Looking for a WordPress host that uses Vultr?
Cloudways is the only host I know that offers Vultr servers (and Vultr High Frequency). GridPane and RunCloud are two other options, but they require you to create a server on the Vultr website and connect it using your API key, while Cloudways will do it for you when you launch a server in their dashboard. They’re setup a little differently, but neither are too hard.
Cloudways starts at $11-$13/mo, GridPane starts at $200/mo, and RunCloud starts at $6.67/mo. There are pros and cons to each, so it really depends on your budget, how much control you want over the server, and the level of support. Choose the option best for you.
1. Cloudways
Cloudways offers both Vultr and Vultr High Frequency servers which use NVME and faster 3+ GHz processors.
I’m using a 16GB Vultr HF server on Cloudways and am quite happy (smaller sites can usually use a 2GB server). My site loads instantly and TTFB is very fast. I use WP Rocket for my cache plugin and BunnyCDN. Most websites can use Cloudflare, but Bunny can sometimes be faster.
Cloudways has pros and cons, but for the core things most people look at in a host (speed + support), there’s a reason I’ve been using them since 2019 after migrating from SiteGround.
Pros:
- Monthly pricing.
- Offers Vultr + Vultr HF.
- Includes a free migration.
- Multiple caching levels including Redis + memcached.
- Free SSL, staging, bot protection, cron job management.
- Support has gotten much better (it used to be mediocre).
- Supports PHP 8.0, although most plugins aren’t compatible.
- Cloudways Users Facebook Group is a great place to ask questions.
- Cloudways is usually good at releasing new technology and features.
Cons:
- No file manager.
- Cloudways uses Apache servers when LiteSpeed is faster.
- Email hosting costs $1/email per month through Rackspace.
- CloudwaysCDN uses StackPath which isn’t a great CDN IMO.
- Offsite backup storage is $0.033/GB per server (just use UpdraftPlus).
- As you scale, you’re paying about 2x of what’s listed on the Vultr website.
- Breeze plugin isn’t great and you’ll want to use a paid cache plugin (WP Rocket).
Launching a Vultr server on Cloudways is easy. Once you sign up, you’re prompted to launch a server. Then (as shown in the GIF), you will fill out some details, select “WordPress” as your application, choose Vultr or Vultr High Frequency, your server size, and data center location.
Then launch your Vultr server.
[…]
This article was written by Tom Dupuis and originally published on Tom Dupuis.