founded in 2012, Cloudways offers cloud hosting services by connecting users to leading cloud providers such as Amazon, Google, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr. The platform provides top-tier security and performance optimization features for websites, all with flexible pricing models.
Cloudways helps users by offering server locations closer to their target audience, which improves site performance and provides better uptime.
Cloudways Discount Codes & Promotions
Whenever I purchase hosting or services, I always check if there are any discounts or promo codes available. The same applied when I signed up for Cloudways. During special promotions or campaigns, using discount codes can result in significant savings.
For example, at the time of this writing, new users who sign up through this link can receive $25 in Hosting Credits.
How Cloudways Fits Different Website Types
Using Cloudways to set up websites is incredibly simple. Many non-technical users often think website building is complex and requires a lot of technical expertise. However, Cloudways simplifies the entire process, making it accessible to everyone.
Creating Business Websites
For B2B websites, especially for companies dealing with less than 10,000 monthly visitors, Cloudways or traditional hosts like SiteGround or Bluehost are great options. These platforms offer easy-to-use visual dashboards or advanced management features depending on the user’s experience level.
Building WordPress Info Sites
For those building niche content sites using WordPress, Cloudways provides excellent performance. It offers better speed, uptime, and management compared to setting up WordPress on a bare VPS.
In fact, with Cloudways, you can host multiple websites on a single cloud server, making it a cost-effective choice for managing different types of niche sites.
Creating WooCommerce E-commerce Sites
Besides niche content sites, Cloudways is also an excellent option for building e-commerce websites using WooCommerce. E-commerce websites often require more robust hosting, and if you’re not planning to go the SEM (search engine marketing) route, focusing on SEO is key.
WooCommerce + SEO is an ideal strategy for those with smaller budgets. You can set up multiple WooCommerce sites with different product categories on a single Cloudways server, which allows you to test the viability of different products without breaking the bank.
Building Affiliate Marketing Sites with WordPress
In addition to e-commerce and content sites, Cloudways is also well-suited for setting up affiliate marketing websites using WordPress. Affiliate marketing is a mature industry in the digital marketing world, particularly for freelancers.
Affiliate marketing involves promoting products or services from various companies (which could be anything from e-commerce, software, apps, services, or platforms) and earning commissions when users make purchases through your referral links.
Cloudways offers optimized performance for WordPress affiliate sites, providing features like speed optimization, backups, and rollbacks that are particularly useful for maintaining site performance and security.
Setting Up and Managing Servers on Cloudways
Signing Up for Cloudways
Cloudways is an excellent choice for users who need flexibility and performance. However, signing up for Cloudways is a bit more involved than other hosting services. To start, visit the Cloudways website and click on the Start Free button in the top-right corner to create an account.
After filling out your basic information, you’ll need to go through a verification process. This involves sending a simple activation request to the Cloudways team via email. You’ll need to provide basic details, such as your name and email, and submit the request for manual approval.
Once you’ve been verified, Cloudways will send a confirmation email, and you’ll be ready to start setting up your hosting environment.
Using Cloudways Discount Codes
At the time I signed up, I used an exclusive link, which gave me $25 to $30 in free hosting credits after verifying my payment details. These credits were enough to test the platform for two to three months.
You can find the registration link here, and you’ll have the option to pay via PayPal or credit card.
Why I Chose Cloudways Over Traditional VPS Hosting
Pay-As-You-Go Billing
One of the reasons I love Cloudways is its pay-as-you-go billing model. This flexibility is especially helpful for testing and setting up different types of websites. You only pay for the resources you use, which makes it a great option for freelancers and small businesses looking to scale without committing to a long-term contract.
Superior Performance
Before migrating my websites to Cloudways, I spoke with several developer friends who were already using the platform. Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and they highly recommended it for its performance and ease of use, particularly for users with a technical background.
24/7 Customer Support
Another standout feature of Cloudways is its 24/7 customer support. They offer assistance through live chat, support tickets, and a comprehensive knowledge base, which can be accessed directly from the dashboard.
For non-native English speakers, you can use translation tools like Google Translate to communicate with the support team, as they are typically very responsive and accommodating.
Automatic Website Speed Optimization
Cloudways automatically optimizes your website for speed, which is critical for user experience and SEO. There are three popular tools to measure website speed:
- PageSpeed Insights (by Google)
- GTmetrix
- Pingdom
For example, my Cloudways-hosted niche content site scored a 98/100 in Google’s PageSpeed Insights, and SEO scored a perfect 100 after optimization. Similarly, GTmetrix gave my site an A grade with near-perfect performance scores.
You can test your own website’s speed using these tools and make improvements to enhance both user experience and search engine rankings.
Clone Sites with the Staging Environment
Cloudways also provides a staging environment, which is incredibly useful for developers and site owners. The staging feature allows you to create an exact copy of your website to test new plugins, themes, or code updates without affecting the live site.
Once everything looks good in the staging environment, you can push the updates live with a single click.
Automatic Backups
One of the most critical features of Cloudways is its automatic backup system. You can set up backups to occur daily, weekly, or even monthly, depending on your needs.
Having an automatic backup system in place is crucial for protecting your website from data loss. In case you accidentally break something while installing plugins or modifying code, you can quickly restore your site to a previous backup version with minimal hassle.
User-Friendly Management Dashboard
Once you get familiar with the Cloudways management dashboard, you’ll find it incredibly intuitive. The dashboard provides access to key management tools like IP blocking (for protecting your site from malicious traffic), backups, restores, and even Git deployment for developers who manage source code.
This ease of use makes Cloudways a great option for both technical users and those who prefer a more hands-on approach to managing their websites.
One-Click WordPress Installation
Setting up a WordPress site with Cloudways is extremely simple. The platform has a built-in one-click installer for WordPress, which means even non-technical users can get a site up and running quickly.
Just select WordPress from the Server Management module, choose the server location closest to your audience, and let Cloudways handle the rest. This automation saves you from manually setting up databases, configuring web servers, or tweaking other settings that would otherwise require technical expertise.
Optimized for WooCommerce
Not only does Cloudways offer one-click installation for WordPress, but it also provides WooCommerce optimization. WooCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms, and Cloudways has built-in configurations that make it run smoothly right out of the box.
For those who want to create an online store without using Shopify, WooCommerce offers much more flexibility at a lower cost, and Cloudways ensures your store runs fast and reliably.
Integrated Magento Support
Magento is a powerful eCommerce platform but is notoriously difficult to set up and manage on your own. However, Cloudways simplifies this process by offering one-click Magento installation.
In my experience, setting up Magento manually on a VPS can lead to a host of problems, especially if you’re not familiar with PHP and web server management. With Cloudways, you can skip all of the complexities and get a fully optimized Magento store online in minutes.
Developer-Friendly Tools
Cloudways is a fantastic choice for developers, as it comes with built-in tools that simplify workflows. For example, Cloudways offers Git integration, allowing you to manage your codebase and deploy changes to your live server effortlessly.
This is particularly useful if you’re managing a team or running multiple sites. You can track all changes to your site’s code, ensuring that any issues can be easily rolled back if necessary.
Easy Migration from Other Hosts
If you’re already hosting your site with another provider like SiteGround or Bluehost, migrating to Cloudways is incredibly easy. Cloudways offers a WordPress migration plugin called Cloudways WordPress Migrator, which simplifies the entire process.
Once the plugin is installed and activated, you just need to input your Cloudways server details, and the migration happens seamlessly in the background. No manual database exports or file transfers are required.
Free SSL Certificates
With security being a top priority, Google now mandates that all websites use HTTPS. Cloudways provides free SSL certificates through Let’s Encrypt, ensuring that your website is secure and compliant with modern web standards.
What’s more, Cloudways will automatically renew your SSL certificates, meaning you never have to worry about expiring certificates or manual renewals again.
Team Collaboration and Role-Based Access
As your business grows, you may find yourself needing to collaborate with others. Cloudways makes this easy by offering role-based access, meaning you can grant specific permissions to team members based on their roles.
For example, you can allow developers to access the backend for technical tasks while giving writers or marketers limited access to only the WordPress dashboard. This flexibility is crucial for businesses that need to scale efficiently.
Downsides of Using Cloudways
While Cloudways offers a lot of advantages, there are a few downsides to consider.
Strict Registration Process
Cloudways’ registration process is stricter than that of most other hosting providers. Instead of simply signing up and providing your payment details, you must undergo a verification process that includes emailing the Cloudways team to activate your account manually.
While this might seem like an inconvenience, it’s designed to filter out spammers and bad actors, ensuring that only legitimate users gain access to the platform.
No cPanel or Email Hosting
Unlike traditional hosting providers, Cloudways does not offer cPanel or integrated email hosting. This means that if you’re used to managing your websites through cPanel or need email hosting, you’ll have to look for alternative solutions.
There are, however, plenty of third-party email services you can integrate, such as G Suite or Zoho Mail, which offer more advanced email features than most cPanel-based hosts.
Pricing is Higher Than VPS
The advanced features and optimizations that Cloudways provides do come at a cost. Cloudways is more expensive than standard VPS hosting, as you’re essentially paying for convenience and performance improvements.
For more budget-conscious users or those just starting out, this could be a drawback. However, for established businesses or developers who need robust features, the higher price is justified.
Advanced Features Require Technical Knowledge
While Cloudways makes hosting easy for beginners, its more advanced features, such as setting up custom SMTP for email or using the Git integration, require a certain level of technical know-how.
If you’re new to website development or server management, you may need to invest some time in learning these features or hire a developer to manage them for you.
Advanced Uses of Cloudways in Digital Marketing
Cloudways isn’t just for simple websites—it also excels in more advanced digital marketing use cases, such as building and managing WordPress multisite networks.
WordPress Multisite Networks
For those running multiple WordPress sites, managing each one individually can become a hassle. However, Cloudways allows you to easily set up and manage WordPress multisite networks, which lets you control multiple sites from a single dashboard.
This is particularly useful if you’re running a network of niche websites or a portfolio of affiliate sites. You can update themes, plugins, and content across all sites from one location, saving you time and effort.
Managing Multiple WordPress Sites
Managing multiple WordPress sites manually can be incredibly time-consuming. Luckily, Cloudways provides the tools necessary to streamline this process. You can use a plugin like MainWP Dashboard to manage updates, backups, and security across all of your WordPress sites from a single interface.
I’ve found this to be extremely useful, especially when running multiple sites with similar themes or plugins. With MainWP Dashboard, you can schedule updates, bulk manage plugins, and keep track of your site health all from one central location.
Using Git for Version Control
One of the most powerful tools that Cloudways offers for developers is Git integration. If you’re familiar with Git, you know how essential it is for managing code, tracking changes, and rolling back updates if something breaks.
Cloudways makes it easy to integrate your site with a Git repository (like GitHub or Bitbucket), allowing you to push changes live with a simple command. This is particularly useful for development teams or anyone managing a site with regular code updates.
You can also use Git to set up automatic deployments, ensuring that every time you push changes to your Git repository, those changes automatically update your live site. This is especially useful for larger projects where multiple developers are working on different features at the same time.
Easy Migration from Other Hosts
Migrating your site to Cloudways from other hosting providers is a breeze. Whether you’re coming from SiteGround, Bluehost, or another host, Cloudways has a built-in WordPress Migration Plugin that makes the process painless.
All you need to do is install the Cloudways WordPress Migrator plugin on your current site, enter your Cloudways server details, and let the tool handle the rest. Within minutes, your entire site (including all files, databases, and configurations) will be transferred to Cloudways with no downtime.
This seamless migration process was one of the major reasons I decided to move all of my sites to Cloudways. I didn’t have to worry about losing any data or running into complications along the way.
Automatic HTTPS and SSL Certificates
In today’s internet landscape, securing your site with HTTPS is no longer optional. Google now penalizes sites that don’t use SSL, and visitors are less likely to trust a website that’s flagged as insecure.
Cloudways makes it incredibly easy to set up SSL certificates on your site. In fact, Cloudways offers free SSL certificates through Let’s Encrypt, which can be set up automatically with just a few clicks. Once set up, the SSL certificate will renew itself, ensuring that your site stays secure without any manual intervention on your part.
I’ve personally appreciated this feature, as I’ve run into issues in the past with SSL certificates expiring and disrupting my sites. With Cloudways, this is no longer a concern.
Cloudways for Team Collaboration
If you’re running a business or working with a team, Cloudways offers team collaboration features that let you assign different roles and permissions to different users.
For example, you can grant your developers full access to the backend of the server while limiting your content team’s access to just the WordPress dashboard. This makes it easy to collaborate on projects without worrying about anyone accidentally breaking something on the server.
Additionally, Cloudways’ role-based access control allows you to keep your server secure by giving each team member only the access they need to do their job.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Cloudways has been a game-changer for me in terms of hosting performance, ease of use, and flexibility. Whether you’re a developer managing multiple sites, an entrepreneur building an eCommerce store, or a digital marketer running affiliate sites, Cloudways offers a tailored solution that meets a wide range of needs.
The platform’s combination of high performance, scalability, and advanced features make it an excellent choice for anyone serious about their online presence. Plus, with their pay-as-you-go pricing model, you’re never paying for more resources than you actually use, which is perfect for growing businesses.
If you’re ready to take your website to the next level, I highly recommend giving Cloudways a try. With a free trial and no long-term commitment, it’s easy to see for yourself why so many people are making the switch to Cloudways.
