Background: Founded in 2011, Cloudways is a system integrator that helps people place their solutions on a variety of cloud platforms. Cloudways’ business model is rather unique – a web server hosting provider rather than a real one, they act as a platform as a service (PaaS) provider.
Starting price: $ 12
Currency: USD
Go online: https://www.cloudways.com/
Review summary and ratings : 5
Cloudways offers users a fair choice of different cloud platforms, from the highly affordable digital ocean to the expensive Amazon Web Services (AWS). This means that actual performance does not depend on the platform but on Cloudways.
Because they are in this unique position, what we will see more closely than actual performance is how they set up to manage the servers you are paying for. This includes features like dashboard UI design, firewall and content distribution network (CDN) and of course customer technical support.
Who Should Use Cloudways?
Cloudways are ideal for specific businesses – such as SaaS providers, start-ups, developers, or businesses that need more than just an informative website. Flexibility of scale in both server power and data transfer is invaluable for resilient sites that demand agility.
My experience with Cloudways
I have been using Cloudways for years. At the time of writing I am hosting 3 projects on two servers Cloudways, including this site (storiescover) you are reading. Hosting Cloudways on such a managed cloud platform is expensive (these usually cost 100% – 120% more) but it has many advantages that pure cloud hosting or traditional hosting providers cannot offer.
In this review, I will show how things work Share my thoughts about Cloudways and their services in detail.
If you are new to managed cloud hosting environment and are wondering if this is right for your website – this review is a good read.
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Professionals
- Fast and reliable server
- Integrated dashboard
- Strong addons
- Easy scalability
- Easy to collaborate
- Managed security
- No credit card required for free trial
- Free white glove site migration
Difficulty
- Limited server control
Exclusive: Free $ 10 credit with promo code “WHSR10”
Special deal for WHSR readers – you will receive $ 10 credit if you use promo code when signing up for “WHSR10”.
Apply promotional code “WHSR10” to get free $ 10 hosting credit Cloudways (click here to sign up now) The minimum Cloudways plan costs $ 12 per month – so when you sign up with our exclusive promotional code – you can test them for (almost) zero risk for 30 days.
Professionals: What I like about Cloudways Hosting
1. Impressive performance – fast and reliable
While it is true that I have so far experienced excellent performance on Cloudways servers it is the result of more infrastructure providers themselves. Each of them is bound to have its own performance advantage (and maybe even quirks!) So again, it’s very provider-dependent.
In my case – I’m using the digital ocean infrastructure and managing it through the Cloudways platform.
Cloudways Uptime for March, April and May 2022: 99.95%, 100% and 99.95%. Note that this “Cloudways-hosted” site is using digital ocean infrastructure.
Cloudways Uptime for May, June and July 2021: 100%, 100% and 99.93%. July downtime is partially affected by a scheduled maintenance. Hosted with Cloudways for several years – overall, their server performance has been great. But keep in mind that Cloudways does not own their infrastructure. The test site is actually hosted in the digital ocean and operated through Cloudways
2. Integrated dashboard
The fees you pay Cloudways to cover their management services and to pay for features like control platforms, service transfers, user dashboards and the like.
Because they are in this unique position, what we will see more closely than actual performance is how they set up to manage the servers you are paying for. It includes features like dashboard UI design, firewall and content distribution network (CDN) and of course customer support.
Fortunately, I did not give up. Cloudways’ integrated dashboard is powerful, highly user-friendly, and ideal for developers and / or agencies, or perhaps even companies that plan to operate a few of their own sites separately. They can offer each of their customers a choice of hosting platform which they can then manage from a single point.
Because in each Cloudways account users can purchase and set up multiple servers for their websites and applications – we need a systematic way for these users to work. Cloudways group users work in three categories: projects, servers, applications. I will show how their platform works in the following screenshots.
A project is a logical group of servers and applications that are somehow related (through campaigns, categories, geographic location, etc.). If you have many servers and applications, this is a convenient way to organize your account. When you first start with Cloudways – Login to your dashboard and add your first project by navigating to the “Projects” tab.
Once you’ve added a project to your account, proceed to purchase your first server and install an application. In this screenshot I am buying a Linux server and installing a WordPress Apply to it. Note that the monthly hosting fee is shown at the bottom of your page. When ready, click “Launch Now”.
Demo – Cloudways Platform – Adding a Server You will get different server customizations for different infrastructure providers. For Lynode, Vultr, and Digital Ocean – server packages are rather fixed and you can choose only the storage size and server locations. You get more options with Google Cloud Platform and Amazon AWS where you can customize your bandwidth, server storage size, database size and server location.
Cloudways Platform Demo Once your servers and applications are configured, you can navigate and manage them using the top navigation tabs. Under “Server” – you can manage master certificates, monitor server usage, scaling (or down) your server, perform full server backup and restore, and perform basic server security setup.
Under the Cloudways platform demo “Applications” – you can associate your project with a domain name, backup and restore your database, run cron work, monitor apps activity, install SSL certificate and set up Git deployment. If you work in a team, here you can add access to new team members.
3. Powerful add-on
Back to the point that Cloudways is an integrator, meaning that each platform can come with its own firewall as well as the Content Distribution Network (CDN). This is something that can be extremely helpful for new site Cloudways, which again reflects its usefulness for developers. It can literally be a one-stop-shop for pushing clients.
However, there is a caveat to this and that is that mature sites wanting to go to Cloudways will not find that helpful. For example, WHSR is already using its own CDN and firewall so we won’t benefit from moving away from them.
However, there are other functionalities that come with Cloudways, for example:
Easy cloning / staging / server transfer
Server Cloning In CloudwaysAt Cloudways platform server cloning, server migration, or application staging setup can all be done in one click. These features are especially useful for developers or organizations
GIT Ready
Automatic Git Deployment (Plug Deployment Logs) Automated Git Deployment (Plug Deployment Logs) – I tested deployment through GIT and it works like a wrist.
Server monitoring
Server Monitoring at Cloudways Server Monitoring at Cloudways – An easy chart to determine the exact time to upgrade.
Auto and on-demand backup
There are two types of backups in Cloudways – both features were all included in the Cloudways account. There are two types of backups in Cloudways – both features were included in all values Cloudways account is a complete server backup – which allows you to backup your entire server in a few clicks; Or you can back up or restore a specific application to your server. In this screenshot I am showing the Application Backup and Restore page. This is where you can create an on-demand backup for the application by clicking the “Backup Now” button; Or to restore your application by clicking the “Restore Application Now” button.
4. Easy scalability
One of the major benefits of cloud-based hosting is that their plans are highly affordable. This gives site owners potential for extreme agility, but usually needs to go through support or sales channels.
Cloudways allows you to scale your resources depending on which platform you choose when you sign up. Each platform has its own small features for scaling. For example, the digital ocean only allows upward scaling. If you want to scale down, it involves a lot more.
Cloudways in Vertical Scaling To scale up your server, select Server> Vertical Scaling> Custom Server Size.
5. Easy to collaborate
Cloudways has something called a ‘team’ feature that lets you add members to a collaborative group. This allows you to not only bring members together in one project but also separate their access into separate groups. For example, you can assign members support or someone else for cloud console access.
The Cloudways Team feature lets you create team members (s) with different levels of access to your accounts, servers, and applications.
6. Managed security
Again, returning to them as a system integrator, Cloudways takes good care of his account by overseeing security management. This is a very large load off site owner who signs up with them. Free SSL security patches from 1-click and installation to 2FA, here’s everything you need for most sites.
7. Free trial
When it comes to cloud hosting, it always helps to see what you need to prepare for yourself. In some ways, Cloudways is even more unique due to the Unified Dashboard that can link multiple cloud platforms.
This makes their free trial more attractive and you don’t even need a credit card to sign up for it. The trial gives you full access to all of their features, so that when you decide to sign up with them you will know exactly how and why you are shopping.
8. Free white glove site migration
I tried Cloudways Site Migration Support January 2019. My WordPress site was completely migrated in 2 days – all I did was provide my basic account information (domain name, SSH login, cipanel login, etc.) and other technical assistance. It was a smooth process.
Cloudways Site Migration Support Rock Cloudways Site Migration Support Rock!
Cons: What I dislike is Cloudways
1. Limited server control
It is a matter of debate whether it is good or not, but personally I have found that the lack of control over the server is inconvenient. From the date I noticed everything is leaning towards Cloudways environment developers, those limitations are even more surprising.
Cron work for something as basic as a set up, I had to go to the support staff for Cloudways Support. There was a pre-set form to fill out which was useful, but I still have to wait for it to be completed – wait a few days!
For beginners, it is helpful but for me or even many developers it will be a waste of time – their time which will be responsible for their clients.
Cloudways planning and pricing
Cloudways planning and pricing (checked January 2022) Cloudways planning and pricing (checked March 2022).
Because Cloudways is not an infrastructure provider, the billing price (as well as everything else) varies depending on your choice of Cloudways. There is a choice of five major platforms – Digital Ocean, Lynode, VULTR, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.
Digital Ocean comes with the cheapest stepping-off plan at $ 1 per month, including 12GB RAM, single processor core, 1GB storage and 25TB bandwidth for the raw price only. However, because all these cloud servers are virtually the limit of the sky that you can scale.
Cloudways price models have been explained
Regardless of the hosting price, it’s important to remember that no matter which platform you sign up for, Cloudways will pay you double if you sign up directly with them. This is not a scam, but the price you pay for many services is Cloudways for your convenience.
Cloudways option
The biggest reason to choose an alternative to the price of cloudways. It is understandable that money is spent on skills, research and development, even hardware. However, this extra cost does not always bring the maximum benefit to the users.
If you need a robust web hosting solution, Platform-to-Service (PaaS) models like Cloudways 100% are not always the ideal fit. Consider your needs carefully and look at the options available in the market before jumping into something that you can fight to get out of.
Cheap alternative Cloudways
Below are some popular shared hosting services for those looking for a cheaper alternative.
Shared hosting is widely accepted as an entry level hosting option because it requires minimal technical knowledge. Dislike Cloudways, which run on cloud infrastructure, the ability of a shared hosting to handle high traffic levels or spikes is very limited. Also, website performance can be easily affected by other sites on the same server.
| Web Host | Entry Plan | Mid-tier Plan | Trial Period | Order Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 TMD Hosting |
$ 2.95 / Months | $ 5.95 / Months | 60 Day | Available TMD Hosting |
 InterServer |
– | $ 2.50 / Months | 30 Day | Available InterServer |
 HostPapa |
$ 2.95 / Months | $ 3.95 / Months | 30 Day | Available HostPapa |
 Hostinger |
$ 1.39 / Months | $ 2.59 / Months | 30 Day | Available Hostinger |
 GreenGeeks |
$ 2.95 / Months | $ 5.95 / Months | 30 Day | Available GreenGeeks |
 A2 Hosting |
$ 3.92 / Months | $ 4.90 / Months | 30 Day | A2 Hosting |
VPS and similar cloud-based solutions Cloudways
- Kinsta (35 / MO) – Managed WordPress Hosting; The entry-level plan supports a WordPress site with up to 25,000 visits.
- ScalaHosting ($ 14.95 / MO) – Now in a new partnership with Digital Ocean and Amazon AWS, ScalaHosting has turned its business model into a PaaS drama – just like Cloudways.
- Interserver VPS ($ 6.00 / MO) – Using a combination of CentOS with Webuzo Control Panel, Interserver’s VPS plans are a much cheaper option for those with server admin experience.
Verdict: Are Cloudways Right For You?
From personal experience I found Cloudways to be a mixed experience The best thing about it for me was in terms of performance in the cloud infrastructure. It was easy to use and already has a ton of equipment.
Yet at the same time, I miss the control I got from traditional thematic VPS hosting.
The experience must be different depending on your individual situation as well as which provider or plan you currently have. I think that there is a core – a hit or miss depending on the cloud platform and everything else needed.
Who should Cloudways host with?
This platform seems to require more than just a simple “flyer” website for specific businesses such as sauce providers, start-ups, developers or businesses. The flexibility of the scale is invaluable in terms of both server power and data transfer for resilient sites that demand ingenuity.
At the same time, they have customer support who are ready to spoon feed you any solution you may have.
My two cents need to be carefully considered based on the Cloudways requirement. I don’t see this level of ability required to manage the most common business sites or blogs.