Cloudways Hosting Review: Fast, Reliable, Secure (Best WordPress)

Fast is king. Cloudways is a cloud-based managed web hosting provider and one of the best for hosting WordPress websites. Affordable, and simple to set up website hosting too.

Looking to upgrade to a new web hosting provider that is faster and more secure, or just starting out and searching for a web host for your brand new WordPress site?

Cloudways Cloud hosting is a major advancement in the world of web hosting. Cloudways provides users with an easy and cost-effective way to host their website, without having to worry about managing servers and dealing with all the technical issues that come in the way.

Cloudways have become popular for their simplicity and affordability. In this article, we will review Cloudways, what it is, how it works, and why you should use Cloudways when you’re looking to purchase hosting for your website.

And check out my article on Web Hosting Basics You Need To Know | Learn More, where I cover the differences in cloud, shared, VPS, or dedicated server offerings. I also explain what managed hosting means and why you would want to use it. Are looking for other technical information guides, I’ve got you covered with my other articles too.

Best Hosting Services For WordPress – Buyers Guide

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

What Is Cloudways?

Cloudways is a managed cloud-based hosting provider company. They are not just for WordPress sites either, run an e-commerce website, Joomla, Drupal, and many others.

Certainly, you want a fast and secure web host provider for your WordPress or e-commerce website. Most hosting companies offer a shared or VPS server offering where both reside on server hardware and vie for that server’s resources. Cloud hosting is different which makes it stand out.

See the 4 ways that Cloudways cloud-based hosting is different.

#1 Cloudways Is Choice

Their focus is all about providing choices to their customers. As a customer, I am able to create the server and size I need as well as the location of the server. Plus, I can scale up as I grow.

  • Choice of server size, location, and among 5 server providers.
  • DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud.
  • Choice of applications and number of applications(unlimited).
  • Choice of scalability, use only what you need.
  • Choice in a pay-as-you-go model, no contract.
  • Cloudways doesn’t limit the number of websites included in your plan.
  • Launch as many as you want.

5 Host Providers – WordPress hosting on top IaaS providers ensures maximum performance, security, and high availability.

#2 Cloudways Is Fast Web Hosting

Cloudways is cloud-based, meaning it takes the VPS(virtual private server) model and distributes it across many clustered hardware components. Built-in redundancy and ease of scalability are part of the beauty of cloud-based hosting.

Cloud hosting is highly scalable allowing you to add resources on demand. High redundancy means near-zero server downtime, and performance is generally improved with this type of distributed computing environment.

400–600 milliseconds (about 0.5 seconds) loading speed and nearly 100% uptime is achievable by Cloudways because of their managed cloud-based model.

What’s more, Cloudways offers several server-level caching resources, such as Varnish, for you to employ. They take care of everything for you and servers can load as fast as 37ms! And, they offer several application-level caching resources, such as the Breeze plug-in.

Another difference with Cloudways is during set up you can select the data center closest to your customers or the location of your choice, such as the U.S. or India to name just two. And they offer a CDN for another performance boost as well.

Performance – SSD Hosting, Built-in Cache, Optimized Stack, Breeze Cache Plugin.

#3 Cloudways Is Support And Security

Contact Cloudways support online or by phone for any issue. Part of the dashboard displays the security functions and shows you a list of blocked requests or bad actors trying to gain access to your server.

  • 24/7/365 free online support.
  • Free SSL certificates.
  • One free site migration handled by Cloudways.
  • Backup and restore from server and application side.
  • Dedicated firewalls and IP whitelisting.
  • Two-factor authentication and bot protection.

Because it is cloud-based hosting, Cloudways replicates your content across clustered hardware components. This results in redundancy, performance improvements, and near-perfect uptime.

Security – Dedicated Firewalls, SSL Certificates, log-in and Database Security, IP Whitelisting.

#4 Cloudways Is Flexible Pricing

No contracts are a big plus with Cloudways, you just pay-as-you-go where you only pay for what was used. But they are upfront with the pricing costs so you do know what to expect and you are able to check the real-time billing amount.

  • Real-time billing and pay-as-you-go.
  • No contracts to keep you locked in.
  • Plans start at $10/mo. and come with the same features as the more expensive plans, just the server size is smaller.

Of course, there are many more features and benefits I just wasn’t able to list here, but you get the picture. I think Cloudways provides everything anyone would want or need when choosing a web hosting company.

Pay-As-You-Go – Host unlimited WordPress websites and pay only for the server at the end of the month.

Cloudways Is Managed WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress hosting is a type of hosting where the hosting provider takes care of all the aspects of website hosting, including security, speed, updates, and backups. In other words, they handle the website and server-related issues while giving you a hassle-free experience.

This makes it a good option for those who don’t have time or experience to manage all of this themselves.

Cloudways is an excellent provider of cloud-based hosting services. They make it simple for you to get your website up and running in no time, without all the usual hassles related to web hosting.

Cloudways also offers excellent customer service, as well as top-of-the-line security features to keep your website safe.

Fast, Simple Cloud Hosting

Choosing a new hosting provider for your website can be a difficult decision. That’s when a FREE trial makes life easier.

This is a great solution and the best web hosting for beginners because the Admin. panel is so easy to use and the free trial allows you to explore the site without making a commitment. Cloudways is fast, secure, and inexpensive hosting for WordPress sites.

No credit card is required, just a free 3-day trial to explore and set up your own WordPress or other application you choose. That’s exactly what I did and haven’t looked back since.

Test out Cloudways web hosting for yourself with their FREE 3-day trial. There is no obligation and no credit card required. See how easy it is. Click the button below.

Cloudways Pricing

You start by picking the server size you need. Cloudways pricing starts at $10/mo. for a server on the DigitalOcean platform. As you can see from the image below, a similar-sized server from Vultr is just $11/mo.

What you need to do is evaluate how much storage space you will need and decide where you would like the server to be located.

  • Cloudways has some 62 data centers across 33 cities to select from.
  • There are 5 server providers to choose from, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud. Cloudways offers a pay-as-you-go model so you are not locked into a contract.
Cloudways Plan Pricing Chart

Cloud Hosting Vs. Traditional Hosting

How does Cloudways differ from traditional hosting? Well, as I said above, Cloudways is cloud-based hosting whereas most other traditional hosting providers employ shared hosting or virtual private server(VPS) hosting.

I’ve found that with Cloudways, I get faster speeds right off the bat. Plus, there is more storage and bandwidth(1TB) at better prices. And you can add as many applications, or WordPress installs, on your server as you like.

  • Faster speed and performance.
  • Larger storage and more bandwidth at lower prices.
  • Unlimited application installs.

How Does Cloudways Work?

One more thing to note, Cloudways is managed hosting which means everything is set up and configured automatically for your use. It’s just a 1-click install for WordPress and you are up and running.

Get free access to your dashboard for 3 days. Migrate your site and experience how easy it is to set up, manage and host your sites.

  1. Simply choose your application such as WordPress.
  2. Select your new server, its size, and location.
  3. Click the launch button to create your new space.
  4. Launch your new site from the Admin panel.

Cloudways has many plans to choose from, just pick your provider and the plan you want and let Cloudways set it up for you in a few minutes. See The benefits below:

  • 1-Click Operations (server provisioning, server/app cloning, multiple staging areas, and many more).
  • Launch Multiple Apps in a click.
  • 1-Click FREE Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate installation.
  • Backup and Restore in a click.
  • Flexibility to Scale Servers.
  • Pay-as-You-Go Method with Real-time billing.
  • Freedom to choose from multiple renowned infrastructure providers.
Cloudways Hosting Server Locations

Why Cloudways

I think Cloudways is the best web hosting for WordPress. As I mentioned above, I was looking for a better web host for my WordPress sites, and in my search, I came across Cloudways.

Cloudways’ free trial allowed me to explore their dashboard and learn how to set up a WordPress test site. This was an invaluable way to really know what they were all about.

What ultimately sold me on Cloudways was the ease of use, the affordable pricing structures, most of all the increased speed and performance I received from their cloud-based servers.

The free trial is a great way for you to get hands-on and set up a Cloudways WordPress install to see how easy it really is. This is exactly what I did when I was looking for a new and faster-managed web host. If you are curious, why not sign up for your free trial.

As mentioned above, Cloudways also offers e-commerce hosting for an optimal experience. Their managed hosting lets you set up an e-commerce business that is fast, secure, and scalable.

I do not run an e-commerce site but Cloudways receives a 96.7% customer happiness score across their supported e-commerce applications: Magento, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and Opencart.

Cloudways Flexible Pricing Infographic

How I Came To Use Cloudways Hosting

I quickly became discouraged with my previous web hosting company, Bluehost, mainly because they were slow, although they also weren’t the easiest to use and navigate. Once my contract was up I searched for faster and easier to use hosting that was still offered at an affordable and competitive price.

Check your current website performance using Cloudways’ Free Google Page Experience Checker, just enter your domain and the tool will check compliance with the Core Web Vitals. It will then provide tips on how to improve your site’s performance.

Slow web hosting from Bluehost is costing you viewers and engaged readers.

I read about Cloudways and what jumped out was their managed cloud-based hosting. Cloud hosting provides extremely easy scalability and redundancy. You only pay for what you need, as your site grows you can easily scale up on the fly.

Stop spending money on slow website hosting. It’s frustrating when your website loads so slowly that viewers click away.

Secondly, I learned Cloudways is optimized for speed, security, scalability, and freedom of choice. They offer pay-as-you-go plans with your pick from 5 different server providers, all with no contract. Plus, add as many applications as you want.

Lastly, the Cloudways website provides a free trial with no credit card required. The choice is easy.

I created and set up a test blog and discovered how easy it all was. Then I actually migrated, using their free plug-in, my current blog to this new test blog space all during the free trial.

I ran some speed tests right away and made sure to check out Cloudways’ security and how their dashboard is laid out. I was pretty sure by that point I was staying with them as my new hosting provider company.

Look, I am extremely satisfied with Cloudways hosting, so much so that I decided to become an affiliate with them. I wouldn’t promote them if I didn’t use them myself.

Cloudways pricing starts at $10/month and they offer 5 different cloud providers to choose from. The 5 cloud providers are DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud.

How Fast Is Cloudways?

Cloudways deploys an optimized stack(Apache, NGINX, MySQL/MariaDB) with built-in server and application-level caching. They also offer a CDN and SSD drives on their servers.

400–600 milliseconds (about 0.5 seconds) loading speed and nearly 100% uptime is achievable by Cloudways because of their managed cloud-based model.

Achieve the best performance with the combination of caching, a lightweight theme, and only running essential plug-ins.

Is Cloudways Good For A WordPress Blog?

Cloudways is great for a WordPress blog, there is just a 1-click install on fast cloud-based servers. I run 4 WordPress blogs on only one Vultr server and love how easy it is to manage and back up through the dashboard.

If you need to migrate your existing WordPress blog over to Cloudways you have a few options. Cloudways will migrate one website for you for free, or you can install their migration plug-in and let it automatically move over your contents.

Cloudways Free Migration Banner

How Do I Install WordPress On Cloudways?

Cloudways is great web hosting for beginners. The installation of WordPress on Cloudways is the easiest I’ve seen for beginners. You simply select WordPress as your managed application, then choose the server of your choice from one of 5 cloud providers. Adjust the server size and decide on the server location that you prefer.

Step-By-Step Beginner’s Guide to Setup Cloudways:

  1. Log in with Cloudways.
  2. Select add a new server.
  3. Select the application(WordPress) and server options you want.
  4. Name your application and server.
  5. Select from 1 of 5 cloud providers. For example – Vultr.
  6. Select server size you want to use. For example – 2GB.
  7. Select a server location from the list of multiple offerings.
  8. Press the ‘Launch Now’ button to launch your server.

What’s more, you can add additional WordPress installations on the same Cloudways server without any additional costs. You pay for the server, not the applications you install on it.

Cloudways Frequently Asked Questions:

How Do I Change My Server Location In Cloudways?

To change your server location, clone your server and just choose the new location.

What Is The Breeze Plug-in?

The Breeze plug-in is Cloudways’ own caching plugin that comes pre-installed for better performance. It comes set up and ready to go.

Does Cloudways Have cPanel?

No, Cloudways developed their own easy-to-use dashboard to support all their features.

Who Are Cloudways Cloud Providers?

DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud.

How Can I Move My Site To Cloudways?

Cloudways offers a one-time free migration performed by them. Or, use the free migration plug-in developed by them.

Can I Scale Or Upgrade My Server In The Future?

Yes, scaling your server is as easy as a few clicks, done in the dashboard.

Are There Web Hosting Services In India?

Yes, Cloudways offers several data centers across India and other parts of the world. Web hosting services in India include: Mumbai and Bangalore.

How Cloudways Hosting is Better Than Other Web Hosts – Summary

For me, I used their free trial offer to check out the Cloudways layout and dashboard, just to get familiar with it. I found it very easy to use and so I went ahead and created a test WordPress install. That worked great so next, I migrated my site over to the test site. It was all very straightforward and went smoothly.

Cloudways hosting is what I use and recommend. Easily start your free trial.

Cloudways is a leader in Managed Hosting on G2. 4.5 stars on Trustpilot.