To make the switch or to not make the switch.

You’ve been going back and forth on the topic of WordPress hosts and which one is the best fit for your needs. Managed WordPress hosting can seem like an intimidating step, but it’s truly the next natural step to scale and grow your business!

Between the other hosting options, managed WordPress hosting will let you reap the most benefits out of your business or agency. Don’t just take my word for it — I asked several web designers about their experience making the switch. 

What is managed WordPress hosting and how does it differ from the other hosting options? 

There’s no right or wrong hosting option but there is one that fits your needs best, and that’s why you’re here! There are three avenues you can go when picking your WordPress host: shared, dedicated, and managed hosting. 

Shared hosting is essentially a shared server environment. Think of an apartment that you rent within a large building. It’s very accessible, but since you’re sharing the hosting platform like a building, if a neighbor’s site is infected with malware or security hacks, it can quickly cause an infestation throughout the entire platform. It’s on the lower end of budgets which makes it a popular go-to, but there are some serious quality and performance considerations with this route. Also, shared hosting can have hidden fees down the road which will gradually increase that super low price which originally sold you on shared hosting. 

Dedicated hosting, on the other hand, is when you set up a single large server that is dedicated to a specific customer. There’s a finite amount of resources available with this option because you’re starting out with x amount of tools according to the server purchased and a blank slate on your own “land”. This hosting option is great for flexibility, but will require a large amount of technical background knowledge on top of the time and resources to buy a server and maintain it.  

Managed hosting is when the technical management and maintenance of the servers are overseen by the hosting provider. The provider will take care of all the website house-keeping needs so you can focus on tasks like growing their business and taking care of clients. It’s the ultimate turnkey solution which is why it requires a higher budget allowance. 

Now that you have a general understanding of the hosting playing field, let’s get into why these designers choose managed hosting with Flywheel. 

5 reasons why these designers recommend managed WordPress hosting with Flywheel 

There are plenty of reasons to choose managed WordPress hosting, but we asked a few of our Agency Partners to explain what they love about managed WordPress hosting (and why they chose to host their sites with Flywheel). Here’s what they had to say!

An intuitive dashboard is a must

Jessica from Blue and Pine Creative Studio was not a fan of hosting tasks prior to finding Flywheel. She knew she wanted an effortless experience, so she researched several managed WordPress hosts and came across Flywheel: 

“At other managed WordPress hosts, the design and UX did not feel intuitive, creative, or inviting. I would find myself dreading site hosting tasks — the horror, the pain, the lameness … please let me do anything else! Not with Flywheel. I adore the attention to detail with design and user-friendliness. It is a happy, positive, and fun design. The dread is gone.

The meat and potatoes of its hosting is so impeccable, problem-free, and easy I probably overlook how beautiful it really is. My clients’ sites have excellent uptime, are fast, malware-free, secure, backed up, and simply, just run. It’s just effortless for me!” 

A good night’s sleep is worth the pricetag

Armando from Five Oaks Communication had extensive research in web design, but knew he wanted to invest more time in client work rather than hosting maintenance. He used a shared hosting platform before transitioning to Flywheel and the Agency Partners Program: 

“Our experience with Flywheel versus our previous shared host has been like night and day, and the extra money paid to Flywheel is worth it. I no longer wake up at night worrying about our sites. We have multiple ways of getting support, and it is always fast. Their techs are consistently helpful, both with Flywheel issues and in addressing general questions and issues with WordPress, plugins and even in advising us on what plugins to use to achieve specific goals. They often just fix issues, rather than sending links to instructions. We are so glad to be hosting with a company that meets our technical needs so we don’t have to worry about them.”

Plans perfect for all kinds of creatives

Geno from Monterey Premier has a lot of experience in web development and knew that he didn’t want to host client sites on poor-performing hosting servers. He also didn’t want to charge massive rates to provide high-quality hosting to his clients. Prior to joining Flywheel, he was using dedicated hosting thanks to his web developer background. Once he decided to scale his monthly maintenance services, he knew he had to look for a hosting provider that would offer higher performance for his sites and reasonable prices so he wouldn’t have to charge “an arm and a leg” to his clients:  

“As a web developer, I have worked on websites hosted with all kinds of companies. When I decided to start pushing my monthly maintenance services a little harder, I knew I also had to provide the hosting because I will not perform monthly maintenance on a site running on poor performing hosting services. I also did not want to charge my customers an arm and a leg if they did not need it so going with the more expensive hosting companies was not an option.

Flywheel’s Agency plan was a perfect fit. I love the great features that are included such as SSL, daily backups, built-in cache, multisite options, and Blueprints. I do not believe there is such a thing as perfect hosting customer support but I think Flywheel has some of the best support out there.

Support that actually gives a damn

Chris from Sun Graphic has been in the web design industry for almost 25 years. At times, he’s managing thousands of sites at once and has worked with several WordPress hosts in the past. He enjoys Flywheel’s support-heavy culture as the managed WordPress hosting partner for his clients: 

“I have been in this game since 1996. At times I have had over 4,000 hosting clients. The most important factor in choosing a hosting partner for my clients is always support! Support is always my #1 concern. Anyone can deliver hosting. Hosting firms are a dime a dozen. Not everyone can create a culture of supporting your clients.“

More time to grow your business, less time worrying about your site

Scott from WP Support Plan came from a dedicated hosting background. He knew that he didn’t want to spend his time learning the mechanics of running a server and started looking for a turnkey-solution hosting partner. He did plenty of research on hosting platforms before he decided on Flywheel: 

“When we first added hosting and maintenance, we were using a VPS that we inherited from a business we took over. But we aren’t SysAdmins, nor did we want to be. So we researched a solution to our issues, which included security, managed WordPress hosting, and other features. Flywheel ended up being what we felt was the best choice, both in quality of service and cost.

We now have the extra time to continue growing our business by working with other agencies and our own new clients.” 

An effortless managed WordPress hosting experience

While individual hosting experiences can differ from person to person, these stories are just a few reasons why these designers made the switch to managed WordPress hosting with Flywheel. These web designers came from both shared and dedicated hosting platforms and saw the value of managed hosting thanks to Flywheel taking care of everything on the back-end! 

Focus on tasks that really matter such as scaling your business and growing your clients. If you’re ready to stop messing with malware and problem-shooting plugins, then give managed WordPress hosting with Flywheel a try!

Ready to make the switch? 

These designer’s stories may have been the nail in the coffin for your old host. Dive into the world of managed WordPress hosting and discover why more designers are making the switch! Learn more about the value of managed WordPress hosting in our free ebook here.