What Is WP Engine?
WP Engine, a top-rated web hosting company based in the UK, specializes in offering Premium Managed WordPress hosting services. With numerous hosting providers boasting about providing the fastest web hosting, lowest prices, and optimal performance, it can be challenging to distinguish one from the other.
This review will center on WP Engine, a hosting provider adorned with numerous prestigious awards, including the Best Workplaces for Women award, a Gold 2019 Stevie Winner for Sales & Customer Service award, and Digital Technology award.
Renowned companies such as AMD, Network Rail, and Soundcloud rely on their hosting services, contributing to their solid reputation for delivering on three key success metrics: speed, security, and performance. While their rhetoric is impressive, let’s delve into the facts to ascertain if they live up to their claims.
Let’s found out.
Are you interested in building your website using WordPress?
WP Engine stands out as one of the leading platforms for WordPress. It caters to a wide spectrum of digital needs, serving both small businesses and enterprise brands!
Speed & Reliability: How Fast is WP Engine?
In the realm of web hosting, speed is paramount. It’s arguably the most critical aspect of a successful web hosting provider. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, users have little patience for slow-loading websites.
While people might tolerate a sluggish traffic jam on the road, the same cannot be said for an online traffic jam. We anticipate the internet to be lightning-fast, and hosting companies bear the primary responsibility for ensuring this.
Unique Page Performance Tool
WP Engine understands the critical importance of speed in web hosting, which is why they’ve developed their Page Performance tool. This tool enables users to assess their site’s speed and performance firsthand.
Subsequently, based on the tool’s findings, WP Engine offers recommendations to enhance the user’s site. This feature not only demonstrates WP Engine’s expertise but also provides valuable assistance to users. However, setting aside the impressive Page Performance tool, we’re all curious about the actual loading times offered by WP Engine.
WP Engine Speed Test
WP Engine Hosting Uptime
Next in line on the roster of web hosting priorities is reliability. There’s no use fretting over a traffic jam if your car won’t even start. In the realm of hosting services, reliability primarily translates to uptime.
If you’re new to hosting and the term “uptime” sounds foreign to you, fret not; it’s quite straightforward. Uptime essentially denotes the duration during which a website is operational and accessible to users.
After all, a website serves little purpose if it’s not available online.
Uptime is typically quantified in percentages, with 100% representing optimal performance and 0% being, well, not even worth mentioning. It’s akin to the disparity between a pristine, factory-fresh car and an ancient clunker stashed away in the garage, taking an eternity to kickstart.
With this analogy in mind, WP Engine unquestionably emerges as a brand-new car straight from the factory. Based on our research, our closely monitored test site achieved an outstanding uptime of 99.99%. With such a stellar score, there’s minimal room for enhancement.
While it’s conceivable that you might come across hosting servers that are marginally faster, WP Engine’s uptime is flawless and nearly unbeatable. Kudos to WP Engine for this accomplishment.
Pricing & Plans: How Much Does WP Engine Cost?
Contrary to what you might expect, maintaining a successful website comes at a cost. While web hosting companies often offer a plethora of features to enhance your site’s performance and rankings, they typically charge for these amenities.
WP Engine, however, offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, which instills confidence in their commitment to customer satisfaction. This demonstrates the company’s integrity and reliability in not taking advantage of their customers. That being said, it’s worth noting that their prices are slightly higher compared to some competitors.
Like most hosting providers, WP Engine divides its prices into various packages, consisting of four different pricing tiers. The ‘Startup’ plan starts at £16.00 per month, followed by the ‘Professional’ plan at £31 per month, the ‘Growth’ plan at £60 per month, and the ‘Scale’ plan at £151 per month. Additionally, they offer a dedicated custom hosting solution for those with specific needs.
Help & Support: How Effective is WP Engine’s Support?
When your website experiences difficulties, it can evoke a sense of impending doom, particularly if your livelihood depends on it. Consequently, it’s crucial for your hosting provider to have a robust customer service policy to ensure you’re not left stranded. Given the intricacies of web hosting, occasional assistance is often necessary for all users.
WPEngine takes pride in its customer service, and for good reason. Their customer support is truly commendable. With round-the-clock assistance available 365 days a year, the WP Engine support team is always ready to lend a helping hand.
They provide a comprehensive range of support options, including live chat, phone support, and access to helpful resources on their website, ensuring that their customers receive the assistance they need whenever it’s required.
Comprehensive Online Support Resources
WP Engine’s website offers an extensive array of informative blogs covering various topics to aid you in managing your website. This includes guides on setting up your site and troubleshooting common issues. Additionally, they feature a frequently asked questions section, allowing you to potentially resolve hosting problems independently before reaching out for assistance.
Should you require direct contact, WPEngine provides a live chat service. While there is some competition among web hosting providers regarding live chat response times, WP Engine typically maintains an approximate 3-minute response time. While not instantaneous, this ensures you won’t be left waiting indefinitely.
Despite this slight delay, WPEngine boasts a loyal and content customer base, indicating they are effectively meeting their customers’ needs.
Do you value expert support?
WP Engine is dedicated to your success, and their team of experts has the credentials to back it up. Whether it’s during the build phase, launch, or ongoing support, their award-winning team of experts is available round-the-clock, 365 days a year.
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Features & Products: What Does WP Engine Offer?
Given WP Engine’s slightly higher pricing compared to its competitors, hosting reviewers often scrutinize its added features to justify the cost. So, how does WPEngine fare in terms of features?
They offer SSL and SSH protection, which is a standard feature among web hosting providers. While beneficial, this feature doesn’t set them apart significantly from their competition.
One notable inclusion across all plans is the Free Custom CDN (Content Delivery Network), which is designed to enhance your site’s speed and performance. Additionally, they provide EverCache software, aimed at improving uptime by mitigating unexpected spikes in traffic.
WP Engine’s Client Dashboard
For numerous individuals seeking a new web hosting provider, cPanel holds significant importance. As the industry-standard control panel, it’s widely recognized. However, this doesn’t imply that it’s the sole viable option available.
WPEngine opts not to use cPanel. Instead, they utilize their own user Portal, which functions effectively. Yet, some may argue that it doesn’t match the versatility and convenience offered by cPanel.
Access to Premium StudioPress WordPress Themes
While WPEngine may not offer cPanel, they compensate for this by providing extensive website builder options.
Having acquired StudioPress, WPEngine grants their users unrestricted access to Premium WordPress themes and the Genesis framework at no additional cost.
This valuable feature is incorporated into every WP Engine price plan, offering users a plethora of premium design choices.
WP Engine Managed WordPress Comparison Chart
| Main Features | Startup | Growth | Scale |
| Websites | 1 | 10 | 30 |
| Storage | 10 GB | 20 GB | 50 GB |
| Bandwidth | 25K Visits /mo. | 100K Visits /mo. | 400K Visits /mo. |
| Free Domain Name | ✖︎ | ✖︎ | ✖︎ |
| Free SSL Certificate | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Daily Backups | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| 24/7 customer service | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Money back guarantee | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
In search of a hosting plan packed with features?
From seamless Local WordPress development to stunning StudioPress themes and optimized WordPress plugins, WP Engine provides the tools to help you get online effortlessly!
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Security & Protection: What is WP Engine’s Security Like?
Recall our earlier discussion on hosting priorities? Well, among the top priorities is the security provided by your web host. Speed, performance, and uptime lose their significance if your hosting provider lacks robust security measures.
Moreover, websites store a plethora of sensitive information, particularly eCommerce sites that gather private financial details. Considering this, what security measures does WPEngine have in place to safeguard its users?
WP Engine ensures top-notch security across all its packages.
Arguably one of the most notable security guarantees made by WPEngine to its users is their commitment to fixing any hacked WordPress site for free. Yes, you heard that right – at no extra cost.
In addition to this, they shield their users from malicious DDoS and JavaScript/SQL injection attacks, ensuring comprehensive protection from various threats.
WP Engine use Global Edge Security
WP Engine utilizes Global Edge Security, employing Threat Detection and Blocking software to constantly monitor their servers for potential cyber-attacks. Their emphasis lies heavily on prevention rather than recovery, ultimately saving users significant amounts of money, time, and effort.
Free SSL & Automatic Daily Back-Ups
Additionally, WP Engine offers free SSL and automatic daily backups for users’ sites to prevent data loss, along with a convenient one-click restore feature.
As if these features weren’t enough to instill confidence, WP Engine also provides SSL and SSH protection at no extra charge. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Secure Shell (SSH) protection encrypt data in transit, ensuring that private information remains secure and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals.
How significant is security to you?
WP Engine takes care of automatic updates, managed upgrades, daily backups, and ongoing website monitoring, allowing you to concentrate on your business!
EXPLORE WP ENGINE
Pros & Cons of WP Engine
WP Engine Pros:
– Impressive speed and uptime: While not necessarily the fastest, WP Engine boasts good load times and excellent uptime, ensuring reliable performance for your website.
– Robust security measures: WPEngine guarantees safety with its comprehensive security measures, offering assurance against data loss and financial coverage if such an event occurs.
– Access to premium design options: Users receive free access to Genesis WordPress themes, benefiting from WP Engine’s close relationship with WordPress.
– Customer-focused approach: WPEngine prioritizes customer satisfaction, offering reassuring money-back and performance-based guarantees, alongside a reputation for excellent customer service.
WP Engine Cons:
– Absence of cPanel: WPEngine does not utilize cPanel, which may pose a challenge for some users accustomed to this control panel. While they offer their own control panel, it may be less intuitive and familiar to users.
– Complex interface: Some users have found the overall interface of WP Engine to be somewhat complicated and challenging to navigate.
– Cost implications for multiple sites: WP Engine’s pricing structure may not be ideal for users looking to host multiple sites, as prices increase significantly with each additional site.
– Premium pricing: While WP Engine’s hosting services are not exorbitant, they are not the most budget-friendly option available, making them relatively pricey compared to other web hosting providers.
Final Thoughts
Would We Recommend WP Engine?
Absolutely, we would!
WP Engine offers a lot to admire. Their hosting services are reliable and swift, demonstrating a strong commitment to high performance, top-notch customer service, and appealing additional features.
While they excel in various aspects, WPEngine may not necessarily be the top contender in a mainstream web hosting comparison. Several competitors might surpass them, especially in terms of affordability and scalability.
In essence, WPEngine is an excellent choice if you have a moderate budget and seek a hosting provider that delivers exceptional performance for small-scale sites. However, if your goal is to expand the number of hosted sites while minimizing costs, you might want to explore alternative options.
Ready to explore WP Engine?
Elevate your managed WordPress hosting experience. Join the 1.2 million websites across 150 countries that already rely on WP Engine. Take the leap today!
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