Cloudways Hosting Reviews 2024 – Pricing, Features, and Details

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It is exactly six months (when writing this post) since I migrated to Cloudways hosting, the DigitalOcean server.

Now that I have thoroughly tested the platform and the hosting services, it’s the right time to write a Cloudways hosting review. 

This review discusses my initial hosting challenges with my former web host, Namecheap. Also, I discuss what led to my switch and performance changes since moving to Cloudways. 

I also show you this site’s traffic performance before and after moving to Cloudways. This will allow you to know the impact of poor and good hosting on online business success.

If you’re considering switching to another web host but haven’t chosen, this review of Cloudways hosting might help you make an intelligent decision. 

You can learn more about my former web host, where I compare Cloudways with Namecheap’s cloud hosting plan.

Enough of the introduction; let’s get down to the facts. 

What is Cloudways? 

Cloudways is a managed cloud-hosting service provider offering fast, feature-rich hosting plans and responsive 24/7/365 customer support. 

It acts as a middleman between users and cloud infrastructure providers like Google, Amazon, and DigitalOcean, making cloud hosting services easier and affordable for businesses and marketers of all sizes. 

Cloudways simplifies the process of hosting web applications on cloud infrastructure, making it a beginner-friendly and attractive option for those who want simple and managed hosting services without having to deal with server-side management. 

Cloudways is built for digital marketing agencies, small businesses, e-commerce websites, and marketers with growing needs for fast-loading page time, 99.99% uptime, dedicated workflow, powerful web analytics, and advanced web security, including Cloudflare Enterprise add-ons. 

Reasons Why I Switch to Cloudways

There are multiple reasons why I had to look elsewhere for a better web host. 

When I purchased hosting from my former web host, my blog drove less than a thousand monthly traffic. But as time went by, the blog grew in traffic and audience, so there was demand for higher hosting specifications. 

Therefore, I switched to a higher hosting plan on my former web host with more RAM size and CPU power (0.75 Core and 768 MB CPU).

However, this didn’t solve some of my hosting issues. Here are a couple of poor hosting and performance issues I was having:

• Frequently, downtime or connection timeout.
• Annoying HTTP error 429 too many request warnings. 
• Slow page speed and poor website performance for most user locations.
• Inability to install another cache mechanism (my host has its built-in cache function) 
• Poor Google Core Web Vitals scores.

My former web host wasn’t doing too badly; the server speed was average, but it needed to be faster and more reliable. 

The more quickly your website loads for most users, the better you can rank and provide optimal user experience. 

Even if I had wanted to stay longer with my former web host, the poor CWV was a thing that kept bothering me and needed urgent attention. I tried several methods for resolving CWV, but nothing seemed to work. 

To make it worse, the fact that I can not install cache plugins other than the built-in functions makes it impossible to try some of the premium recommendations, like WP Rocket, FlyingPress, or Perfmatter. 

So, I decided to switch and try other options to resolve poor CWV, page speed, downtime, and overall site performance. 

I have a few web hosts in mind, like WPX, Kingsta, and Cloudways. I decided to try Cloudways after reading in many online communities how exceptional their hosting service is and the support. 

Plus, Cloudways is constantly mentioned or listed among the most voted in several online polls. Most Cloudways customers I have engaged with give good feedback and share positive experiences.

Hundreds of user experiences and polls like this signify that Cloudways offers better and faster hosting speed than many competitors, including Siteground, WPX, etc. 

In a nutshell, I signed up for the Cloudways DigitalOcean server and migrated immediately after completing the verification process. 

Now, let’s walk through the Cloudways hosting review, from the ease of use to the pricing and support. 

Ease of Use

User experience is paramount to Cloudways company’s mission, which is visible in its approach to its dashboard design and access to essential hosting features. 

From the signup process to launching your first server, every step is carefully designed to make it easier for users to complete without requesting help. However, the support is just one click away if you need one. 

Here is a brief walkthrough process from launching your server to web application arrangements within your Cloudways dashboard. 

After completing the signup process, you must launch a server and deploy your web application. You can install WordPress, Laravel, PHP, Joomla, WooCommerce, Custom app, or Magento. 

As of writing this line, Cloudways no longer offers the Vultr and Linode cloud servers for new customers. 

At this stage, there are a few things to consider:

• Your preferred cloud server provider.
• Web application software.
• Server location.
• Billing method (Hourly or monthly).

Once you select, click the Launch Now button at the bottom right corner. Your server and web application will install, and you can begin working on your website. 

Primarily, your Cloudways dashboard has two main functions, which open access to several other settings for each function. 

• Server management 
• Web application management

Server Management.

You can also hover on the side panel to reveal this and other functions within your Cloudways dashboard.  

Assuming you want to access server-side management settings, you must click the Servers tab function. 

When you do this, it will open up the settings and allow you to manage details like:

• Backup
• Vertical scaling
• Security
• Public IP
• Master credential (SFTP and SSH access details)
• Server username and password.
• Service management (Apache, MySql, Varnish, NewRelic, Ngnix, etc. 
• SMTP configuration for outgoing email delivery. 

These settings allow you to manage all that concerning server-level tasks and management. 

You can have multiple servers within a Cloudways account; no limit is imposed. 

Web Applications Management

The application tab lists all your web applications deployed with Cloudways servers. For example, if you have WordPress sites on a server, you will see them listed under the Application tab. 

Clicking on an application within the list opens up its settings and configurations. This is where you access application-level settings such as: 

• Application admin dashboard details (Username and password)
• Staging managements
• Domain name management
• Web application security features
• SSL Certificate
• Cloudways migration tools
• Launching database access 
• Cloudflare Enterprise
• Backup and restore tools
• Setting up cron jobs and optimizing their performance. 
• Deployment sites via GIT
• Applications settings, and more.

Other notable Functions 

Cloudways has additional settings for managing your hosting account and adding more features. If you hover on the side drawout panel, it reveals other accessible functions. 

Here, you can access the Cloudways add-ons, which include an Astra Pro theme free license for one year. Other add-ons include Elastic Email, Rackspace Email, Application migration, DNS Made Easy, Cloudflare, Support add-on, and Safeupdates.

Cloudways Key Hosting Features

Cloudways uses a unique approach offering its cloud hosting infrastructure services, from its dashboard to applications running on your web servers. 

First, Cloudways uses a combination of Apache and Nginx stacks for server configuration. Plus, it deployed multiple cache mechanisms providing optimal performance and page speed, delivering content faster. 

For example, Cloudways uses Varnish as one of the cache layers for your application and Memcahce, which primarily deals with database queries. In addition, Cloudways integrates Cloudflare CDN, image and mobile optimization, and cache and Edge page cache to provide enterprise-grade performance for your applications. 

It does not stop there; Cloudflare Enterprise also enables ScrapeShield and file minification settings to add more hosting performance and security layers to your applications.

These applications, settings, or software are constantly running on your server or application to ensure 24/7/365 quality hosting service.

Additionally, Cloudways has other features it automatically enables on your server or provided, which include: 

• Automatic server-side backup and one-click on-demand restore points.
• Free Cloudways cache and performance plugin – Breeze.
• SMTP server configuration for transactional emails.
• Staging sites
• Free SSL certificate
• HTTPS/3 protocol support with Cloudflare.
• Team collaborations and access control features.
• Website monitoring and analytics.
• Global CDN (Content delivery network) by Cloudflare 
• Bot protection
• SSD storage
• Auto healing – resolve server-side issues automatically.
• Dedicated server resources.
• Options to install Redis for extended performance.
• Phone support access for premium support add-on. 
• Proactive application and server monitoring. 
• WAF (Web Application Firewall
• DDoS Protection with Cloudflare Enterprise solution
• Install multiple applications or WordPress sites in one click. 
• Choose from over 60 global data centers
• Switch between different PHP versions.
• Support for MySQL and MariaDB on all applications.
• And more.

You can check the full Cloudways features via this page.  

Hosting Performance Test 

Unlike many other articles reviewing Cloudways hosting using a test or demo site to show performance. This article relies on practical experience with a production site, a site where I managed to grow my business and earn a living. 

This site has 250+ published articles, thousands of images, 14 active plugins, and several other resources.

So, this Cloudways review is not based on experimentation, but on a live site I managed. 

If you’ve been following through, do you remember the list of hosting issues I had with my former web host? 

After migrating to Cloudways, the first impact I noticed was faster web pages. This is even before I install WP Rocket or use a CDN. 

I use the DotCom Web Server Performance Testing tool. Testing from four different user locations shows a faster server load time of 450 milliseconds. 

My former web host averaged 790 milliseconds. Which is fast, but compared to Cloudways, it is slower. 

Another significant improvement is the “HTTP 429 many request error” warnings. Since I migrated to Cloudways, this error has never resurfaced.  

And the connection timeout was a thing of the past. Users no longer see the connection timeout error page when accessing my website pages. 

Most importantly, the site web pages now have good scores on Google Core Web Vitals testing tools. Here is what most web pages average when testing with Pagespeed Insights and GTmetrix. 

Mobile Test.

Desktop results

There is no good thing if the improvement in performance and speed does not translate to more traffic from Google. 

Here is the last six months’ Search Console traffic data comparison. 

For more data accuracy, I signed up for Cloudways on the 21st of April, 2023. I’m writing this article on the 23rd of October, 2023. 

That’s exactly six months of using Cloudways before writing this Cloudways hosting review. 

The graph shows the traffic trend flattened in the first six months. After Cloudways, things show signs of improvement and an upward traffic trend. 

Certainly, hosting isn’t the only factor for the upward traffic trends; other site optimizations and improvements were made, like installing WP Rocket and switching from Astra Pro to WP Kadence. 

A poor web host will not help your other optimization efforts have noticeable impacts, if any. 

You should read my review to learn why I switched from Astra Pro to WP Kadence and how it helped resolve the site’s Cumulative Layout Shift. 

Here’s what I recommend for faster website pages: sign up for Cloudways and get WP Rocket. The combination can be the difference between a site that loads slowly and a speedy one. 

Cloudways Support

I believe support is one of the strengths or areas in which Cloudways excels as a company. The support has been responsive, timely, and supportive on every occasion I had to request help.

However, you must understand the scope or specifics of Cloudways support.  

While Cloudways offers free 24/7 live chat support for all its customers, there are limitations to what the support can hop in and look at based on your level of support. 

Cloudways offers three levels of support:

• Standard.
• Advanced.
• Premium.

For example, Standard support does not include application and proactive resolving server or stack-related issues. 

Standard support users can request technical support for the servers Cloudways provides and the platform. Only Premium and Advanced support users can request technical support for applications installed on Cloudways servers. 

What this means is that if you have issues with your WordPress application relating to the blog itself and you require support, Cloudways will only point you to guides on their blog, 

However, if the problem is related to servers or the Cloudways platform, you will get all the support required to resolve the issues. 

Sometimes Cloudways does offer application support for Standard users. I have requested help several times, which was quickly looked into. 

You can check the extra bucks required to purchase Advanced and  Premium support add-ons on the page if you need such a support level.  

Cloudways Pricing

Cloudways’s DigitalOcean server offers the cheapest hosting plan regarding price and hosting specifications. 

It starts at $11 monthly or $0.0153 hourly and offers 1GB Core, 25GB SSD storage, 1GB RAM size, and 1TB bandwidth. 

Other cloud infrastructures cost more and offer more hosting resources for the starter plan. 

Amazon Web Server costs $38.56 with 2GB RAM, vCPU 2, 20GB storage, and 2TB bandwidth. Google Cloud costs $37.45 for its entry-level plan on the monthly billing option and gives you 1.7GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 20GB Storage, and 2TB bandwidth.  

Choosing how to pay is one of Cloudways’s advantages over other competitors. Cloudways lets you choose the billing methods that suit your budget. Hourly or monthly? Choose which option you want. 

The hourly billing is ideal if you want to launch a marketing campaign for a few days or weeks. Otherwise, monthly billing is the best option.

Check the pricing page for a complete Cloudways hosting plan and price breakdown. 

Who Should Use Cloudways?

Cloudways, unarguably, offers excellent hosting services, high server performance, and good value for money. However, it might not be the right hosting choice for everyone. 

There are instances or situations where Cloudways isn’t the ideal web host for you, and you should consider other Cloudways alternatives with hosting features and plans that fit your budget, technical knowledge, and website needs. 

Here are some ideal situations where Cloudways does not fit your plan. 

• Cloudways isn’t for you if you’re a beginner with no experience in website hosting and all the technical jargon like CNAME, DNS, A record, etc. This is because Cloudways is not designed for new website owners; its target audience is growing businesses and agencies needing high-quality web hosting with excellent support. 

• Another situation where Cloudways might not fit is when you need both domain and hosting registered with a web host. Cloudways does not provide domain name registration services, so you must register your domain name with a registrar and point it to your Cloudways hosting. 

Besides this, Cloudways is an excellent web host if you’re looking for managed cloud hosting with good value for money. Unlimited website hosting, automated daily backup, and powerful cloud hosting infrastructure from the top brands in the industry without paying the high cost. 

However, if now is not the right time to try Cloudways, you should consider alternative web hosts like Hostinger, HostGator, Domain.com, Nexcess, LiquidWeb, and shared hosts like Namecheap. 

Cloudways Pros and Cons

Before signing up for Cloudways hosting, let’s discuss its pros and cons in this Cloudways hosting review. 

FAQ – Clooudways Review

Conclusion…Cloudways Hosting Reviews

If managed cloud hosting is what you’re looking for, I advise you to check out Cloudways.

From beginner-friendly hosting plans to mission-critical website hosting needs, Cloudways offers affordable hosting plans that cut across businesses of all sizes.

Try Cloudways hosting today.