The Truth About Managed vs Unmanaged WordPress Hosting

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Quick Quiz: What Type of WordPress Hosting do you need - managed or unmanaged?

  1. Are you more of a (a) Do-it-yourself type or (b) Plug-and-play kind of person?
  2. Do you usually (a) go with the flow or (b) need a backup plan?
  3. When traveling, do you prefer (a) shared accommodation or (b) space for yourself?
  4. Looking at your lifestyle, do you (a) go for the basic stuff or (b) comfort and security?

Unmanaged vs Managed WordPress Hosting Verdict

Well, based on the above criteria, we can tell you which type of WordPress user you are – the managed vs unmanaged hosting type. If you mostly picked (a), then you are an unmanaged hosting type, whereas mostly (b) choices reveal your managed WordPress hosting preference.

Disclaimer: There is no right or wrong answer and you’re fine either way. However, having a full perspective can help you make the best business decisions later on. Keep reading for more info on your business needs, the core differences and benefits of the two different hosting types.

Love Shared Hosting?

This hosting plan is typically the cheapest. Your site shares resources with other accounts on the same server. Shared hosting is a good option as long as website traffic and your end-user base don’t outgrow the server’s resources. The downside is that noisy/resource-hogging neighbors will affect your site as all websites have to share space on the same server. If you want to give Shared Hosting a try, you can save 50% on your first year at Rebel.

VPS Hosting Fan?

This means you prefer a virtual instance on a physical server with its copy of an operating system. Plus, your own resources such as CPU, RAM or any other data. You can always add more resources on your plate without the need to migrate your website.

Moreover, you get a similar level of flexibility and benefits as with a dedicated server, but with a shared cost of services. This means almost full freedom. Because you have access to everything and can install any software you want and need. No dependency on traffic or audience. Try VPS Hosting at Rebel for 70% off your first year.

Unmanaged Hosting (DIY) – The Good and The Bad

You love being in the ‘techy weeds’. As a DIY type, you prefer to build, configure, maintain and secure your server, while also ensuring that your website is up and performing well. As basic needs fulfillment is enough for you, a server with only an Operating System (OS) installed will do. You need to install and configure any additional software such as WordPress, Apache, PHP or MySQL.


Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com / Unsplash

Why Unmanaged Hosting Can Be Tricky

If this tips you over between managed vs unmanaged hosting, then you’re dedicated to the tricky craft of managing your website(s) and server. You love it and it costs you almost nothing. However, this may take too much time and keep you away from other more important stuff for your business and growth. Also, you may be saving money now, but in the long run, this may not be as beneficial. Consider this: your site has always been a bit slow to load, but imagine it in two years’ time when your business and website traffic grow.

Backup plans take too much time and energy for you, but if the worst happens you may pay for it in other ways. For example, after a few days off you find your site compromised and filled with spam links to random websites. Or when something goes wrong with your manual WordPress updated and the website goes down. Constantly having to monitor your site and implement performance and security optimizations may drain you.

How Is Managed Hosting Better For You?

If you want a hands-off approach to your hosting solution, with the peace of mind that comes with automatic backups, patches and updates, then managed hosting is for you. Even better? Rebel's Managed WordPress hosting package comes with automatic malware removal, 20 GB of storage, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. It's even powered-up with a Plesk control panel to give your site the oomph it needs to handle unlimited site visitors.

If Managed WordPress sounds like the solution you've been looking for, you can give it a try right now and save 50%! Get running on Managed WordPress for as low as $6.50/month - only at Rebel.

Thanks to our friends at Plesk for the guest blog!