There are plenty of cheap hosts readily available that supply a good service. WPEngine Ges
What if you’re looking for more of a performance-oriented, concierge service? Because case, you’ll wish to take a look at our WP Engine review for WordPress.
WP Engine is a WordPress-specific webhosting, offering handled plans that are totally enhanced for the platform. Obviously, when compared to lots of other WordPress hosts, WP Engine’s strategies aren’t precisely low-cost. For that reason, you’ll wish to know whether this hosting service is worth the cost prior to making a purchase.
To assist you out, we’re going to conduct an extensive WP Engine evaluation for WordPress. We’ll discuss its crucial features, assistance choices, performance abilities, and whatever else you’ll need to know. Let’s start!
WP Engine Video Review
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About WP Engine
Founded in 2010, WP Engine is now one of the leading handled WordPress hosting companies in the market. Serial business owner Jason Cohen started WP Engine when he saw a need for specialized WordPress hosting due to the increasing popularity of WordPress.
WP Engine is Headquartered in Austin, Texas with workplaces in San Antonio (Texas), London (England), Limerick (Ireland), Brisbane (Australia), and Kraków (Poland).
The business has won numerous awards for Best Place to Work in Austin and consistently adds to the WordPress core and community.
WP Engine Features
The core reasons to choose WP Engine over cheaper WordPress hosting are increased reliability, performance, assistance, and management, but these are difficult to measure. Some features stick out when you browse the user interface, nevertheless, that can give you some insight into the service used.
WP Engine Page Performance is a cool tool developed to help you accelerate your WordPress website by using significant metrics on efficiency.
Running a test returns you a page-performance report that details how rapidly your page rendered, the length of time it took to load in its totality, and the overall size of the page. It even consists of historic information on your website’s performance over the past 6 months and recommendations on how you can reduce page load.
You can develop your WordPress website in a Staging or Development environment before making the changes live (Image credit: WP Engine) Avoid awkward mistakes on your website by making changes to a copy of your site prior to it goes live. This is called Staging, and it allows your designers to make comprehensive changes to your site without impacting your clients.
WP Engine has an extensive list of plugins that are prohibited (Image credit: WP Engine) In a reasonably uncommon move, WP Engine limits the WordPress plugins you can install. Those usually restricted are plugins that have been kept in mind to trigger efficiency concerns and security holes. For crucial features such as caching, backups, and seo tools, WP Engine has made options available that don’t put a high load on the server.
WP Engine Hosting Plans
WP Engine only offers managed WordPress hosting. There are five various plans offered: Startup, Growth, Scale, and Custom.
All strategies consist of unrestricted information transfer. The plans differ based upon:
- number of WordPress installs
- traffic volume (# of visits per month)
- disk storage amount
- Custom strategy includes dedicated dev. environments, consumer success, and priority support
WP Engine consists of some unique features for WordPress users that most hosts do not offer, or charge additional for. These unique features include:.
- Git version control
- Staging: immediately develop a copy of your website for screening
- Easy transferable installs from free to paid accounts
- Innovative technologies including most current PHP variation.
In our WP Engine evaluation, we discovered that WP Engine uses the most sophisticated and thorough managed WordPress hosting features.
Get 3 months free when you sign up for WP Engine.
User interface and in use
WP Engine’s user interface is professional and well set out, however the powerful functions might imply a high knowing curve for inexperienced users. If you have an understanding of terms like Git, CNAME, and redirect rules, you’ll be right at home here, however otherwise you’ll require to spend a long time on the support site.
In our testing, the default WordPress home page loaded in simply over two seconds. This is one of the fastest responses we’ve checked, with rival Liquid Web only somewhat behind.
Support
A handled WordPress service must offer additional value through its support, and WP Engine delivers. The support website consists of videos and posts of a quality you ‘d get out of a paid training course, with help on deeper WordPress functionality that numerous WordPress hosts do not enter into.
There’s 24/7 live chat support and a ticket system, too. In our screening, the reaction fasted and the agent well-informed. For all plans except for single-site plans, there’s telephone support, too.
Pros
Remarkable Load Speed: If website loading speed is a leading concern, WP Engine succeeds in this regard. The host’s mix of custom NGINX extension, integrated Content Delivery Network (CDN), and SSD technology ensure that your web pages load quickly. NGINX extension focuses on human demands over robot requests and uses load balancing, providing your visitors a much better experience. For its part, CDN provides site content to your visitors based upon their area to improve your site’s speed and lower latency. You get this ability totally free with all WP Engine strategies.
High Performance: It’s difficult to beat WP Engine’s efficiency, which is why individuals continue to pay a premium price for this service. WP Engine guarantees 99.95% server uptime, roughly 4 and a half hours of downtime a year. You can further increase your uptime to 99.99% with improved SLA, which equates to a little under an hour of downtime each year. WP Engine will compensate you with hosting credit if your uptime falls below the warranty.
Advanced Security: WP Engine keeps an eye on all the traffic going to your site and automatically spots and obstructs potential attacks. Furthermore, the hosting service instantly updates and spots the WordPress core to get rid of prospective vulnerabilities. In a worst-case circumstance, WP Engine automatically backups your site every day and has a one-click remediation function to get you support and running quickly. This hosting service protects your site versus JavaScript/SQL-injection attacks, brute force efforts, and DDoS attacks.
Extraordinary Customer Support: The hosting service has a transparent and trackable ticketing system to connect with customer care via chat. The assistance group has an outstanding knowledge base and can assist you resolve issues quickly. You get 24/7 phone support for all strategies other than the Growth Plan, in addition to 24/7 live chat assistance on all plans.
Useful Staging Environment: The staging area allows you to clone your site’s live version and make changes or evaluate new plugins and themes. Anything you do in the staging area doesn’t impact your live website. This feature enables designers to deal with websites without disrupting the live site’s functionality or user experience.
Transferable Installs: Also targeting developers, this function enables you to build a site from your WP Engine account. You do not need to await the client to add you to their WordPress website. Once completed, you can move the site to the client or host the website on WP Engine. This functionality conserves time if you frequently build sites for customers.
Cons
WordPress-Only Hosting: If you are utilizing any other content management system aside from WordPress, then you are out of luck. WP Engine just works with WordPress. From a business point of view, it makes sense to concentrate on a single market and deal extraordinary services in that location. Nevertheless, this design locks out lots of people who could otherwise benefit from WP Engine’s services.
No Domains or Email Hosting: If you prefer to host your e-mail account and register your domain through your site host, you’ll require to look somewhere else. You’ll have to use third-party services for domain registration or e-mail accounts.
Inflexible Pricing: WP Engine runs a tight ship, and this is shown in its prices structure. You will be penalized for exceeding your plan’s visitor limitations. This may not be an issue if you have foreseeable traffic, and you can always upgrade your strategy as your site grows. However, considerable spikes in traffic during product launches or seasonal organization can cost you considerable overage charges.
There is no other way to put it: WP Engine is expensive. Is it worth the cost? The response depends on finding out what you are spending for.
You can get shared hosting that can deal with the same quantity of traffic as WP Engine for a fraction of the rate. You can even get dedicated hosting for the exact same rate as WP Engine. What you are actually paying for here is security, efficiency, speed, and, most importantly, peace of mind. The supreme concern is how much these things are worth to you.
Plans and Pricing
Get 3 months free when you sign up for WP Engine.
With a WP Engine plan, you are usually paying for performance & not having to believe excessive about maintenance, security & speed. If you look at WP Engine’s prices based upon the features you’re getting- you really do not get a whole lot.
And if you are the type who will think about your site’s health anyhow (ie, keeping WordPress updated and usually visiting frequently), you’ll likely be paying for “management” that is unnecessary.
Lots of shared hosting servers can handle the exact same traffic numbers as WP Engine- and cost a portion of the rate. My individual site a shared hosting plan from HostGator with standard caching) dealt with more than 15,000+ sees in a 24 hour duration when a post of mine And if you are running a dependable VPS, you can definitely manage a lot more for much less. The site you are on deals with more than 110,000+ check outs per month with plenty of room left to spare for side-projects, gigabytes of media, email, RSS apps, etc with an InMotion VPS. I spend for the VPS plus a CDN for less than WP Engine’s starter strategy.
They are relatively transparent about how they count sees, but it can still be quite a surprise for “small” site owners how quickly they can enter the $290 per month tier. I have a customer who began with the Startup plan, but quickly ended up with a customized plan.
And as pointed out previously that doesn’t even include much of the functions you don’t get with WP Engine’s plans. You can’t run any email from your servers. You have low limits on regional media storage. Anything above the limits requires additional expenses & technical implementation of Amazon cloud services.
And most importantly for me- you are limited on your installs. If you have a couple of side projects or low-traffic test sites, you need to factor those into the rate. You can’t use them to expand the cost of your strategy- especially if you are striking your visitor cap rather than your install cap.
If you are seeking to spend for hosting- ie, a server that will hold & serve up your site files- WP Engine is a pricey alternative, especially compared to other non-managed hosting choices.
Start-up
The Startup package is the most basic strategy and will set you back $25 each month. With this package, you get:.
25,000 visits monthly.
50GB bandwidth monthly.
10GB storage.
One website consisted of.
WP Engine targets small sites and blogs with this strategy, however we believe it might be overkill for many people in this classification. You can get a far much better handle shared hosting at Bluehost However, if you do not wish to take any chances with uptime or need a guarantee that your website can handle 25,000 visitors each month, WP Engine is a sure bet. We ‘d recommend this choice to small businesses, affiliate sites, and blog sites making great money and desire guarantees that absolutely nothing will change.
You can conserve $60 annually or two months totally free if you pay every year.
Growth
The development strategy targets growing companies and will cost you $95 per month. Here you get:.
100,000 check outs per month.
200GB bandwidth per month.
25GB storage.
Ten sites consisted of a while.
This plan is a terrific entry point for a growing organization, and it might be a while prior to you need to update. With this plan, you also get 24/7 phone support in addition to round-the-clock chat assistance. This addition will can be found in useful if you have an intricate concern that you require to solve rapidly.
You can conserve a cool $230 or more months totally free with annual billing.
Scale
WP Engine promotes its scale strategy as the very best value option. This one expenses $241 per month. Here you get:.
400,000 visits per month.
500GB bandwidth monthly.
50GB storage.
30 websites consisted of.
We advise this choice for a fast-growing blog site or organization. You get access to 24/7 live chat and 24/7 phone support in addition to the support center.
You can conserve $580 or two months complimentary with yearly pre-paid billing.
Custom-made
If you have a mission-critical website or big organization, the Custom strategy might be appealing. With this strategy, you get:.
Millions of gos to each month.
400GB+ bandwidth monthly.
100GB-1TB storage.
30 websites included.
You will need to talk to a sales rep to get your individualized quote depending upon your requirements. This strategy also provides exclusive assistance ought to something fail.
Migrate WordPress websites in just a few clicks.
Strong Uptime
WP Engine accomplishes over 99% uptime thanks to its first-rate network facilities.
The company also has 3 data centers in London, Tokyo, and Midwest USA.
As a result, you can get better website speeds by choosing to host your website on servers that are closest to your target market.
WP Engine obstructs harmful attacks on your website.
Speed & Performance
There are a lot of variables that enter into site speed, however the general rule is that the more complicated your website is, the more complex the solutions to speed ended up being.
Out of package- WordPress is relatively lean and quick. If you are running a mainly text website with a few fundamental plugins and a couple of small images, you’ll be great with a cost effective shared hosting plan from somebody like InMotion HostGator Bluehost But couple of site owners keep their WordPress install lean. There’s generally additional plugins, custom-made theme files, lots of images, widgets, advertisements, types and more.
All these functions integrated with decent levels of traffic can begin to decrease your WordPress setup.
A sluggish website doesn’t suggest that you need a larger, better server. It does mean that you require to get smarter about speed. Often it’s as easy as getting a more powerful server, however often it’s more about caching specific resources in a certain order and enhancing your files. In other words- it gets complex.
Imagine you are trying to transport a trailer with a pickup truck. Envision your trailer keeps getting much heavier. It’s meaningless to keep grumbling that your truck is not big enough when you may just need to get rid of the emergency brake, install a turbocharger, revitalize the transmission fluid and consolidate your load.
The point is that WordPress requires assistance to stay quickly as you grow. There are lots of options … but either you or a developer need to implement them.
That’s where managed WordPress hosting comes in. WP Engine takes care of (almost) all speed issues. They have personalized servers with exceptionally aggressive caching and much more sophisticated “stack” than a common web host. They also have actually trained support who will go into your WordPress install and recognize the specific chokepoint to get your site moving.
They don’t even allow caching plugins on their installs because they have such a tailored caching setup.
The fascinating thing is that even unoptimized WordPress sets up still do well on their platform because their platform does the additional work.
Here’s the speed test for one of my clients on WP Engine (who has a puffed up style, additional scripts, too many uncompressed images, to name a few things)- Note the Time To First Byte and the Start Render numbers. That measures how rapidly the server returned enough information to start packing the page.
It’s nice to have that kind of speed right out of package- and have it stay that way no matter how huge or intricate the site gets.
* Note that the other point here is that if you are obsessed about speed, you can get even better numbers with WP Engine than you might get with other services given that you are free to concentrate on speed aspects that you can easily manage like image compression, usage of scripts, etc
. The last observation on speed- WP Engine not only supplies an incorporated CDN, but they also supply worldwide information centers in case your audience is mainly in Asia and/or Europe.
If you are trying to get top speeds without messing with layered caching plugins- the WP Engine does exactly that. And because they work on Google Cloud, you don’t need to worry about uptime either.
CDN Included
All plans include an international CDN (content shipment network).
The CDN will help your website load quickly for consumers around the globe by serving it to them from the network node that’s geographically closest to them.
Security and Backups
An approximated 78% of hacked websites are WordPress websites, according to Sucuri, a web security firm. Often the “open doors” are plugins that weren’t upgraded.
Protecting sites is one of the strong points of WP Engine’s managed WordPress hosting service.
The business takes several measures to safeguard WordPress websites:.
WP Engine runs daily malware/virus scans in partnership with Sucuri.
They monitor an upgraded firewall to block the latest dangers.
All websites are supported daily.
You get a one-click restore function that can help you recover your site in case of an attack.
The WP Engine website offers a guide on “Tips to Protect Your WordPress Site From Being Hacked.”.
You’ll have access to 24/7/365 technical assistance for any questions relating to security.
They offer webinars on security.
They publish security guidelines and checklists for developers and engineers.
If your site gets hacked, WPE will clean it for free.
Online Resources
WP Engine supplies webinars, guides, post, updates, tutorials, and a knowledgebase. With these you can learn how to:.
Release your very first website.
Troubleshoot typical problems.
Make improvements to your site.
Handle your hosting account with greater effectiveness.
Both novices and experienced WordPress site owners will find the support documents important.
WP Engine’s 60-Day Guarantee
WP Engine’s 60-day money-back guarantee on all membership fees is unique in the hosting market.
It enables you to try the service in a safe method.
Keep in mind: this choice is not offered on custom-made hosting strategies.
Is WP Engine Worth It?
Like any service, it’s not about what is finest overall, however what is finest for you based upon your objectives, spending plan, resources & habits.
If you are in what I consider WP Engine’s core markets- they offer a fantastic service with a solid product. As a handled WordPress host, their pricing is competitive. They offer more features than “WordPress hosting” strategies from other hosting brand names. Their feature-set is unequaled for smart DIYers, WordPress site developers and/or high-traffic sites that do not want to stress over hosting concerns.
If handled hosting is a suitable for you- then go check out WP Engine’s plans here View Current Plans They do a 60-day money-back guarantee. So do a test set up and see what you consider their backend. Be sure to chat w/ assistance & sales.
Get 3 months free when you sign up for WP Engine.