Persevering with our opinions of internet hosting suppliers, we’re again right now with a have a look at WP Engine – a devoted WordPress internet hosting supplier that guarantees premium, hassle-free companies for web site homeowners who received’t settle for compromises.
In case your web site hasn’t been constructed with WordPress then WP Engine received’t be an choice for you, in fact. And, should you’re questioning why a internet hosting supplier would restrict itself to at least one kind of buyer, you may consider it as a agency that desires to give attention to one area of interest and actually get it proper – an admirable enterprise mannequin within the ever-expanding world of tech.
That’s the philosophy anyway – and it’s a superb one too if the agency can pull it off. So let’s take a more in-depth have a look at what WP Engine has to supply, see if it might ship on its guarantees, in an effort to provide help to determine if that is the most effective net host to your WordPress web site.
Earlier than we get into the finer particulars and the nitty-gritty, let’s take a fast high-level have a look at the professionals and cons of WP Engine:
WP Engine Professionals
- Devoted WordPress companies
- Very quick loading web sites
- Extremely dependable uptime (nearly as good as 100%)
- Fast customer support response
WP Engine Cons
- Comparatively costly
- No electronic mail assist
- Too many limitations at this worth
- Inconsistent buyer assist
Fast verdict: When you’re in search of funds WordPress internet hosting then this isn’t the selection for you. WP Engine guarantees rather a lot and it largely delivers, however it's a must to pay for the privilege and it’s not with out its shortcomings.
WP Engine Plan Choices
WP Engine gives a lot of internet hosting choices for blogs and companies of all styles and sizes. You’ll have to weigh up what your speedy wants are from a internet hosting plan, but in addition what you’ll want as your on-line model grows. Listed here are the important thing variations between every plan:
Private Plan Overview
- $29/mo
- Shared server
- One WordPress set up (web site)
- As much as 25Ok month-to-month guests
- 10GB native storage
- Limitless information switch
- CDN for $19/mo (sooner content material supply)
Skilled Plan Overview
- $99/mo
- Shared server
- As much as 10 WordPress installs (web sites)
- As much as 100Ok month-to-month guests
- 20GB native storage
- Limitless information switch
- CDN included (sooner content material supply)
- Devoted IP deal with for $5/mo
- 24/7 telephone assist
Enterprise Plan Overview
- $249/mo
- Shared server
- As much as 25 WordPress installs (web sites)
- As much as 400Ok month-to-month guests
- 30GB native storage
- Limitless information switch
- CDN included (sooner content material supply)
- Devoted IP deal with included
- 24/7 telephone assist
- GeoIP enabled (sooner content material supply, primarily based on positioned)
Premium and Enterprise Plan Overviews
- Value on request
- Devoted server
- As much as 150 installs
- Limitless information
- CDN, 1000GB free
- Devoted IP deal with included
- 24/7 telephone assist
- GeoIP enabled (sooner content material supply, primarily based on positioned)
Premium solely: 1 million+ month-to-month guests, 100-300GB native storage, strategic account administration obtainable.
Enterprise solely: 5 million+ month-to-month guests, 400GB-1TB native storage, strategic account administration included.
Selecting the Proper Plan for You
The very first thing you’ll discover is these are some expensive plans – notably a shared marketing strategy for $249/mo. This is able to simply get you a devoted server with extra intensive options elsewhere. WP Engine plans are pretty restricted for this worth vary too – examine the most cost effective WP Engine plan with SiteGround’s most costly shared choice:
WP Engine Private Plan
- $29/mo
- Shared server
- 25Ok month-to-month guests
- 10GB native storage
- CDN for $19/mo
SiteGround GoGeek Plan
- 11.95€/mo (approx $14/mo)
- Shared server
- As much as 100,000 month-to-month guests
- 30GB net area
- Free CDN
- 24/7 technical assist
As you may see, SiteGround gives much more for lower than half the value. However WP Engine isn’t positioning itself as a supplier that provides funds worth plans. What WP Engine guarantees is managed WordPress companies that take the trouble out of internet hosting a web site by way of the world’s favorite CMS platform.
You need to pay for this stage of service, although, and also you’ll need to fastidiously take into account what number of guests you anticipate to cater for as your on-line enterprise expands. If you end up settling for a restricted plan due to the price, then possibly WP Engine isn’t for you.
WP Engine Coupon Code
In contrast to many host suppliers, WP Engine doesn’t get itself concerned with low cost costs or codes all too usually. This doesn’t imply they don’t exist, however you might have to hunt that little bit tougher to seek out them. At these sorts of costs, although, a pleasant little coupon might make all of the distinction as you weigh up your internet hosting suppliers.
So, in good spirit, we’ve crawled the online and located some WP Engine coupon codes to deliver these premium companies to your WordPress website for that little bit much less. Merely click on the hyperlink beneath and enter the coupon code supplied earlier than you pay on the WP Engine checkout web page.
A Nearer Take a look at the Key Options
WP Engine guarantees premium WordPress internet hosting companies to provide you peace of thoughts from the second you join. Key options are straightforward setup, blazing speeds, air-tight safety and entry to its buyer assist workforce of WordPress consultants – however does WP Engine dwell as much as the hype?
Safety
WP Engine’s safety measures are fairly intensive and it quickly turns into apparent this can be a precedence for the agency. You'd anticipate that at these costs, although. Nonetheless, the excellence with WP Engine (and different WordPress specialists) is these safety measures are designed particularly to cater for the threats and vulnerabilities of WordPress.
It begins with day by day backups, bolstered by computerized WordPress updates to be sure you’re at all times operating essentially the most up-to-date and safe model of the software program. Higher but is WP Engine’s real-time safety menace detection software program. This characteristic extends WordPress’ already spectacular safety infrastructure. This protects you from malicious JavaScript/SQL and XML-RPC assaults whereas additionally blocking IP addresses identified to belong to spammers and hackers.
Periodic safety audits and code opinions come as commonplace too, which means WP Engine is at all times in search of potential safety threats to your web site and its personal servers. All in all this provides as much as some beefy safety features and the supplier even guarantees to repair your website – freed from cost – in case your website will get compromised (small print will nearly actually apply).
In case you are operating an ecommerce website or some other web site the place consumer information and accounts are saved, making safety a excessive precedence is important.
Verdict on safety: As WP Engine factors out, the core WordPress system is extremely safe out of the field, nevertheless it’s reassuring to know you've WP specialists going the additional distance to guard your web site. No internet hosting could be threat-free, however WP Engine actually strives to get as shut as doable.
Uptime and Web site Pace
One other key promoting level for WP Engine is its promise of 100% uptime and unrivalled pace. You’ll be glad to know the supplier delivers on each factors. Nonetheless, you’ll have to purchase into its CDN to get the most effective efficiency – which doesn’t come at no cost on the Private plan.
What you do get in all plans is the supplier’s personal EverCache know-how, which is designed to make WordPress websites sooner for returning guests. Information is mechanically saved within the consumer’s browser to save lots of them downloading the identical recordsdata each time they pay a go to – and this mixed with the CDN makes for some very quick WordPress efficiency.
What’s actually spectacular is that WP Engine delivers on its promise of 100% uptime pace. In truth, it’s arduous to seek out studies of web sites dropping for any cause apart from hitting their month-to-month customer restrict. Nonetheless, this is likely one of the essential drawbacks to the supplier within the first place and it’s a disgrace to see so many restrictions on these plans.
As a sluggish loading web site can negatively have an effect on your rank in the various search engines and your website conversion charges, web page pace is one other metric it's best to at all times be aiming to enhance.
Uptime and website pace verdict: High marks to WP Engine on each counts. For these plan costs, you actually anticipate the supplier to ship on efficiency, however the outcomes are genuinely spectacular.
WP Engine Efficiency Benchmarks
Listed here are a few of the benchmarks we did utilizing Pingdom:
On our check website we're utilizing premium WordPress theme from Themeforest, WooCommerce, Revolution Slider, Visible Composer, Akismet, Contact Kind 7, Jetpack, Yoast search engine optimization. Additionally our photographs should not optimized for net and no CSS recordsdata and JavaScript recordsdata are mixed and minified and you may see that in web site dimension which is 2.3MB and it's a rather a lot for a easy touchdown web page. Nonetheless, WPEngine was capable of deal with that with ease and managed to masses our web site in below one second in any US location we had an opportunity to check it. Beneath you may see extra outcomes from our WP Engine benchmarks.
WP Engine efficiency benchmark utilizing Pingdom
As you may see from our check, our pattern web site masses 93% sooner than different web sites examined utilizing Pingdom. All our check very very constant.
WP Engine efficiency benchmark utilizing Pingdom when testing from Dallas, Texas, USA.
Right here you may see our check website when testing from completely different location and on this case it's Dallas, Texas. On this case web site carried out even higher and it's seemingly one thing to do with WP Engine server and CDN areas.
WP Engine efficiency benchmark utilizing Pingdom when testing from San Jose, California, USA
Comparable outcomes have been achieved when testing from California. As you may see outcomes are very constant throughout US and that’s reveals how nicely optimized their infrastructure are.
Why not Google PageSpeed Insights?
We aren’t utilizing Google PageSpeed Insights as a result of they present how nicely optimized is your web site. It reveals in case your photographs are compressed, CSS minified and mixed, JavaScript minified, mixed and doesn’t block content material rendering and different tweaks. That's correct metric just for these utilizing optimizations to get the utmost efficiency. We didn’t do any optimizations to our web site and wished to indicate how nicely WP Engine performs with none tweaks. It’s what any consumer will get as soon as they transfer their web site. No internet hosting supplier will do these tweaks for you and you'll have to do them by yourself however as you may see from check above, there is no such thing as a want for that and WP Engine is extremely quick out of the field.
Buyer Help
The opposite huge declare from WP Engine is the unrivalled buyer assist it has to supply. Sadly, that is the place the supplier begins to allow you to down a bit, as the standard of their assist has dropped over the past 12 months or so. It’s an actual disgrace too as a result of the agency was as soon as famend for it high-quality buyer assist workforce and stage of assist on provide.
Basically, the agency is at the moment in some extent of transition because it makes an attempt to stability enlargement with sustaining constant requirements. The reality is issues haven’t gone all that nicely and public criticism of the supplier (notably its customer support) has grown. A lot so, the truth is, that founder Jason Cohen felt the necessity to write a public apology/explanation final 12 months.
The excellent news is issues are slowly bettering, with the newest repair being the removal of bot traffic from its overage calculations – one other scathing criticism that surfaced again in June. Sadly, there’s nonetheless loads of work to be achieved earlier than WP Engine can get well its repute as a supplier that places its clients first. And that is the place these costly worth tags begin to look a contact unjustified.
Verdict on buyer assist: It’s a disgrace to see WP Engine let its buyer care endure on the expense of rising as a agency. In its defence, you may’t invent WordPress consultants out of skinny air and the size up in workers seems to be to be an actual problem for the corporate. This received’t do a lot to consolation clients who really feel let down by a drop in requirements, although – though we must always level on the market are nonetheless loads of comfortable WP Engine customers having fun with its companies.
Utilizing WP Engine
Getting again to the excellent news, WP Engine makes establishing your WordPress website a breeze. As a result of it solely offers with WordPress, you don’t must undergo the huge cPanel dashboards you get with most internet hosting suppliers – however let’s take a more in-depth have a look at what you do must work with.
Getting Began
Getting began with WP Engine is sweet and simple, however you’ll need to try the going live information in its assist part. There’s nothing sophisticated in there, however the setup course of is a bit completely different from what you may be used to with different net hosts.
All it's a must to do is click on on the Installs tab and click on Domains within the left-hand menu to enter the area of your website.
You may additionally want so as to add some redirects (www.yoursite.com in case your true URL is “non-www” – yoursite.com, for instance). That is easy sufficient, although, so that you shouldn’t have any issues. If there’s a stumbling block in establishing WP Engine, will probably be altering your DNS settings so you may want to try this guide article earlier than you get began.
WP Engine Administration Panel
WP Engine doesn’t include an admin panel in the identical vein as your typical internet hosting supplier – as a substitute you've a a lot less complicated providing that permits you to spend extra time within the WordPress dashboard.
Upgrading Your Plan
The quickest strategy to improve your plan is to click on the drop-down arrow on the Plan utilization panel to the top-right of the principle dashboard. This brings up an summary of your account, some key data and a hyperlink to maintain you not more than a click on away from upgrading, must you ever must.
Area Administration
Area administration is break up into 4 sections inside the Installs tab: Domains, Redirect guidelines, SSL and Web site migration. None of this can be new to you by the point you've your website up and operating, however that is the place you’ll must return if you wish to add additional websites to your account (assuming your plan permits it).
Web site Enchancment Instruments
WP Engine doesn’t include any website particular enchancment instruments inside its admin panel, except for its CDN. As a substitute, it takes you proper to the WordPress dashboard, the place you've the whole lot it is advisable to enhance your website (principally by way of plugins).
File Administration
File administration is a bit completely different on WP Engine too and also you’ll discover entry to this below the Installs tab on the principle dashboard. Scroll right down to the SFTP logins panel and also you’ll see login choices for each Reside and Staging environments.
Modifications you make within the dwell atmosphere will take impact instantly, however the staging atmosphere offers you a spot to experiment with adjustments earlier than you migrate them over to the dwell website – a very nice characteristic (though not unique to WP Engine).
Verdict on admin panel: When you’ve used different host suppliers earlier than (notably those who don’t specialize in WordPress) the WP Engine admin panel could seem restricted at a primary look. However it’s truly a superb effort of stripping out all of the pointless options – issues which you'll be able to already do inside the WordPress dashboard.
Consumer Interface
As for the consumer interface itself, WP Engine has made loads of progress on this regard. Issues have been fairly messy till a few years in the past, however you’re now a a lot tidier interface – at the very least by way of visible design.
The place there’s nonetheless room for enchancment is the construction and navigation of the platform. It’s not notably apparent what you may truly do inside the admin panel – or the place to seek out issues – at first. Naturally, you’ve bought the consumer guides that can assist you determine issues out – and as soon as you already know your approach across the place it’s easy – however it in all probability shouldn’t be a difficulty within the first place.
Verdict on the consumer interface: Progress has been made to enhance the interface, however the entire platform might nonetheless do with an overhaul by way of construction and navigation.
Total WP Engine Verdict
WP Engine actually isn’t a internet hosting supplier for site owners who need the most effective deal going. WP Engine is a supplier for critical web site homeowners, who depend on WordPress for a gradual stream of earnings, and might’t afford something lower than the most effective in reliability.
And reliability is what WP Engine nonetheless does finest. It’s quick, safe and about as flawless as you may get in the case of server uptime. It’s only a disgrace there are such a lot of restrictions on its plans, particularly at these costs.
The actual downside for WP Engine, although, is it’s declining buyer care – one thing the agency was endlessly praised for till lately. Excessive costs and restrictions have been a lot simpler to justify when the shopper care was protecting the grins on folks’s faces. Sadly, too many of those smiles have disappeared over the past 12 months or so. The agency is clearly attempting to place issues proper, although, so hopefully this may solely be a short lived scenario – particularly when WP Engine nonetheless will get a lot proper as a managed WordPress net host.
Find out more about the hosting plans from WP Engine today
Does WP Engine sound like the most effective net host to your WordPress web site? What options are a very powerful to you in a internet hosting supplier? Please share your ideas within the feedback beneath.
