There are lots of inexpensive hosts available that supply a decent service. WPEngine Privacy Policy
What if you’re looking for more of a performance-oriented, concierge service? Because case, you’ll wish to have a look at our WP Engine evaluation for WordPress.
WP Engine is a WordPress-specific webhosting, providing handled plans that are completely optimized for the platform. Obviously, when compared to numerous other WordPress hosts, WP Engine’s plans aren’t exactly cheap. You’ll desire to know whether this hosting service is worth the cost prior to making a purchase.
To help you out, we’re going to conduct an extensive WP Engine review for WordPress. We’ll discuss its essential functions, support choices, performance capabilities, and whatever else you’ll need to understand. 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 managed WordPress hosting business in the market. Serial business owner Jason Cohen started WP Engine when he saw a need for specialized WordPress hosting due to the increasing appeal 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 actually won multiple awards for Best Place to Work in Austin and consistently adds to the WordPress core and neighborhood.
WP Engine Features
The core reasons to pick WP Engine over more affordable WordPress hosting are increased dependability, efficiency, assistance, and management, but these are tough to quantify. Some features stick out when you search the user interface, however, that can give you some insight into the service provided.
WP Engine Page Performance is a neat tool created to assist you accelerate your WordPress site by using significant metrics on efficiency.
Running a test returns you a page-performance report that information how quickly your page rendered, the length of time it required to pack in its whole, and the total size of the page. It even consists of historical information on your website’s performance over the past six months and recommendations on how you can reduce page load.
You can develop your WordPress site in a Staging or Development environment prior to making the modifications live (Image credit: WP Engine) Avoid embarrassing mistakes on your website by making changes to a copy of your website before it goes live. This is called Staging, and it permits your designers to make substantial changes to your site without affecting your clients.
WP Engine has a comprehensive list of plugins that are prohibited (Image credit: WP Engine) In a relatively unusual move, WP Engine restricts the WordPress plugins you can install. Those generally restricted are plugins that have been kept in mind to trigger performance issues and security holes. For important features such as caching, backups, and search engine optimization tools, WP Engine has made alternatives offered that don’t put a high load on the server.
WP Engine Hosting Plans
WP Engine just provides managed WordPress hosting. There are five different plans offered: Startup, Growth, Scale, and Custom.
All plans consist of unlimited information transfer. The strategies differ based upon:
- number of WordPress sets up
- traffic volume (# of visits per month)
- disk storage amount
- Customized strategy consists of dedicated dev. environments, consumer success, and priority support
WP Engine includes some distinct features for WordPress users that a lot of hosts do not provide, or charge additional for. These special functions include:.
- Git version control
- Staging: immediately create a copy of your site for testing
- Easy transferable installs from totally free to paid accounts
- Innovative innovations consisting of newest PHP version.
In our WP Engine review, we found that WP Engine offers the most sophisticated and detailed managed WordPress hosting functions.
Get 3 months free when you sign up for WP Engine.
Interface and in use
WP Engine’s user interface is expert and well set out, however the effective functions might suggest a high knowing curve for inexperienced users. If you have an understanding of terms like Git, CNAME, and reroute rules, you’ll be right in your home here, however otherwise you’ll need to spend some time on the support site.
In our testing, the default WordPress home page filled in simply over two seconds. This is among the fastest responses we’ve evaluated, with rival Liquid Web only slightly behind.
Support
A handled WordPress service must provide additional value through its assistance, and WP Engine provides. The assistance site includes videos and posts of a quality you ‘d expect from a paid training course, with help on much deeper WordPress functionality that many WordPress hosts don’t go into.
There’s 24/7 live chat support and a ticket system, too. In our screening, the action was quick and the representative educated. For all strategies except for single-site strategies, there’s telephone support, too.
Pros
Extraordinary Load Speed: If site loading speed is a leading priority, WP Engine does well in this regard. The host’s mix of customized NGINX extension, built-in Content Delivery Network (CDN), and SSD innovation ensure that your websites load rapidly. NGINX extension focuses on human demands over robotic demands and offers load balancing, providing your visitors a much better experience. For its part, CDN delivers website content to your visitors based on their place to improve your site’s speed and lower latency. You get this capability for free with all WP Engine plans.
High Performance: It’s tough 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 four and a half hours of downtime a year. You can further increase your uptime to 99.99% with improved SLA, which translates to a little under an hour of downtime annually. WP Engine will compensate you with hosting credit if your uptime falls listed below the assurance.
Advanced Security: WP Engine keeps track of all the traffic going to your site and immediately finds and obstructs possible attacks. Furthermore, the hosting service instantly updates and spots the WordPress core to remove prospective vulnerabilities. In a worst-case circumstance, WP Engine instantly backups your website every day and has a one-click restoration feature to get you back up and running rapidly. This hosting service protects your website against JavaScript/SQL-injection attacks, brute force efforts, and DDoS attacks.
Incredible Customer Support: The hosting service has a transparent and trackable ticketing system to contact customer care via chat. The assistance team has an exceptional knowledge base and can assist you fix issues rapidly. You get 24/7 phone assistance for all plans except the Growth Plan, in addition to 24/7 live chat support on all plans.
Useful Staging Environment: The staging area permits you to clone your website’s live variation and make changes or check brand-new plugins and themes. Anything you carry out in the staging area does not affect your live website. This function permits designers to work on websites without disrupting the live site’s functionality or user experience.
Transferable Installs: Also targeting developers, this function enables you to develop a website from your WP Engine account. You don’t have to wait on the client to include you to their WordPress website. When completed, you can transfer the website to the client or host the site on WP Engine. This performance conserves time if you frequently construct sites for clients.
Cons
WordPress-Only Hosting: If you are utilizing any other content management system aside from WordPress, then you are out of luck. WP Engine only deals with WordPress. From a company viewpoint, it makes good sense to concentrate on a single market and deal exceptional services in that area. Nevertheless, this model locks out many individuals who could otherwise take advantage of WP Engine’s services.
No Domains or Email Hosting: If you prefer to host your e-mail account and register your domain through your website host, you’ll require to look elsewhere. You’ll have to utilize third-party services for domain registration or email accounts.
Inflexible Pricing: WP Engine runs a tight ship, and this is reflected in its prices structure. You will be penalized for exceeding your strategy’s visitor limitations. This might not be a problem if you have predictable traffic, and you can always upgrade your strategy as your site grows. Nevertheless, substantial spikes in traffic throughout product launches or seasonal business can cost you substantial overage charges.
There is no other way to put it: WP Engine is expensive. Is it worth the cost? The response depends on determining what you are spending for.
You can get shared hosting that can handle the same amount of traffic as WP Engine for a fraction of the price. You can even get committed hosting for the exact same rate as WP Engine. What you are actually paying for here is security, performance, speed, and, most significantly, 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 typically paying for performance & not having to believe too much about upkeep, security & speed. If you take a look at WP Engine’s prices based on the functions you’re getting- you actually do not get a lot.
And if you are the type who will consider your site’s health anyway (ie, keeping WordPress upgraded and generally logging in frequently), you’ll likely be spending for “management” that is unnecessary.
Numerous shared hosting servers can manage the same traffic numbers as WP Engine- and cost a portion of the cost. My personal website a shared hosting plan from HostGator with fundamental caching) dealt with more than 15,000+ check outs in a 24 hour duration when a post of mine And if you are running a trustworthy VPS, you can definitely manage a lot more for much less. In fact, the site you are on handles more than 110,000+ sees per month with plenty of room left to spare for side-projects, gigabytes of media, email, RSS apps, etc with an InMotion VPS. I pay for the VPS plus a CDN for less than WP Engine’s starter plan.
They are relatively transparent about how they count check outs, but it can still be rather a surprise for “small” site owners how quickly they can enter into the $290 monthly tier. I have a customer who began with the Startup plan, however quickly ended up with a customized strategy.
And as mentioned previously that doesn’t even include a number of the features you don’t get with WP Engine’s strategies. You can’t run any e-mail from your servers. You have low limitations on local media storage. Anything above the limits needs extra costs & technical application of Amazon cloud services.
And most significantly for me- you are restricted on your installs. If you have a couple of side projects or low-traffic test websites, you have to factor those into the cost. You can’t utilize them to expand the cost of your strategy- particularly 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 an expensive option, especially compared to other non-managed hosting alternatives.
Startup
The Startup bundle is the most fundamental strategy and will set you back $25 each month. With this package, you get:.
25,000 visits monthly.
50GB bandwidth each month.
10GB storage.
One website included.
WP Engine targets little websites and blog sites with this strategy, however we think it may be overkill for most people in this classification. You can get a far better handle shared hosting at Bluehost However, if you don’t wish to take any chances with uptime or require 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 companies, affiliate websites, and blog sites making great money and want assurances that nothing will change.
You can conserve $60 each year or two months totally free if you pay every year.
Growth
The growth plan targets growing services and will cost you $95 per month. Here you get:.
100,000 gos to each month.
200GB bandwidth each month.
25GB storage.
Ten websites included a while.
This strategy is a fantastic entry point for a growing company, and it might be a while before you require to update. With this strategy, you also get 24/7 phone support in addition to day-and-night chat support. This addition will come in convenient if you have an intricate concern that you need to deal with quickly.
You can conserve a cool $230 or two months complimentary with annual billing.
Scale
WP Engine markets its scale plan as the best value choice. This one expenses $241 per month. Here you get:.
400,000 visits per month.
500GB bandwidth per month.
50GB storage.
30 sites included.
We suggest this alternative for a fast-growing blog site or organization. You get access to 24/7 live chat and 24/7 phone assistance in addition to the assistance center.
You can conserve $580 or two months totally free with yearly pre-paid billing.
Custom
If you have a mission-critical site or big company, the Custom strategy might be appealing. With this strategy, you get:.
Countless visits each month.
400GB+ bandwidth each month.
100GB-1TB storage.
30 websites consisted of.
You will need to talk to a sales rep to get your personalized quote depending on your requirements. This plan also offers proprietary support must something go wrong.
Migrate WordPress websites in just a few clicks.
Strong Uptime
WP Engine achieves over 99% uptime thanks to its first-rate network infrastructure.
The business also has three information centers in London, Tokyo, and Midwest USA.
As a result, you can improve website speeds by choosing to host your site on servers that are closest to your target market.
WP Engine blocks destructive attacks on your website.
Speed & Performance
There are a great deal of variables that enter into website speed, however the rule of thumb is that the more intricate your site is, the more complicated the options to speed become.
Out of package- WordPress is relatively lean and fast. If you are running a primarily text website with a couple of standard plugins and a couple of small images, you’ll be great with an economical shared hosting strategy from someone like InMotion HostGator Bluehost But couple of site owners keep their WordPress install lean. There’s typically extra plugins, custom style files, great deals of images, widgets, ads, types and more.
All these functions integrated with good levels of traffic can begin to slow down your WordPress installation.
However a slow website does not suggest that you require a bigger, much better server. It does suggest that you need to get smarter about speed. Often it’s as basic as getting a more effective server, but sometimes it’s more about caching specific resources in a specific order and optimizing your files. Simply put- it gets complex.
Picture you are attempting to carry a trailer with a pickup truck. Imagine your trailer keeps getting much heavier. It’s pointless to keep complaining that your truck is not big enough when you might just need to get rid of the emergency brake, set up a turbocharger, refresh the transmission fluid and consolidate your load.
The point is that WordPress requires help to remain fast as you grow. There are plenty of solutions … however either you or a developer must implement them.
That’s where handled WordPress hosting comes in. WP Engine takes care of (nearly) all speed concerns. They have actually customized servers with exceptionally aggressive caching and even more advanced “stack” than a common webhosting. They likewise have trained assistance who will go into your WordPress install and determine the exact chokepoint to get your site moving.
They do not even allow caching plugins on their installs since they have actually such a tailored caching setup.
The intriguing thing is that even unoptimized WordPress installs still do well on their platform because their platform does the extra work.
Here’s the speed test for one of my customers on WP Engine (who has a bloated theme, additional scripts, too many uncompressed images, among other things)- Note the Time To First Byte and the Start Render numbers. That measures how rapidly the server returned enough information to begin loading the page.
It’s good to have that type of speed right out of package- and have it stay that way no matter how big or complicated the site gets.
* Note that the other point here is that if you are obsessed about speed, you can get back at better numbers with WP Engine than you may get with other services given that you are free to concentrate on speed elements that you can quickly manage like image compression, usage of scripts, and so on
. The last observation on speed- WP Engine not just offers an integrated CDN, but they likewise offer international information centers in case your audience is mostly in Asia and/or Europe.
If you are attempting to get top speeds without tinkering layered caching plugins- the WP Engine does exactly that. And given that they work on Google Cloud, you do not have to worry about uptime either.
CDN Included
All plans consist of an international CDN (material shipment network).
The CDN will assist your website load fast for consumers around the world 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 company. Often the “open doors” are plugins that weren’t upgraded.
Protecting websites is among the strong points of WP Engine’s handled WordPress hosting service.
The company takes a number of procedures to protect WordPress websites:.
WP Engine runs day-to-day malware/virus scans in collaboration with Sucuri.
They keep an eye on an updated firewall software to obstruct the current hazards.
All sites are supported daily.
You get a one-click bring back function that can help you recover your website in case of an attack.
The WP Engine site provides 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 supply webinars on security.
They release security standards and checklists for developers and engineers.
If your website gets hacked, WPE will clean it free of charge.
Online Resources
WP Engine supplies webinars, guides, post, updates, tutorials, and a knowledgebase. With these you can discover how to:.
Release your first site.
Troubleshoot typical problems.
Make improvements to your site.
Manage your hosting account with greater effectiveness.
Both beginners and skilled WordPress website owners will find the assistance documents indispensable.
WP Engine’s 60-Day Guarantee
WP Engine’s 60-day money-back guarantee on all membership costs is special in the hosting industry.
It allows you to experiment with the service in a safe method.
Keep in mind: this alternative is not offered on customized 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, budget plan, resources & habits.
If you remain in what I think of as WP Engine’s core markets- they provide a terrific service with a solid product. As a handled WordPress host, their prices is competitive. They use more features than “WordPress hosting” plans from other hosting brands. Their feature-set is unmatched for smart DIYers, WordPress site developers and/or high-traffic sites that do not want to fret about hosting issues.
If managed hosting is a fit for you- then go check out WP Engine’s plans here View Current Plans They do a 60-day money-back assurance. Do a test install and see what you believe of their backend. Be sure to talk w/ support & sales.
Get 3 months free when you sign up for WP Engine.