I’ve been building WordPress websites for over a decade now, so it’s safe to say I’ve had my share of experience with different WordPress hosting companies. Some have started off amazing and then gone downhill over time, some have been total crap from the start (sorry, but it’s true), and some have stayed top-notch since day one. WP Engine fits squarely into this box. From their built-in website performance to their simple one-click staging (that actually works), here’s why WP Engine hosting has earned a special place in my heart.
Excellent Speed and Performance
Website speed is a critical factor for user experience and search engine rankings. WP Engine’s hosting environment is optimized for speed from the start. How you ask? Let me tell you.
- Built-In Caching: WP Engine’s proprietary caching technology significantly boosts your website’s loading speed, which is a win for both SEO and user satisfaction.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN): WP Engine offers an integrated CDN service, distributing your content across multiple servers worldwide to ensure fast delivery to visitors, regardless of their location.
- Highly Available Infrastructure: With a focus on high availability, WP Engine ensures that your website is up and running smoothly, even during traffic spikes. I’ve never had my website just “go down” on WP Engine. I can’t say that for any other host I’ve used.
One-Click Staging
One of the standout features of WP Engine hosting that instantly won me over is its one-click staging environment. This tool is a game-changer for WordPress developers and website owners alike. Staging allows you to create a replica of your website where you can safely test changes, updates, or new designs without affecting your live site. Here’s why it’s so awesome…
- Simplified Testing: With one click, you can duplicate your website and make any changes you desire, from theme customizations to plugin updates. This minimizes the risk of breaking your live site during experimentation.
- Risk Mitigation: Staging eliminates the fear of introducing errors or bugs to your live website. You can identify issues and fix them on the staging site, ensuring a smooth user experience for your visitors.
- Efficiency: This feature saves a lot of time, especially when you’re working on complex projects. No need to manually copy your site, make changes, and then replicate them on your live website.
- It Actually Works: Laugh if you want, but I’ve used “one-click staging” on a number of other hosts and it’s been more time-consuming and frustrating than if I had just downloaded the entire site, made changes locally, and then uploaded the new files. I actually quit using another host because every time I would push a site live, it would throw a critical error and I’d end up spending hours working with their support to fix the site. But with WP Engine Hosting, it just works.
Easy SSL Certification
In today’s digital world, website security is paramount. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certification is not just an option but a necessity. When someone comes to your website, the last thing you want them to see is a “Danger, this site may be unsafe” message. Well, WP Engine makes it incredibly easy to secure your site with SSL and it’s done with just a few clicks. This is why it matters…
- Automatic SSL: WP Engine offers automatic SSL certification. You don’t need to spend hours configuring settings or manually installing certificates. It’s all done seamlessly. And you don’t have to worry about remembering to renew it every few months because they take care of that too.
- HTTPS for All Pages: Once your SSL is set up, your entire website will be accessible through the secure HTTPS protocol, reassuring your visitors that their data is protected.
- Enhanced SEO: SSL is now a ranking factor in search engines. Having SSL set up not only secures your site but also improves your SEO rankings, making it a win-win.
- It’s INCLUDED in Your WP Engine Hosting Plan: As important as an SSL certificate is, you would think that all hosting companies would include an SSL cert. Unfortunately, not all do, and some of the ones that do make you pay $10 or more a year for it.
DNS Automation
WP Engine simplifies a usually complex aspect of website management – DNS (Domain Name System) through a process called Domain Connect. Your Domain is your web address (URL), and your DNS essentially points a site visitor to the content on your site when they visit your URL. It sounds way more complicated than it is, and because of that, it’s an often intimidating part of the web development process. I’m not intimidated by it at all, and I still love how seamless WP Engine makes DNS set up. With Domain Connect, they will take care of the DNS updates with any of the supported DNS Providers. Here’s why this automation is a big plus:
- Effortless Domain Management: With DNS automation, you can easily manage and configure your domain settings with just a few clicks.
- Fast Propagation: WP Engine’s DNS system ensures that changes propagate quickly, reducing downtime and making updates to your site almost instantaneous.
WP Engine Hosting Has Amazing Support
One of the standout features of WP Engine hosting that truly sets it apart is its top-notch support. WP Engine has a reputation for going above and beyond to assist its customers. Anytime I’ve needed help or wasn’t sure what was going on with the site, WP Engine’s support was more than happy to help and troubleshoot alongside me. For someone like me, with years of experience, this is great, but for someone who is less familiar with web development or maybe not very technically savvy at all, this is a game changer. Things you can look forward to with WP Engine’s Customer Service Team:
- 24/7 Availability: No matter when you encounter an issue, WP Engine’s support team is there to help around the clock.
- WordPress Experts: The support team is well-versed in WordPress and the platform’s unique challenges, which means you’re in capable hands.
- Quick Problem Resolution: WP Engine’s support team is known for quick response times and efficient issue resolution, minimizing website downtime.
Robust Security
WP Engine is serious about security, which is vital in an age of increasing cyber threats. They keep an eye on your site for you and will even let you know if your plugins are out of date or are a security risk to your site. Here are a few other reasons why their security measures are impressive:
- Daily Backups: WP Engine takes daily backups of your website, ensuring that your data is secure and you can quickly recover from any unexpected issues. Side note: you can also take on-demand backups whenever you want to. I love this feature as well.
- Malware Scanning: They provide malware scanning and removal services to protect your site from malicious code and potential threats.
- Firewall Protection: With a robust firewall, your site is shielded from common security vulnerabilities and DDoS attacks.
Managed WordPress Updates with WP Engine Hosting
I can’t believe I’m even writing this. Never in my life have I ever recommended using your host to manage your WordPress updates. I’ve seen this process bring down entire sites (Though, to be fair, I’ve also seen a lack of maintenance also bring down entire sites.).
The thing is, WordPress maintenance has always been complex, and doing automatic updates could easily result in a critical error on the site or a functionality not working. It could take days or even longer to notice, and then identifying and fixing the issue takes a while. This could cause poor user experience on your site for days or even weeks, resulting in lost business and search engine rankings. Ouch.
And these are still possibilities, but WP Engine hosting has somehow bridged this gap, and I’m seriously impressed. I’ve started using this feature on a few sites at my day job and am happy to report that I’ve had no issues at all. Granted, they are simple wooCommerce sites with a solid build. But I’m very happy with my experience and comfortable recommending this service to others with clean, simple builds.
If you’re not familiar with WordPress Maintenance, you may be wondering why this is such a big deal. Well, WordPress is continuously evolving, with regular updates and security patches. Kind of like your smartphone. And if you don’t keep it updated, your site functionality could be compromised, or worse, someone could break into the backend of your site and wreak havoc.
So, updates are essential, and WP Engine hosting makes managing these updates hassle-free by:
- Automatic Updates: WP Engine takes care of core WordPress updates for you, ensuring your site always runs on the latest and most secure version.
- Pre-Update Backups: WP Engine Hosting takes backups of your site before they do any updates, and then they scan the site after each update to ensure everything is functioning as it should be. If it’s not, it automatically reverts back and notifies you that something needs attention. How nice is that?
In The World Of WordPress Hosting, WP Engine Stands Out For A Good Reason.
With its excellent speed and performance, one-click staging, easy SSL certification, DNS automation, amazing support, robust security, and managed WordPress updates, it’s no wonder that many website owners, including myself, love this hosting company.
WP Engine offers a comprehensive hosting solution that not only simplifies website management but also enhances the security, performance, and reliability of your WordPress site. If you’re in search of a reliable WordPress hosting partner, consider giving WP Engine a try. It could be the game-changer your website (and business) needs. Still not convinced, check out our other blog posts about WP Engine hosting.
Interest in trying out WP Engine hosting for yourself. Get 4 months free using code “wpe4free” at checkout.
