Gone are the days when some companies had a web presence and others didn’t. Even companies that don’t do online commerce (and even these are rare now) still have an information hub online – and that means a website setup.

But not all website setups are equal, and not all of them suit the same set of needs. If your company is a small business, but hopes to grow into a bigger one, then you’ll need something that fits the limitations of a smaller outfit, but has the ability to scale with your success.

But how is that best achieved? Do you spend money on a professional build? How much? Do you do it yourself? Do you have the time? The know-how?

Don’t worry. There is a solution out there that is right for you, and it is easier to find than you think.

Template-Style Sites: The right pick for you?

There are a lot of ads out there for template-style, do-it-yourself website generators. These use a template to start, and have some customisation features to brand the site and make it do what you want – in most cases.

For a lot of small businesses, these sites are enough, but if your dream is to grow your company, and you don’t want to have to switch up your website in the process – especially if you’ve invested time and money into getting it ‘just right’ in the first place – then some choices are better than others. Let’s look at a few.

SquareSpace, WIX, and GoDaddy

Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses, but in general, they are designed for the complete novice. One attractive feature for many users is that they require no coding. In fact, inserting custom coding can sometimes interfere with the site working properly, and can cause problems that the companies are not willing to help you with – it’s kind of like opening up your iPhone to try to fix something yourself: Once you do it, your warranty is void.

The sites are quick to set up, can include eCommerce features, online support, and they look pretty good fresh out of the box. In most cases, the cost isn’t too bad either.

The problem is that they have limitations on the degree to which they can be customised, so sites tend to look a bit ‘samey,’ and changing up your template can mean losing all of your formatting and style work.

Balancing your Time, Money and Expertise

If you are a small player now, but want your company to grow, there is an option out there that gives you the versatility you need, without requiring a computer science degree – or a lot of money spent on IT specialists – to get you up and running with impressive style and reliable function: consider WordPress.

WordPress

Just in case you think these are empty words of praise, consider this: WordPress is currently used for 32% of ALL WEBSITES on the Internet. That’s right, about a third of all websites use WordPress – and that number is growing. Their market dominance means that WordPress isn’t going away, and will be there to support you in your business endeavours.

So why the dominance?

WordPress does provide templates (called ‘Themes’) to get you started, and you don’t need to be able to code to use them. In this sense, WordPress isn’t a lot different from those other providers.

The difference is that WordPress is designed to go further. It is designed to allow for professional website design and building if the money and the need are there. It is also designed to let you build your own site when you’re small and struggling, and then bring in pros later on – if you need them – to build in special features and increase the wow factor.

In short, it allows for you to apply as little, or as much effort as you want, so you can allocate your time, money, and expertise to those places you feel they will be most effective. If that assessment changes, your WordPress site can change with you.

Best of all, the service won’t break the bank.

The Backup Team

The website itself isn’t all you need. Most template-based sites include hosting, so it looks like a single product, even though it is a bundling of services. With WordPress though, you can choose your hosting service, which means you can tailor that to your needs too, taking advantage of premium hosting services that can benefit your company and help it to grow.

Premium Hosting

Premium hosting benefits include faster site speed, better security, more automation and control in terms of WordPress updates, and world class customer support. Let’s consider a couple of the best ones.

My Recommendations

Simple Websites

If have a relatively simple and static website (like this one), go with the entry level plan from Kinsta.

WooCommerce Websites

If you run a WooCommerce store, I recommend using something tailored to Woo stores like WooCart.

Budget Websites

If you are on a budget but still want high performance, I recommend using Cloudways. You can pick between Google Cloud, Amazon, VULTR, Linode and Digital Ocean servers. I recommend going with a VULTR High Frequency (HF) server.

HUGE websites that get millions of visitors

If you have a highly dynamic website that requires lots of resources then check out Pagely. However, if you truly can’t afford Pagely, then I highly recommend JohnnyVPS. They can likely handle any website regardless of size, traffic and resource requirements. Johnny from JohnnyVPS is the definition of a performance expert. Check out my review of their services.

Just so you know I use Kinsta and love it! I use them because they are all about performance. Kinsta uses the highest performance C2 machines from Google Cloud. Unlike other hosting providers (e.g. SiteGround) that only use Google’s general purpose machines. Their plans are a little more expensive though. But worth because everything is done for you. Unlike Cloudways that requires a little bit of tech know-how.

I also recommend Cloudways, which I still use to spin up concept websites and play around. Cloudways is also performance focused with access to cloud hosting providers including: Amazon, VULTR, Linode, Digital Ocean and Google Cloud. Cloudways is cheaper than Kinsta but you need to know or at least feel comfortable with a little sysadmin.

Check out my full list of recommended WordPress hosting providers.

Your Web Support Arsenal

By using WordPress as your platform, you build your web presence on a solid foundation of security, simple construction, and all the versatility that you need to grow – when you need it.

Website Setup Summary

Setting your small business up with a robust, high-quality online presence doesn’t need to be intimidating, difficult, or expensive.

By choosing the right tools, early on, you’ll be able to have what you require now, and to develop it while allocating your time, money, and expertise as best suits you and your company.

This website setup can grow and change as your needs do, and you won’t need to change platforms, hosts, or any other tools to support your growth. It’s the market’s best offering for those small business owners with the ambition to become big business owners.

The post The Best Website Setup for Small Businesses with Big Dreams appeared first on Max Jacobs.

Some things are obvious. You lock your car when you head into the office. You lock your business when you head home. You don’t give the general public unsupervised access to your files, accounts, or products.

Good policies? Absolutely.

When extending these to your company website though, it gets a bit more complicated. The nature of the crime is different, the ability to spot it is different, and the consequences can be far more severe.

The Nature of Cybercrime

If someone breaks into your warehouse, you’ll know it. There will be a damaged lock or door, and goods will be missing. There might even be malicious damage to property.

Cybercrime is different. There are instances when the criminal will be very obvious, but others when you won’t even know you’ve been breached for years to come… or ever.

Obvious Cybercrime

You’ve probably heard of businesses turning on computers in the morning only to find that they have been infected by ransomware. These programs are set up to delete (or publicise) data at a certain time unless money is sent to an account provided. Often the amount demanded increases hour by hour. Many companies pay the demanded money immediately, as the potential loss to business finances and customer trust would be devastating.

Secret Cybercrime

There is another type of cybercrime, however, and it is on the increase at an even faster rate. This type of crime depends on secrecy – not only during the criminal act, but for as long as possible afterwards.

The object of these attacks is to gather as much customer information as possible, without having been detected. The data is then sold for various reasons. Some is used for corporate espionage and trading advantages, but far more often it is the identities of the customers that is the most valuable commodity.

By ‘identities,’ I mean not only the names, but the personal data that come along with them. If a criminal can get a genuine name, coupled with personal information such as passwords, identification numbers, birth date, banking information, and a whole host of other seemingly-mundane bits of data, then that criminal has something valuable to sell. The longer they can use those identities in secret, the more valuable the data become.

It is estimated that most stolen data is not used for two to five years after a breach has occurred. If the breach is undetected or unreported, your customers might be victimised without even knowing – for years. If it comes out later that the breach occurred through your company, the company you’ve spend years building and growing, the consequences can be devastating to you as well.

Small Fish versus Big Fish

Some small businesses fall into the error of thinking that they are too small to be a target. In reality, small companies tend to have more breaches in their online systems, and are less likely to detect breaches, so they are a rich mine for ill-intended hackers.

Likewise, it isn’t the wealthy or famous customer these identity thieves are after. The most valuable identities belong to people who are less active in finance, and who own fewer belongings. The data (identities) of children, for example, are far more valuable than the data (identities) of millionaires or billionaires. The criminal will have years to build and exploit illegal use of those less visible identities before detection.

Loss of Reputation and Revenue

Of course none of us wants to be the reason someone else is victimised, or to be the connecter between a criminal and a victim. It would feel bad, and trigger intense empathy. Leaving that aside though, and looking at things from a purely business-centric point of view, there are other consequences that damage the company and create a victim of it, too.

If a car becomes known for exploding on impact, people will stop buying it. If someone tampers with a certain medication and people become sick, or die from it, people stop trusting it. If an executive embezzles and customers lose their life savings, whole companies can buckle.

If we don’t trust a company, we will go elsewhere.

The loss of reputation and trust incurred in the aftermath of a cybercrime can cost you more than an empathy-driven sleepless night or two; it can mean the loss of your business entirely.

SSL Certification

This is one of those things that many Internet users have seen, but relatively few understand. What is an SSL certificate, and why should your company have one?

What is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is really just a small file that activates a secure link between your site, and each user. It works by encrypting the information that flows to and from your site, making it extremely difficult to understand the information passed between you, even if it is intercepted in some way.

There are three levels of SSL certificates, and the one you need depends on your business. Your provider or tech advisor can help you determine which one to get.

Why do you need an SSL Certificate?

Not only is this a very real kind of protection for you, your company and your customers, it also sends out a clear signal that you take security seriously. Some browsers warn users away from sites without a secure connection, or with improperly-configured SSL certificates. If you want to ensure the free flow of customers to your site, and to let them know it is a safe place to do business, then an SSL certificate is a must. They increase your customers’ confidence in you, and discourage would-be thieves from hacking your system. Not to mention the SEO penalty you will face if you don’t have an SSL certificate installed, which is obviously no good when it comes to SEO for your small business.

The User as a System Component

Most people accept that cybercrime is a problem. Diligent business owners will even take steps and spend money to ensure that their online presence and interactions are protected against criminals to the best of their ability and resources. There is, however, one aspect of site security that is often overlooked, and undertrained: the user.

It’s best to think of your employees as extensions of your online presence. The ability for a criminal to contact your employees can act as a way past your firewalls and even the best efforts at making your system secure can break down if your employees don’t know safe practices in using it.

To keep the hardware and software components from presenting a breach opportunity, make sure all software (applications and security software) is fully up to date. Turn systems off when they don’t need to be on, and maintain regular backups of all data. Monthly or quarterly is often recommended.

Most of the employee precautions are simple – if you take the time to train your personnel.

• Don’t open emails that appear to be spam
• Don’t download anything that you don’t recognise or expect
• Don’t sign in to anything directly through an email link
• Use a strong password
• Change your passwords every two to three months

The Team in White Hats

The community of cyber criminals is highly motivated, active and constantly adapting to get around new security measures. The global nature and reach of online connectivity means that jurisdiction over and suppression of these crimes is difficult in many cases, and currently impossible in others. It’s the wild west out there, and the best way to keep the guys in black hats away is to maintain your own team of good guys.

You may not be an expert in keeping your system secure, but the combination of diligence and preparation, with the expertise of your tech provider and online security products, can form the wall that keeps you and your customers from being victims.

A criminal who faces these defence measures may simply move on to easier targets – and your efforts will be successful.

So, is your business website secure?

Hopefully that explains the importance of website security.

Got a question? Comment below.

The post The Importance of Website Security for Your Small Business appeared first on Max Jacobs.

My Verdict

In my experience, it’s hard to go wrong with Cloudways. They provide a platform with very affordable access to the best cloud hosting servers in the world including Google and Amazon. And if you aren’t sure about something, their 24/7 online support is there to help. This Cloudways review will help you decide whether they are a good fit or not.

Try Cloudways For Free

Cloudways Pros

• High Performance
• Amazing Support
• Team Collaboration
• Unlimited Websites
• Automated Backups

Cloudways Cons

• No Email Hosting
• No cPanel
• Better If You’re Tech Savvy

Table of Contents:

– What is Cloudways
– Considerations before signing up
– Features & Benefits
– Is Cloudways worth it?
– Cloudways Alternatives
– Coupons & Discounts

What is Cloudways?

Firstly, what is Cloudways?

Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform, which provides arguably the best type of hosting available due to its high performance and reliability.

What is Cloud Hosting?

Just so you know, there are 4 main types of WordPress hosting including: Shared Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, VPS and Cloud Hosting. I’m not going to go into too much detail below… Just know that Cloud Hosting is the best out of them all (at least the best available today). Shared Hosting being the worst.

Simply put though, when your website runs via Cloud Hosting, your website is served via a network of servers aka a ‘cloud’ of servers. This is what ensures high performance , uptime and reliability. As opposed to shared hosting, which uses a single server that shares its resources among other websites owners. This usually results in low performance, downtime and unreliability (especially if your website gets lots of traffic).

Hopefully that makes sense!

Considerations Before Signing Up

The main consideration you should make before signing up to Cloudways is that you should be somewhat tech savvy. This isn’t a worry if you have a developer like myself maintaining your WordPress website. But if you plan on maintaining it yourself, you should be familiar with a bunch of settings from PHP version and memory limits to SMTP.

Migrations

Cloudways does provide a free migration but they also allow unlimited WordPress installations. So if you plan on setting up more than one website then you’ll need to know what you’re doing (or at least keen to learn). For example, once you’ve created your website or migrated it to Cloudways, initially it will be on a temporary domain. So you’ll need to point your actual domain name to Cloudways. i.e. from your old hosting provider to your new one. This is actually very easy and quick to do (if you’ve done it before).

So if you know how to log into your domain registrar and change the DNS settings then you are probably good to go 🙂 But even if you don’t know, Cloudways will help guide you.

Pro Tip:

If you manage multiple websites with domains from different registrars then I’d recommend creating a CloudFlare account (it’s free) and running all of your domains through here (DNS only). This way you can manage the DNS of all domains from one place. Doing this will save you loads of time!

Cloudways WordPress Hosting.

Try Cloudways For Free

Cloudways Features & Benefits

It is a breath of fresh air to have a hosting provider that provides everything you need. Cloudways has all of the most important features to create and maintain a successful business website.

Custom Control Panel

Firstly, Cloudways doesn’t have a typical cPanel like other providers. I listed this above as a negative but it’s actually a positive. Instead of an old and boring cPanel AND having to click through from your hosting account dashboard to the cPanel, Cloudways have streamlined and connected the two.

Cloudways have created a custom control panel that merges your account dashboard with all of the typical cPanel features – a much better user experience in my opinion.

Benefits of Cloudways Custom Control Panel:

– Much better experience
– Saves you time
– Modern feel

See screenshots below.

Backups, Staging & Cloning

This is one of my favourite features. If you look hard enough, you’ll find other great hosting providers BUT they just use the same cloud hosting vendors that Cloudways gives you access to AND many of them don’t provide automated backups (or restoring) staging environments or cloning capabilities.

Cloudways provides all of this in an extremely easy to use fashion. I normally schedule my backups to be taken daily but you also have the option of every 12 hours, 6 hours, 3 hours and even every hour! You can also take backups on demand whenever you want.

Benefits of Cloudways Backups, Staging & Cloning:

– worry free experience.
– if something goes wrong you can easily restore your website.
– create a testing environment without affecting live site.
– test new software without affecting live site.
– make changes without affecting live site.

Cloudways Custom Control Panel.

Performance

This is the number one reason you should move to Cloudways. Or at least start using Cloud Hosting instead of the usual shared hosting that most people use (alternatives to Cloudways below).

Worldwide Server Locations

If you want your website to be fast, you absolutely need a server that is close to your location. If you are in Australia (like me!), you’ll get access to servers in Sydney from a range of server vendors (all from your Cloudways control panel).

VULTR, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services all have servers in Sydney so you can expect very quick connection times.

Benefits of Worldwide Server Locations:

– ability to choose a server closest to your location.
– Faster website for your target audience.

Cloudways Server Locations.

Best Cloud Hosting Providers

The Cloudways platform gives you extremely easy access to the best cloud hosting vendors in the world.

If you are in Australia, you should be choosing VULTR, Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services (AWS).

This website uses VULTR 🙂

– Digital Ocean
– Linode
– VULTR
– Amazon Web Services (AWS)
– Google Cloud

Benefits of Cloudways Cloud Hosting Providers:

– your website will be hosted by the best of the best.
– highest potential for a blazing fast website.

Cloudways Server Vendors.

Cloudways ThunderStack & Advanced Caching

Cloudways performance comes down to their PHP stack. A PHP stack is essentially the server technology and caching mechanisms used to power your WordPress website.

Cloudways Thunderstack is what makes your website super fast. By default your website will have advanced caching built-in including memcached and varnish. Redis is another caching mechanism which boosts your website even further. But you’ll need to install this from your Cloudways control panel.

Benefits of Cloudways Thunderstack:

– blazing fast website
– integrated by default
– boost your site further with REDIS caching

PRO TIP:

If you plan on boosting your website further with Redis server assisted client-side caching, then I recommend upgrading your server from 1GB to 2GB as it will consume more resources than normal.

Cloudways ThunderStack

Security

Cloudways gives you the option of free SSL certificates on all of your websites. Unlike shared hosting providers like GoDaddy that make you pay for these!

They also have dedicated firewalls to protect your websites from security threats, essential login security and even a built-in database security system.

Benefits of Cloudways Security:

– Free SSL certificates
– Protect your website from hackers

Pro Tip:

Once you’ve installed WordPress, I’d recommend installing a limits login attempts plugin to bolster your website security even further. It’s amazing how many people try to hack into websites each day, just trying to guess passwords.

Customer Support

The support at Cloudways really is world class. They provide 24/7 expert support so if there is ever a problem, you can count on them to help. They are so good it’s like having an expert developer work alongside you (for free!).

You can even opt for their ‘premium support’ where their support engineers work as part of your team. How good is that!

Benefits of Cloudways Support:

– Expert Developers & Engineers within reach.
– Get support any time of the day or night.
– Access to their knowledge base if you prefer to do it yourself.

Pro Tip:

When starting an online chat to get support, type in ‘Cloudways Support’ to get past their chatbot a little quicker.

Is Cloudways Worth It?

Pricing

I personally think Cloudways is worth it. Especially if you opt for a VULTR setup, which starts from $11/month (USD).

The AWS and Google Cloud plans are much more expensive but aren’t necessary if you’re based in Australia. Just go with the VULTR setup. You will be very happy. Trust me!

Cloudways Reviews

Cloudways Reviews.

Cloudways Alternatives

The best alternatives to Cloudways are:

– WP Engine
– SiteGround
– Kinsta

Note: SiteGround wasn’t very good for Aussie websites but now that they have partnered with Google Cloud to provide a server in Sydney (not Singapore as was previously), they are a good alternative.

For Aussies >> check out the best WordPress hosting providers in Australia.

Final Thoughts

I personally think Cloudways provides the best value out of any hosting provider. They are a platform that gives you easy access to all of the best cloud hosting providers in the world.

Again, I don’t think you can go wrong with Cloudways.

Hopefully this Cloudways review was helpful.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Try Cloudways For Free

The post Cloudways Review [2021] appeared first on Max Jacobs.

If you are serious about growing your online presence, you need the best WordPress hosting Australia can offer.

A fast, reliable and secure WordPress website starts with Managed WordPress Hosting. 

But as you know, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately I see many website owners using cheaper hosting alternatives to save money.

Using cheaper hosting options is not the answer to saving money.

If your business relies on a website to generate leads and sales, you should be investing more money into your hosting, not less.

Below I’ve reviewed the top 6 best WordPress website hosts in Australia. Each have their strengths; suiting a variety of different business needs.

Let me know which hosting provider you choose.

Still not sure? Send me a message.

Table of Contents:

– My Recommendations
– What is WordPress Hosting?
– Shared vs Managed WordPress Hosting
– Pros & Cons
– Key Considerations
– Best WordPress Hosting Australia REVIEWS

Top 6 Picks – Best WordPress Hosting Australia

1. Cloudways
2. Kinsta
3. JohnnyVPS
4. WP Engine
5. Flywheel
6. SiteGround

What is WordPress Hosting?

WordPress Hosting is a specialised hosting service for WordPress websites. It is similar to normal website hosting, except it is optimised for WordPress website performance and security. Why does WordPress need specialised hosting? Well, according to W3Techs, 38.5% of all websites are created using WordPress. Easily the world’s most popular content management system (CMS). And with more and more demand for performance and security, we now have more and more specialised hosting.

Shared vs Managed WordPress Hosting

Not all WordPress hosting is created equal though…

When you are just starting out, it’s very easy to choose a hosting provider simply based on price. Afterall, there can’t be that much difference between them all? Can there?

Well actually there is a big difference between hosting services from the absolute cheapest you can find to the most expensive. Normally ranging from ~$1/month to ~$100/month. Some as high as ~$700/month.

Down the cheaper end you have Shared Hosting Providers like: BlueHost, GoDaddy and Hostinger.

Up the more expensive end, you have Managed WordPress Hosting providers like: WP Engine, Kinsta and Flywheel.

And somewhere in the middle you have the DIY providers that offer high performance VPS and Cloud Hosting. These include: Google Compute Engine, AWS, VULTR, LINODE and Digital Ocean.

In fact, most of the Managed WordPress Hosting providers use servers from the above DIY providers. For example, WP Engine uses servers from Google Compute Engine and Amazon Web Servers (AWS).

But because they provide a ‘managed’ solution, they configure everything to suit WordPress and your requirements. Fine tuning at its best so you get the best performance possible.

My favourite Managed WordPress Hosting provider is Cloudways, which gives you access to all of the aforementioned VPS and Cloud Hosting servers. At a fraction of the price!

Shared WordPress Hosting

PROS

• Cheap

CONS

• Poor Performance
• SSL Certificates are not usually free
• Support isn’t the best
• Overcrowded servers (you’ll share with 100s of other sites)
• No extras like staging sites or backups

Note: there are still some good shared hosting providers. Ones that provide good support, free SSL certificates and decent performance. Examples include: SiteGround and VentraIP.

Managed WordPress Hosting

PROS

• Amazing Support (usually in Oz)
• Servers in Australia
• Optimised for High Performance
• Better Security
• Automatic backups
• Staging Environments
• ALL the extras

CONS

• More expensive

What to look for with WordPress Hosting

Performance – do you need the best? If you don’t have a huge site or lots of traffic yet, then you might not need the absolute best. I still recommend managed WordPress hosting over shared hosting though.

Security – make sure the hosting provider you choose takes security seriously. Also make sure they provide backups and the ability to restore your site if anything goes wrong.

Cost – this is an obvious consideration but worth mentioning. In my opinion, the price difference between cheap shared hosting and managed WordPress hosting is minimal compared to the huge performance benefit.

Disk Space – make sure the provider and their plan has enough space for your website(s). Unless your website is new. Then don’t worry for now.

No. of sites – some providers limit the number of WordPress installations to ensure maximum performance.

Support – having online chat support 24/7/365 from an expert is key. All providers below provide great support. However, some of them might not provide it from Australia. i.e. English might not be their first language. 

2021 Reviews – Best WordPress Hosting Australia

1. Cloudways – Best Value WordPress Hosting

Overall my favourite WordPress hosting provider. Not just in Australia, but worldwide. The perfect balance between performance, support and cost.

Cloudways Pros

• Access to Google Cloud, AWS, VULTR, LINODE and Digital Ocean servers
• Servers in Australia
• Cheapest of all Managed WordPress Hosts
• Plans from just $10/month USD

Cloudways Cons

• Learning curve for absolute beginners and non tech savvy peeps.

Visit Cloudways – Free Trial

P.S. Check out my Cloudways review.

2. Kinsta – Best Premium Managed WordPress Hosting

I believe Kinsta stands out from the rest because of their epic blog posts. If I have a problem, I know they have a blog post with a solution.

True WordPress experts!

Their platform is also designed with beginners in mind. But with every advanced feature you can imagine.

Kinsta Pros

• Obviously High Performance
• Uses Google Cloud Servers
• Servers in Australia
• Beautiful Dashboard
• Designed with beginners in mind

Kinsta Cons

• They also have a list of disallowed plugins. Again, this can be a good thing. It’s in place to prevent security threats and performance issues.
• Entry level plan is limited to 1 site

Visit Kinsta – Free Demo

3. JohnnyVPS – Fastest WordPress Hosting

From my experience, JohnnyVPS provides the best performance out of all managed WordPress hosts. Just read their comparison articles comparing their performance to all the other managed WordPress hosts.

Best suited for website owners with a big site(s) and lots of traffic. I highly recommend their Dedicated VPS Hosting plans. All of which come with personalised server support via Slack!

JohnnyVPS Pros

• #1 in Performance
• They offer free clone tests. Compare to your current provider.
• Servers in Australia
• Entry level plan is only $12/month USD

JohnnyVPS Cons

• Not suited to absolute beginners or websites with no traffic.

Visit JohnnyVPS – Free Clone Test

P.S. Check out my in-depth JohnnyVPS Review.

4. WP Engine – Premium WordPress Hosting

WP Engine is one of those providers that ONLY hosts WordPress websites.

Something I love because it means they are specialists.

Any questions, queries or concerns can easily be answered.

Not to mention their platform is built for performance!

WP Engine Pros

• High Performance
• Access to 35+ premium WordPress themes
• Servers in Australia
• Proprietary Caching System

WP Engine Cons

• They have a list of disallowed plugins. This can be a good thing though. It’s in place to prevent security threats and performance issues.
• Entry level plan is limited to 1 site

Visit WP Engine

5. Flywheel – Budget Managed WordPress Hosting

Flywheel was the first ever Managed WordPress hosting provider ever recommended to me.

So they’ve been around a while.

And amazingly, their prices are still very affordable starting from $13/month USD!

Their entry level plan is best suited to small websites with minimal traffic.

Flywheel Pros

• High Performance
• Also uses Google Cloud Servers
• Servers in Australia
• Made for busy creatives
• Free Malware Cleanups
• Very affordable from $13/month!

Flywheel Cons

• They also have a list of disallowed plugins. This list is shorter than the others though.
• Entry level plan is limited to 1 site

Visit Flywheel

6. SiteGround – Best Shared WordPress Hosting

There are only a select few shared hosting providers that make the cut.

SiteGround is one of them because of their affordable prices, recent performance/infrastrucuture upgrade to Google Cloud servers and their world class support.

SiteGround Pros

• Very affordable!
• Now uses Google Cloud servers
• Servers in Australia
• Great online chat support

SiteGround Cons

• Shared hosting
• Ok performance
• High Renewal Price

Visit SiteGround

Final Thoughts…

Max’s Tips: Best WordPress Hosting Australia

– Think about performance before $.

– Your website is a business asset. Invest in it.

– Make sure your host has servers in Oz.

– It’s usually best to stay away from super cheap shared hosting.

– If you’re just starting, get 24/7 online chat support.

There you have it.

My thoughts on the best WordPress hosting Australia can offer (at the moment anyway).

So which hosting provider are you leaning towards? Would love to see your thoughts in the comment section below.

Still not sure? Send me an email and I’ll personally help you out.

P.S. If there is a host that should be in this list, please let me know.

The post Best WordPress Hosting Australia [2021] appeared first on Max Jacobs.

My Verdict

If you want the best performance for your WordPress website, especially if your site is huge or gets lots of traffic, this JohnnyVPS Review is a must read.

While high performance hosts are all obviously ‘high performance’, the best of the best do something different. Their server stacks, like with JohnnyVPS aka JVPS, are set up to be way more aggressive. They allow a lot more processing resources per user compared to other performance hosts.

Best suited for website owners with a big site(s) and lots of traffic. I highly recommend their Dedicated VPS Hosting plans. All of which come with personalised server support via Slack 🙂

Pros

• Your website will be faster than ever
• Higher performance than Cloudways, WP Engine, Flywheel and SiteGround.
• Amazing stability
• Free clone tests
• Servers in Australia
• Can handle BIG sites with lots of traffic
• Better pricing compared to other high performance hosts

Cons

• Not suited for beginners
• Not suited to website owners needing lots of tech support
• You need to organise your own backups (use BlogVault)
• No staging sites (use BlogVault)
• Again, if you need lots of support, this probably isn’t for you. Don’t get me wrong, Johnny does provide excellent support! But if you need to be handheld every second of the day, you’d be better off going with a provider with 24/7 online chat support.

Table of Contents:

– Who is JohnnyVPS?
– Do you need lots of support?
– Features & Benefits
– Is JohnnyVPS worth it?
– Coupons & Discounts

What or Who is JohnnyVPS?

JohnnyVPS is a ’boutique webhost specialising in speed, reliability and security’. Founded by Johnny Nguyen, a Speed Expert and Performance Webhost. Also a really nice guy! I’ve never actually met him (I think he lives in LA), but I can tell just from messaging him that he is a heart-centered kinda guy.

Even though his team consists of ~7 experts, he still actively works ‘in the business’. I often chat with him via Slack on a client website that is on his Dedicated VPS Hosting. The site is huge with lots of traffic but still remains quick and stable!

Do you need lots of Support?

There is one main considerations you should make before hosting your website with JohnnyVPS.

Obviously you should choose JVPS if you want an ultra fast website. But if you need lots of support, i.e. you aren’t tech savvy or don’t have someone managing/maintaining your site, then think twice.

On the other hand, if you only need support every now and then, JVPS provide a higher quality of support than most performance hosts. This is because their team is full of experts.

Screenshot taken from JVPS.

Features & Benefits

JohnnyVPS provides all of the usual features that you’d expect from a good hosting provider. But their key differentiator is performance.

Free Migration

JVPS will migrate your website for free. Most hosts do this though. If your host doesn’t do at least 1 for free, you should probably find another provider.

Free SSL Certificates

Another standard part of JVPS hosting.

Security

Server level security is standard but they also provide built-in security for WordPress. Protecting your login page from hackers, XML-RPC spam and DDOS attacks. 

Highest Performance

As mentioned at the start of this JVPS review, they configure their server stack to be a lot more aggressive than other performance hosts. This is what gives you the highest performance possible. 

Speed Optimisation Service
THIS is a HUGE differentiator! They provide a free caching and speed optimisation service for 1 WordPress website. i.e. the website you get hosted with them.

Most people who move to JohnnyVPS are looking for the fastest WordPress hosting possible. On top of that, you get your site fine tuned for performance by speed experts. Usually by Johnny himself!

Full Control

JVPS is apache compatible so you have access to the .htaccess file to manage rewrites. Unlike other performance providers who don’t. Your site will also use cPanel, which is familiar to most. It doesn’t look as nice as say the Kinsta dashboard for managing your site. But it does give you more control. And they don’t prevent you from using certain plugins. You are free to do what you want. This is the difference between most managed WordPress hosting providers and JVPS.

JohnnyVPS Pricing.

Is It Worth It?

JohnnyVPS Pricing

I’ve used their Managed WordPress Hosting and also their Dedicated VPS Hosting. Both are great and certainly worth it for the performance.

JohnnyVPS Reviews

JohnnyVPS Reviews from johnnyvps.com.

JohnnyVPS Alternatives

I believe the best alternatives to JohnnyVPS if you still want relatively high performance but need way more support are:

– Kinsta
– Cloudways
– Best WordPress Hosting In Oz

Final Thoughts

If you want the best performance for your WordPress website but don’t need lots of support, JVPS is worth trying.

Hopefully my JohnnyVPS review has helped you make a decision 🙂

Let me know if you have any questions.

View JohnnyVPS Plans

Free Clone Test

– Free Clone Test: Compare Your Current Provider to JVPS

The post JohnnyVPS Review [High Performance Hosting] appeared first on Max Jacobs.

My Verdict

There are so many hosting providers that promise the world. And those that do, usually under deliver.

My first impression of Zuver was that they were another hosting provider with empty promises.

Their homepage says, ‘We challenge you to find a faster solution. Spoiler: You won’t find one.’ This is a big call!

With that being said, I cloned this website and spun it up on their Smarter WordPress Hosting entry level plan.

After 5 tests using a clone of this site, I got an average load time of 0.6s. The fastest was 424ms, a record time for my site!

Pretty damn quick! As Zuver says, lightning fast 😀

Pros

• FAST! Average load time using clone of this website was 0.6s after 5 tests using desktop
• Dashboard looks nice
• Option to easily disable wp-cron
• Option to easily change WordPress Dashboard login URL
• Problem Free Migration (even when doing manually!)
• Next-generation DELL cloud Australian servers with fast SAS SSD storage
• 60 Day Money Back Guarantee!
• Comes with an ‘SEO Toolkit’
• Nice option to be notified by phone call when a support ticket is resolved

Cons

• Dashboard backend was slow, especially when loading SEO Toolkit (took ~10 seconds)
• No Online Chat Support

Table of Contents:

– Who is Zuver?
– First Impressions
– Cool Features
– Pricing
– Speed Tests

Who is Zuver?

Zuver claims to be Australia’s fastest and most reliable Managed WordPress platform.

Fact: the name Zuver is derived from the German word “zuverlassig”.] I don’t speak German but apparently it means reliable, dependable and trustworthy. So far they have given this impression 🙂

They have been around since 2012 but recently revamped their branding in 2019. I don’t know what it looked like back then, but it looks cool now!

They specialise in providing low cost, high quality hosting and domain names to the Australian market.

Also, unlike many, their support centre is based in Melbourne (close to me) with a help desk full of Australians!

First Impressions

Revamped Dashboard

Positive Notes

– They use Plesk, which has a nice looking control panel.
– HSTS option within SSL settings.
– SEO Toolkit
– WordPress comes pre-installed with LiteSpeed cache plugin, which is great for beginners.
– Dashboard looks nice.
– When importing my website, I didn’t experience any problems. I didn’t even have to disable my caching plugin OR fix any broken links!
– 60 day money back guarantee!
– There was an option to disable wp-cron, which was cool. Great for those who aren’t familiar with the wp-config file.
– Another cool option to change the login URL. Nice security add!

Negative Notes

– Adding the SSL certificate could have been smoother.
– Dashboard and backend in general seemed a little slow. Especially the SEO Toolkit section that took ~10 seconds to load.
– No online chat support, only ticket support with a 1 hour wait time. However, you can get priority support for $5.

Cool Features

Features and benefits.

Zuver actually provides everything a WordPress website owner needs. All the standard stuff + some really cool extras.

Backups

Running a WordPress website requires regular maintenance. And when doing so, you absolutely must take a backup (or have recent backups on hand). They take backups every hour! Not once a day like most other hosts. This is a big differentiator!

Staging & Cloning

If you are making changes to your site, it’s best to do so behind the scenes, without your visitors knowing. 

Zuver provides the ability to stage and clone your website. Great features if your website is always being updated.

There is nothing worse than running a software update or making major design changes, which goes wrong and takes hours to fix. The whole time being seen by your visitors.

It is always better to make mistakes in a staging environment and ONLY pushing live WHEN everything is working 100%.

Smart Updates

This is a cool feature. One of the biggest problems when updating your WordPress version, theme or plugins, is the risk of your website breaking. 

Usually due to incompatibility between the different third party software. But sometimes from a bug in one particular plugin.

This is why I mentioned above that running updates should be done from a staging environment first. The Smart Update feature essentially does this for you on the fly. Essentially testing the updates without affecting the live site. If something goes wrong, you’ll be notified. You’ll even get before and after screenshots so you can check manually!

An even BIGGER differentiator!

WordPress Software Smart Update

ImunifyAV Code Protection

This is like a malware scanner that works proactively to secure your website; protecting it from malware and viruses. Usually a premium service with other hosts. Great to see this built in!

Pricing

Zuver Pricing.

Speed Tests

When visiting Zuver for the first time, they challenge you to find a faster hosting provider. They also claim to be lightning fast. Well, they aren’t lying. I set up a cloned version of this website on their smarter hosting plan using the subdomain: zuver.maxjacobs.com.au. 

Literally nothing has been changed between this site and the cloned version. All plugins are the same including the caching plugin. Check out the speed test results below.

Zuver speed test using GT Metrix.

GT Metrix tests using clone of maxjacobs.com.au on Zuver:

Test 1 = 0.5s (TFFB = 121ms)
Test 2 = 0.6s (TTFB = 135ms)
Test 3 = 0.6s (TTFB = 154ms)
Test 4 = 442ms (TTFB = 21ms)
Test 5 = 0.9s (TTFB = 34ms)

Average Load Time = ~0.6s
Average TTFB = ~93ms

Cloudways speed test using GT Metrix.

GT Metrix tests for maxjacobs.com.au on Cloudways:

Test 1 = 0.7s (TTFB = 173ms)
Test 2 = 0.8s (TFFB = 90ms)
Test 3 = 0.6s (TTFB = 158ms)
Test 4 = 0.6s (TTFB = 86ms)
Test 5 = 0.7s (TTFB = 166ms)

Average Load Time = 0.68s
Average TTFB = ~135ms

Speed Comparison

– 442ms load time using Zuver is a speed record for my site. Relatively fast considering I use a heavy page builder (Elementor Pro) with lots of content/images on the home page.

– The YSlow score is also 1 point higher; increasing the ‘Minify Javascript and CSS’ score from 90/100 to 100/100.

Zuver Reviews

Zuver Reviews from zuver.net.au.

Zuver Alternatives

– Kinsta
– Cloudways
– Best WordPress Hosting In Australia

Final Thoughts

The main reason I did this Zuver review was their challenge to find a faster hosting provider. Effectively claiming to be the ‘fastest’.

I don’t think they are the fastest, but they certainly didn’t disappoint!

Zuver is definitely a high performance host providing lightning fast servers. I mean, 424ms load time!? Pretty good for a page with lots of content using a heavy page builder 😉

Visit Zuver

The post Zuver Review appeared first on Max Jacobs.