Whether you’re looking for a hosting provider for a brand-new WordPress site, or you’ve been running a WordPress website for any length of time, you’ve likely hit the inevitable wall that comes with traditional shared hosting: slow page loading times, unexpected downtime during traffic spikes, and clunky cPanel interfaces that feel like remnants of early 2000s web development.

When searching for a quality hosting provider… whether to start a brand new WordPress-based website or for an upgrade… you generally have three main options:

Option 1 – Expensive Enterprise Hosts (e.g., WP Engine, Kinsta): These services deliver managed WordPress hosting with concierge support, but they impose strict visit limits and charge steep monthly fees that scale up quickly.

Option 2 – Unmanaged Cloud Infrastructure (e.g., DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud): Raw cloud infrastructure offers blazing-fast dedicated performance at very low prices, but it requires deep system administration knowledge to set up, secure, and maintain via command-line interface.

Option 3 – Premium Managed Shared Hosts (e.g., SiteGround): Platforms like SiteGround add simplicity with power. They offer custom site management interfaces, built-in caching, security, backups, and hosted email, making them a favorite for creators, bloggers, and business owners who want a hassle-free, all-in-one ecosystem. But SiteGround, while being fairly affordable for first-time customers, becomes significantly more expensive after the first year, when full price hits creators at more than five times the initial price(!).

That’s where Cloudways by DigitalOcean comes in to mitigate these different scenarios.

Cloudways (recently acquired by DigitalOcean) functions as a managed cloud hosting platform. It provides access to high-performance cloud infrastructure while handling all the backend technical management—server maintenance, security configurations, SSL setup, and automated backups — through a user-friendly visual dashboard and at a competitive price point.

Here is an in-depth review of Cloudways by DigitalOcean, detailing its features, performance mechanisms, pricing structure, and a step-by-step guide on how to seamlessly migrate your existing website.

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By the way, if you want a flat 30% off your first three invoices of Cloudways, use the code TSBREFERRED during checkout; Cloudways was kind enough to offer this special discount to The Side Blogger readers, only.

What Makes Cloudways Different?

Traditional shared hosts place hundreds—sometimes thousands—of websites on a single server instance, forcing them to compete for shared CPU and RAM resources. If another site on your shared server experiences a traffic spike or security issue, your site’s performance suffers.

Cloudways operates on a cloud-hosted, isolated resource model. When you launch a server on Cloudways, you deploy a dedicated cloud instance on enterprise infrastructure. Your site doesn’t share RAM or CPU threads with external users.

Core Architecture Highlights

• Choice of Cloud Providers: Choose infrastructure from DigitalOcean, AWS (Amazon Web Services), or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Dedicated Cloud Resources: Every instance provides dedicated RAM, CPU cores, SSD/NVMe storage, and dedicated bandwidth.
• Pay-As-You-Go Billing: Pay only for the exact server resources consumed hourly, avoiding rigid long-term contract lock-ins.
• Unlimited WordPress Applications: Host multiple WordPress installations on a single server as long as the server hardware resources allow.

5 Reasons to Choose Cloudways for WordPress

1. Speed and Built-In Performance Stack

Page speed directly influences search engine rankings and visitor conversion rates. Cloudways optimizes server-level responsiveness through its ThunderStack environment:

• Web Server Combo: Uses Nginx as a reverse proxy alongside Apache to serve static and dynamic content quickly.
• Database Caching: Native support for Redis and Memcached to accelerate database query response times.
• PHP Optimization: Supports current PHP versions with OPcache enabled by default.
• Breeze Caching Plugin: Includes Cloudways’ proprietary WordPress caching plugin pre-installed for lightweight static caching and asset minification.
• Enterprise Cloudflare Integration: Available inside the dashboard for low-cost enterprise-tier CDN routing, image optimization, edge page caching, and Web Application Firewall (WAF) protection.

2. Vertical Server Scaling Without Downtime

When traffic grows on standard shared hosting, upgrading often involves customer support tickets or manual site transfers.

Cloudways features a Vertical Scaling slider. If a promotional launch, viral post, or seasonal event causes a traffic surge, you can scale your server’s RAM and CPU allocation in just a few clicks. The platform scales your hardware dynamically without corrupting site files.

3. Managed Security Out-of-the-Box

Cloudways handles platform-level security measures so you don’t need to configure server firewalls manually:

• OS-Level Firewalls: Blocks malicious traffic vectors before they reach your WordPress installation.
• Automated SSL Certificates: Free, automated Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates deployable in one click.
• Bot Protection: Built-in partnership with MalCare to block brute-force login attempts and automated malicious bots.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Adds account-level access security for team members and admins.

4. Developer-Friendly Workflow and Staging

Updating plugins, changing themes, or editing PHP code on a live site can cause unexpected downtime.

Cloudways simplifies testing with 1-Click Staging. You can clone your live site to an isolated staging URL, apply updates, verify functionality, and push changes back to the live site with a single click. Additional developer tools include:

• Git integration with deployment via SSH/SFTP.
• Dedicated staging environment controls.
• Granular team member permission controls to grant access to specific servers or applications without sharing billing credentials.

5. Transparent, Pay-As-You-Go Pricing

Many hosting providers (SiteGround included) attract customers with low introductory rates, only to raise renewal pricing upon contract expiration.

Cloudways operates on an hourly pay-as-you-go model. You receive an itemized bill at the end of each month based on the exact uptime and resource usage of active servers. If you create a test server for three days and delete it, you pay only for those hours.

When you visit the Cloudways site, you’ll see prices listed as monthly rates (e.g., $14/month or $28/month). This is simply Cloudways showing you the estimated maximum monthly cost if your server runs 24/7. Under the hood, you are billed hourly in arrears—meaning if you delete or scale down a server mid-month, you only pay for the exact hours it was active. You never have to pay for a full year upfront.

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FYI, Cloudways is giving The Side Blogger readers a flat 30% discount on the first three invoices using the coupon code TSBREFERRED during checkout.

Cloudways Managed AI Agent Hosting: Autonomous AI on Dedicated Infrastructure

As creators and developers move beyond simple chatbots and start deploying autonomous AI agents to manage workflows, Cloudways has launched dedicated Managed AI Agent Hosting.

Running autonomous AI agents (like OpenClaw or Hermes) on a local computer or laptop poses severe security risks—giving an agent access to your browser and local file system can expose saved passwords and personal data. Conversely, self-hosting agents on a virtual private server (VPS) manually requires configuring Docker, setting up SSL certificates, writing cron jobs for backups, and dealing with updates that constantly break custom agent integrations.

Cloudways solves this by bringing its managed cloud experience to autonomous AI agents:

• Deploy in Minutes, Zero DevOps Required: Launch open-source AI agent frameworks like OpenClaw or Hermes in under two minutes directly from your existing Cloudways dashboard—no terminal configuration, Docker containers, or server setups required.
• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) Architecture: Connect your own API keys from LLM providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Gemini. You retain full control over your AI model choices, data privacy, and direct token costs.
• Isolated Security & Dedicated Workspaces: Your AI agents run on their own isolated cloud instance with a dedicated workspace. This prevents prompt injection attacks or faulty agent scripts from accessing your local files, personal network, or sensitive login credentials.
• Cloudways-Validated Agent Updates: Autonomous agent frameworks update rapidly, and manual upgrades frequently break tools. Cloudways tests and validates agent updates before rolling them out, ensuring your background automation stays online without breaking.
• Built-in Backups & Channel Integrations: Includes automated daily backups with one-click restore points, terminal access for power users, and direct communication integrations so your AI agent can triage emails, manage calendars, and interact with you directly over Slack or WhatsApp.

SiteGround vs. Cloudways: Which Hosting Is Right for You?

Both SiteGround and Cloudways are two of the best hosting platforms, but they cater to slightly different needs, workflows, and technical comfort levels. Neither is universally “better”—the right choice depends entirely on your goals, technical preference, and site requirements.

Here’s a comparison table:

SiteGround	Cloudways
All-in-one convenience	Raw cloud performance
Beginner-friendly site tools	Granular server control
Low introductory price for first-time customers	Transparent, pay-as-you-go pricing

Choose SiteGround If:

• You Want an All-in-One Solution: SiteGround includes business email hosting (you@yourdomain.com) directly within your hosting plan at no extra charge. (Note: While this sounds good, I highly recommend you take your emails outside of your hosting platform. I personally use Google Workspace, but there are other third-party options for emails, too.)
• You Prefer User-Friendly Simplicity: SiteGround’s custom Site Tools dashboard is designed for ease of use. Setting up staging, creating emails, managing DNS, and activating SSL certificates requires zero technical configuration.
• You Value Hands-On Support: SiteGround is known for its fast customer support team, ready to assist with both hosting configuration and general WordPress questions.
• You Run Standard Blogs or Business Sites: For small-to-medium blogs, local business websites, and portfolio sites, SiteGround’s shared plans provide balanced performance and hassle-free maintenance.

Choose Cloudways If:

• You Need Dedicated Cloud Power: If your site receives heavy traffic or runs complex dynamic queries (like an active WooCommerce store or membership portal), Cloudways’ dedicated RAM and CPU resources deliver faster server response times under load.
• You Host Multiple Resource-Intensive Sites: Cloudways allows you to host unlimited WordPress installations on a single server without per-site fees, making it cost-effective for managing multiple sites.
• You Want Flexible Scaling & Pay-As-You-Go Billing: If you dislike multi-year upfront contracts and want the ability to scale up server memory with a slider during traffic surges, Cloudways offers maximum billing flexibility. For most entry-level bloggers and business owners, Cloudways will likely be a much cheaper yet powerful hosting option for years to come.
• You Don’t Mind External Email Hosting: Cloudways focuses purely on server performance and does not host email directly. (You’ll use third-party email services like Google Workspace, MXroute, or Rackspace Email… and as I already said, this is significantly better, even if you end up getting SiteGround for your hosting needs, for example).

Cloudways Hosting Comparison Overview

Feature / Metric	Standard Shared Hosting (e.g., Bluehost)	Premium Shared Hosting (SiteGround)	Cloudways by DigitalOcean
Architecture	Standard shared server	High-performance shared infrastructure	Dedicated Cloud Instance
Site Limits	Plan dependent	Unlimited (on GrowBig/GoGeek)	Unlimited sites per server
Email Hosting	Included	Included (Free custom email)	Requires third-party addon
Control Panel	cPanel	Site Tools (Very user-friendly)	Cloudways Console
Resource Allocation	Shared resources	Shared with strict execution limits	Dedicated CPU & RAM
Billing Model	Annual upfront payment	Monthly or annual subscriptions	Hourly Pay-As-You-Go

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Once again, Cloudways is giving The Side Blogger readers a flat 30% discount on the first three invoices using the coupon code TSBREFERRED during checkout.

Switching to Cloudways from Another Host

Moving a WordPress site away from an existing host is straightforward. Cloudways provides a dedicated Automated Self-Migration Plugin to handle transfers without downtime.

Step 1: Sign Up & Deploy a Server: Select your cloud provider and server size.

Create a Cloudways account. Choose DigitalOcean as your infrastructure provider, select your preferred RAM/CPU configuration (a 2GB RAM / 1 Cloud vCPU instance is a great starting point for standard WordPress sites), and pick the data center location closest to your target audience.

Step 2: Install the Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin: Install on your existing website.

Log in to your current WordPress dashboard on your old host. Navigate to Plugins > Add New, search for Cloudways WordPress Migrator, and click install and activate.

Step 3: Input Server Credentials: Connect your old host to Cloudways.

Open the plugin interface on your old site. Retrieve your Cloudways Public IP Address, Database Credentials, and SFTP Username/Password from your new Cloudways application dashboard, then paste them into the migrator plugin form.

Step 4: Initiate and Verify Migration: Automatic file transfer over secure SSH.

Click Migrate. The plugin automatically copies your database, media uploads, themes, and plugins over to your Cloudways server. Once complete, use the temporary staging URL provided by Cloudways to test site performance and layout.

Step 5: Update DNS Records: Point your domain to Cloudways.

Once your site tests clean on the staging URL, update your domain’s A Record at your domain registrar (e.g., Namecheap, Cloudflare, GoDaddy) to point to your Cloudways server IP address. Finally, activate a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate from the Cloudways dashboard.

Final Verdict: Is Cloudways Worth It?

Cloudways is an exceptional option for website owners who want high-speed cloud infrastructure without needing command-line server administration skills.

For those of you who are familiar with my bias toward SiteGround…

Stick with SiteGround if you value an all-in-one experience with easy-to-use Site Tools and straightforward managed support for small- to medium-sized websites. And you don’t mind paying a premium renewal price in exchange for your overall hands-off comfort.

Upgrade to Cloudways if your traffic is expanding, your site requires dedicated cloud resources (like heavy WooCommerce or membership stores), or you prefer pay-as-you-go hourly billing with total control over server resource scaling. (Will likely remain much more affordable than SiteGround for years.)

Both hosts excel in their respective categories—the key is matching the platform to your site’s technical requirements, growth goals, and budget considerations, while not having to compromise on quality.

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One last time… Cloudways is giving The Side Blogger readers a flat 30% discount on the first three invoices using the coupon code TSBREFERRED during checkout.