Is Cloudways a Smart Investment?

Cloudways is a smart investment for WordPress users who value performance, scalability, and flexibility over the lowest cost or a basic interface. As a managed cloud hosting platform, it eliminates the technical complexity of managing cloud servers, making high-speed, reliable hosting accessible for a wide range of users, including agencies and growing businesses seeking optimized WordPress performance.

An Overview

All About Cloudways

Acquired by DigitalOcean in 2022, Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that connects users with top-tier cloud infrastructure providers. It simplifies cloud hosting management, offering scalable, high-performance, and secure solutions ideal for developers, agencies, and small to medium-sized businesses that want powerful hosting without handling server management directly.


Key Features

Cloudways offers WordPress users a range of powerful features, including high-performance hosting with built-in caching and SSD storage, one-click WordPress installation, and scalable plans that let you easily adjust server resources as traffic increases. The platform also provides robust security measures, automated backups, free site migrations, and 24/7 expert support, ensuring a fast, secure, and reliable environment for managing WordPress websites.


Running WordPress with Cloudways

Cloudways simplifies WordPress website creation with easy one-click installations on cloud servers from providers like DigitalOcean or AWS. Users can quickly set up their sites using pre-designed themes and starter templates, including options like Astra Pro with a free one-year subscription. The platform supports popular page builders such as Elementor and WP Page Builder, enabling drag-and-drop design for effortless customization. Additionally, Cloudways offers a WordPress Blueprint Maker, a free tool that pre-configures your preferred themes and plugins, streamlining the setup process for new projects.


Free WordPress Migration

For WordPress users looking to migrate their sites, Cloudways offers a free migration service that ensures a seamless transition. You can use the Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin to handle the migration yourself at no cost, or opt for one complimentary managed migration, where Cloudways experts professionally transfer your site for a hassle-free and secure experience.


Is Cloudways Trusted and Secure?

Cloudways is recognized as a secure and trustworthy managed cloud hosting platform for WordPress, trusted by over 90,000 users for its strong performance and reliability. It earns consistently high reviews on platforms like G2 and Trustpilot and runs on top-tier infrastructures such as Google Cloud, AWS, and DigitalOcean. With automatic updates, security management, backups, and full SFTP and SSH access without plugin restrictions, Cloudways offers both ease of use and advanced control for WordPress site owners.

Security Essentials

Designed with WordPress security in mind, Cloudways provides a robust, multi-layered protection system that includes Imunify360 firewalls to block harmful traffic, free Let’s Encrypt SSL for encrypted data transfer, and advanced bot protection to stop brute-force attacks. Its automated backups, optional malware scanning, and vulnerability detection tools help maintain site integrity, while proactive OS patching, auto-healing servers, and two-factor authentication strengthen overall server security. With the added option of Cloudflare Enterprise for enhanced DDoS defense, Cloudways ensures a dependable and secure hosting environment for WordPress users.


WordPress Support and Customer Service

Cloudways provides round-the-clock, year-round live human support, ensuring WordPress users can get help whenever they need it. Its 24/7 chat assistance is known for fast response times and consistently high satisfaction ratings, making it a reliable option for immediate, expert troubleshooting.


How to Cancel or Pause your WordPress Hosting

Cloudways does not provide a pause option for hosting, so billing continues unless you fully cancel your services. To stop charges, you must delete all servers and disable any paid add-ons, which permanently removes your data. After backing up or migrating your site, log in to your Cloudways account, delete every active server, remove all add-on subscriptions, and ensure any pending invoices are paid, as Cloudways bills in arrears. It’s also recommended to contact Cloudways Support through live chat or a ticket to confirm that your account is fully cancelled and no further billing will occur.

For Cancellation

After deleting all servers, removing add-ons, and settling any remaining invoices, you can finalize your Cloudways account cancellation by logging into your dashboard, opening the Account section from your profile menu, and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Once you review and accept the cancellation terms, simply select Cancel My Account to permanently close your Cloudways account.


Managing WordPress via Mobile

Cloudways’ PowerCloud mobile app focuses solely on hosting-level controls, so it doesn’t manage WordPress tasks like publishing content, installing plugins, or customizing your site. To manage your WordPress website on mobile, you can use the official WordPress app for iOS or Android, access your WordPress admin dashboard directly through a mobile browser, or rely on plugins that turn your site into a mobile-friendly app. In essence, Cloudways handles server management through its app, while all WordPress content and site administration are managed through standard WordPress tools.


Plans and Prices

Cloudways provides flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing for WordPress hosting, starting at about $11 per month for entry-level servers and scaling based on the cloud provider and resources you choose, such as RAM, storage, and bandwidth. Users can select from providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode, with the ability to upgrade server capacity as their WordPress site grows. Advanced plans designed for high-traffic websites and e-commerce stores typically range from around $100 to over $300 per month, while autoscaling options adjust server resources automatically during traffic spikes, with costs increasing according to usage.



What you Can Try for Free with Cloudways

As a WordPress user, you can take advantage of Cloudways’ 3-day free trial to launch a server, install WordPress, and test its managed hosting environment without entering a credit card. The trial lets you use the free migration service, access tools like the WordPress Blueprint Maker, and benefit from Cloudways’ built-in caching plugin for optimized performance. You can also create a staging site to safely test updates, try the one-click WordPress setup, and experience key features such as automated backups, security protections, and 24/7 support before committing to a plan.



WordPress Hosting Add-ons and Customizations

Cloudways provides a flexible WordPress hosting platform with managed server maintenance, security, and updates, letting users focus on site development. It offers performance optimization through a robust stack, caching technologies, and plugins, along with essential security features and optional add-ons like Malware Protection and Cloudflare Enterprise. SafeUpdates automates WordPress updates, while one-click staging and scalable server options support growth. Additional services include email hosting, DNS acceleration, and client management tools, making Cloudways a comprehensive solution for WordPress websites.



Managed WordPress Hosting

Cloudways managed WordPress hosting simplifies server and website management by handling security, backups, and performance optimization, allowing users to focus on creating content. It offers an intuitive platform for deploying and managing WordPress sites on top cloud providers such as DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud. Key features include 24/7 expert support, free SSL certificates, and built-in tools to enhance website speed and reliability, making it an efficient and secure solution for WordPress hosting.


Ease of Use

For WordPress users, Cloudways offers a seamless hosting experience with one-click installation, managed server maintenance, and an intuitive, easy-to-navigate interface. The platform integrates essential tools for server and domain management, SSL, and security, while migration plugins simplify transferring existing sites. Features like staging environments and site cloning make testing and updating changes safe and efficient, ensuring a smooth, hassle-free WordPress management experience.



Robust and Managed Cloud Hosting

Cloudways does not include a built-in website builder but delivers robust managed cloud hosting optimized for WordPress, enabling users to deploy sites with a single click. The platform supports seamless integration with popular third-party page builders and themes, such as Astra and its Spectra builder, allowing WordPress users to efficiently design, manage, and scale their websites while leveraging powerful development and customization tools.







Control Penel

Cloudways offers a custom, user-friendly control panel for WordPress hosting that simplifies server and site management. Unlike traditional cPanel, it provides an intuitive interface to manage servers, applications, and projects in one place. Key features include one-click WordPress installation, SSL setup, automated backups, and performance monitoring, making it easy for users to deploy and manage WordPress sites efficiently.


Free Offers

Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial to test its WordPress hosting platform, along with one free migration for your first site, either via the Cloudways WordPress Migrator plugin or their managed service. The platform includes the free Breeze caching plugin to boost website speed, and promotional offers like 50% off for the first three months are frequently available, sometimes combined with additional free migrations, making it easy to start and optimize WordPress hosting at a lower cost.


Cloudways vs Others: A Comparison

Cloudways vs HostGator

Cloudways outperforms HostGator for WordPress hosting by offering higher performance and scalability through its cloud-based infrastructure, enhanced security with dedicated IPs, and a flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model. It includes features such as automated backups, 24/7 expert support, and a custom control panel, while HostGator mainly provides shared hosting, which can be less powerful and more limiting as a WordPress site grows.

Cloudways vs SiteGround

Cloudways is frequently seen as a better choice than SiteGround for WordPress users seeking greater flexibility and performance, offering a powerful, scalable cloud-based environment with pay-as-you-go pricing and multiple infrastructure options like AWS and Google Cloud. SiteGround, on the other hand, is ideal for beginners thanks to its user-friendly, all-in-one, pre-configured platform, while Cloudways may require a steeper learning curve for full optimization.

Cloudways vs Hostinger

Cloudways surpasses Hostinger for WordPress hosting by providing superior performance, scalability, and flexibility through cloud providers like DigitalOcean and Google Cloud. Hostinger, however, is more suitable for budget-conscious users, offering affordable shared hosting plans that work well for smaller or low-traffic WordPress sites, making it a cost-effective option for basic website needs.


Bottom Line: Is Cloudways Worth It for WordPress?

Cloudways is a worthwhile choice for WordPress hosting if you need a high-performance, scalable, and fully managed cloud platform that provides more control than standard shared hosting. It is especially well-suited for growing businesses, e-commerce sites, and agencies that value speed and reliability without the complexity of managing raw cloud servers.