{"id":686,"date":"2022-12-28T14:37:39","date_gmt":"2022-12-28T14:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/niimartey.com\/?post_type=blc-product-review&#038;p=686"},"modified":"2023-01-16T14:33:30","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T14:33:30","slug":"cloudways","status":"publish","type":"blc-product-review","link":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/review\/cloudways\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloudways"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Overall, the pros and cons of hosting with a service like Cloudways will depend on your specific needs and goals. It&#8217;s a good idea to carefully consider your budget, resources, and technical expertise when deciding whether cloud hosting is the right choice for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div style=\"width: 640px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-686-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudways-static-content.s3.amazonaws.com\/Images\/Videos\/clone-server-with-intro.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cloudways-static-content.s3.amazonaws.com\/Images\/Videos\/clone-server-with-intro.mp4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/cloudways-static-content.s3.amazonaws.com\/Images\/Videos\/clone-server-with-intro.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s tackle in detail the key features of Cloudways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Custom control panel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After you created an account, you can manage your servers through Cloudways\u2019 control panel. It\u2019s unlike the typical cPanel of most hosts, but Cloudways\u2019 custom control panel is intuitive and modern by itself. Through this panel\u2019s menu, you can access Servers, Applications, Teams, and Projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/cloudways-menu.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Menu\" class=\"wp-image-30020\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Application Management<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s talk about the settings found under Applications. Once you have set up a server, you can add applications any time; for instance, WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-add-application.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Add Application\" class=\"wp-image-30021\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You will then enter the Applications page. You can set up many things here through the tabs. One relevant tab is for domain mapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-add-domain.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Add Domain\" class=\"wp-image-30022\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t have a domain name to be mapped or you haven\u2019t registered one yet, you\u2019ll be provided a temporary URL by Cloudways. This way, you can start building a website and access the control panel, as shown here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-temporary-url.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Temporary URL\" class=\"wp-image-30023\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s also a page for one-click SSL installation where you can install free Let\u2019s Encrypt SSL certificates. You can also get your certificates then install them here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-ssl-certificate.png\" alt=\"Cloudways SSL Certificate\" class=\"wp-image-30024\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Recovery is also a one-click operation, and it\u2019s located under the Restore tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-restore.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Restore\" class=\"wp-image-30025\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Server management<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019re done with setting up an application, you can now work on running the usual aspects of your website under Servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can check your login credentials under Server Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-master-credentials.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Master Credentials\" class=\"wp-image-30026\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a page for monitoring CPU usage. This is very important as consistently high usages could affect your website\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-monitoring-cpu-usage.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Monitoring CPU Usage\" class=\"wp-image-30028\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The services running on your server are listed under Manage Services. Here, you can start, stop, and restart one or many services at any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-manage-services.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Manage Services\" class=\"wp-image-30029\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You can configure PHP settings, PHP and MySQL versions, and other server-level settings under Settings &amp; Packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-settings-and-packages.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Settings and Packages\" class=\"wp-image-30030\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Security section, you can block certain IP addresses from gaining access to your resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-security.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Security\" class=\"wp-image-30031\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If this isn\u2019t enough, any expert users can log into the server via SSH to check and tweak the settings. Cloudways also provides cloud-based firewall as protection against malware and other types of cyberattacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Backups will run daily by default, but you can change the schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-backups.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Backups\" class=\"wp-image-30032\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, there\u2019s an SMTP tab for setting up outbound emails from your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-smtp.png\" alt=\"Cloudways SMTP\" class=\"wp-image-30033\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Team management<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A great collaboration feature, Team provides you a way to add team members and assign them full or limited access to your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-team.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Team\" class=\"wp-image-30034\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Staging and cloning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For changes you want to test first before making them permanent on your website, Cloudways\u2019 staging will be a handy feature. Deploy a staging area, do the test, and when the changes look good, you can push the changes to your actual website. This way, you won\u2019t need to worry about introducing harmful changes that you can\u2019t reverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-staging-and-cloning.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Staging and Cloning\" class=\"wp-image-30035\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloning is somewhat similar to staging. You can make several clone sites when you\u2019re changing to new servers or showcasing your website to clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Advanced caching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudways gets its server infrastructure from five cloud providers: DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud. All these providers are known to provide SSD-based VPS and dedicated servers, which ensure fast server performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from this cloud infrastructure, Cloudways takes advantage of several caching mechanisms to optimize servers. The company uses an in-house caching plug-in called Breeze. This plug-in can be easily set up, enabled, and disabled. More importantly, it supports Cloudway\u2019s own content delivery network called CloudwaysCDN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CloudwaysCDN adds more speed and reliability by caching your web pages on different servers located across the world. While this feature is not available for the free trial account, you can avail it with any of Cloudways\u2019 paid plan at a low cost. This feature is accessed under Application Management and can be added with just one click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudwayscdn.png\" alt=\"CloudwaysCDN\" class=\"wp-image-30036\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudflare CDN can also be used on websites deployed on Cloudways; Cloudfare will work alongside Breeze. Other popular caching mechanisms Varnish and Redis are also supported, but Cloudways recommends not to use both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Vertical scaling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If for any reason you need to upgrade your server, you can increase your server resources in just a few clicks through Vertical Scaling. The function is found as a tab under Server Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-vertical-scaling.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Vertical Scaling\" class=\"wp-image-30037\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Scaling works both ways, which is a good thing. You can downgrade if you need to revert to your previous hosting plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Customer support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudways has 24\/7&nbsp;live chat&nbsp;support to provide you instant assistance. You can also request a call, send an email, check the blog and knowledge base, or visit the community forum and Cloudways\u2019 social media platforms. Cloudways also has CloudWaysBot that monitors the servers and gives notification whenever there is an update or any issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-customer-support.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Customer Support\" class=\"wp-image-30038\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cloudways Pricing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudways offers flexible pricing plans and operates on a \u201cpay-as-you-go\u201d model. You may find the pricing complicated at first, as Cloudways has several plans based on its five different partners\u2014DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud. Here are the plans:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-digitalcoean-plans.png\" alt=\"Cloudways DigitalCOean Plans\" class=\"wp-image-30040\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-linode-plans.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Linode Plans\" class=\"wp-image-30042\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-vultr-plans.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Vultr Plans\" class=\"wp-image-30043\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-amazon-web-services-plans.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Amazon Web Services Plans\" class=\"wp-image-30044\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-google-cloud-plans.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Google Cloud Plans\" class=\"wp-image-30045\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The basic hosting plans offered by DigitalOcean and Linode may be sufficient for those with smaller websites or lower resource needs. However, if you have a larger or more resource-intensive website, you may want to consider a plan from one of the other three cloud providers that Cloudways works with: AWS or Google Cloud. While it is possible to set up hosting directly with these five providers, you will be responsible for setting everything up and managing the hosting environment yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-7a7f9ed23c8d33c4aff346540d9da4d6\">With Cloudways, you can take advantage of its managed hosting support and avoid having to handle complicated tasks yourself. If you want to try Cloudways before committing, you can sign up for the company&#8217;s free three-day trial, which is available for DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr plans. This trial allows you to build servers and test out Cloudways&#8217; features without providing your credit card information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-start-free.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Start Free\" class=\"wp-image-30046\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wpcrafter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/cloudways-start-free-2.png\" alt=\"Cloudways Start Free 2\" class=\"wp-image-30047\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the benefits of Cloudways is its flexible and affordable pricing plans, which operate on a &#8220;pay-as-you-go&#8221; structure. This allows users to pay for only the resources they need, without being locked into a long-term, expensive subscription. The platform&#8217;s Vertical Scaling feature also makes it easy to upgrade your hosting plan as needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudways accepts payment through major credit cards and PayPal, and will refund unused funds if the request is made within three months of fund addition. Overall, these features make Cloudways a convenient and cost-effective choice for web hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cloudways: What I Liked About It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudways is a user-friendly hosting platform that makes it easy to build websites and add apps with just a few clicks. It offers automatic installation of popular apps like WordPress and Magento, and a custom plugin to help users migrate old sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The platform&#8217;s control panel may be different from cPanel, but it includes useful features like the Monitoring and Vertical Scaling tabs under Server Management, which allow users to monitor server performance and scale their hosting plan as needed. As a managed hosting provider, Cloudways takes care of server maintenance and other tasks, and uses technologies like CloudwaysCDN to ensure fast page loading and site performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The platform also offers useful features like staging, cloning, and a temporary URL for new users. Its flexible &#8220;pay-as-you-go&#8221; pricing allows users to tailor their hosting plan to their needs and budget, and there is a free three-day trial available to test out the platform&#8217;s features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cloudways: What I Don\u2019t Like About It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudways is a fully-managed hosting platform, which means that it handles tasks like server maintenance, security updates, and backups for you. This can be convenient for users who are not as technically proficient, but it may not be suitable for those who want more control over their hosting environment, such as developers or advanced users who require root access. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, Cloudways does not support custom app development in languages other than PHP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another potential limitation is that the platform does not offer domain <strong>name registration<\/strong> or <strong>email hosting<\/strong>, although it does provide a temporary URL for users to get started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Cloudways has several support channels available, some users have reported that they have received inaccurate or technical responses, or that it takes a long time to resolve tickets. This is an area where the company may need to improve in order to provide better support for its users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cloudways: Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloudways is a fully-managed cloud hosting provider that offers scalable plans with flexible pricing options. Its &#8220;pay-as-you-go&#8221; model is ideal for businesses and users with limited budgets, as it allows you to pay for only the resources you use without being locked into a long-term subscription. The platform&#8217;s custom control panel is user-friendly and makes it easy for beginners to set up and manage their websites, although it may not offer as many one-click integrations as some of its competitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite this, Cloudways is still a reliable choice for cloud-based hosting, thanks to its partnerships with top cloud providers and its focus on speed, performance, and reliability. If you&#8217;re still unsure, the company offers a free three-day trial to test out its services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cloudways Review: Wrap Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I really like what Cloudways is doing. Sure you can go directly to the various cloud hosting providers, but for the modest premium you pay, you get the Cloudways control panel and more importantly, support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that allows users to host websites and applications on various cloud infrastructure providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean.<br \/>\nIt offers a range of features and tools to help users manage and optimize their hosting environment, including a control panel, one-click application installation, automated backups, and a team of support staff available 24\/7. Cloudways also offers a variety of hosting plans and pricing options to suit different needs and budgets.<br \/>\nOverall, Cloudways is a popular choice for users who want the flexibility and scalability of cloud hosting, with the convenience of a managed hosting platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"badges":[],"review_author":[],"blc-product-review-categories":[],"class_list":["post-686","blc-product-review","type-blc-product-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blc-product-review\/686"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blc-product-review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blc-product-review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blc-product-review\/686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":790,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blc-product-review\/686\/revisions\/790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"badges","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/badges?post=686"},{"taxonomy":"review_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_author?post=686"},{"taxonomy":"blc-product-review-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niimartey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blc-product-review-categories?post=686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}