Full WP Engine Review: Is it the Best WordPress Hosting for You?
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WP Engine claims to be the most trusted managed WordPress hosting provider, but does it really live up to this statement? In this WP Engine review, we're going to take a close look at what it offers users to see if it's worth your time and money.
We'll investigate its main features, the hosting plans, pros and cons, customer support, what people are saying, who it's right for, and the best alternatives.
And, by the end of this review, you can make an informed decision about whether it's the best WordPress hosting for your needs.
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WP Engine Review
Summary
WP Engine is one of the best-managed WordPress hosting providers that offers fast servers, excellent security features, guaranteed uptime, and unrivaled customer support. Whether you're a small business who wants help with the technical side of running a blog, or a large business who wants advanced features, WP Engine is a top solution.
Pros
- Excellent security features
- Fast loading times
- Reliable uptime
- Great live customer support 24/7
- 60-day money back guarantee
- Free site migration and support
- Many happy reviews on Trustpilot
- Free StudioPress website themes
Cons
- No domain name registration (so you have to buy your domain name elsewhere)
- Some may find the plans expensive
- Some plugins are disallowed that may conflict with WP Engine
Contents
WP Engine Review: Overview
WP Engine offers managed WordPress hosting with a focus on fast, secure, and reliable hosting solutions for websites.
Being one of the first companies in the managed WordPress hosting industry, they have an impressive customer list, including Asana, Yelp, SoundCloud, DropBox, National Geographic, MyFitnessPal, and many more well-known brands.
Its standout features include:
- A lightning-fast website experience,
- Excellent uptime,
- Top-notch WordPress support,
- And an easy-to-use interface.
So, if you're just starting out and feel a little lost, or you've had a WordPress site for a while that's getting a little sluggish, WP Engine could be a great choice.
Founded back in 2010 by Jason Cohen, a serial entrepreneur, WP Engine was created when he saw a gap in the market for specialized WordPress hosting.
The main WP Engine headquarters are in Austin, Texas, and today they have offices in London, Limerick, Brisbane, and Krakow, Poland.
WP Engine Hosting Review: Main features
Now, let's take a look at the standout features of the WP Engine managed WordPress hosting.
- Easy-managed migrations from your previous host
- A free SSL certificate to keep WP sites secure
- A dedicated support team of WordPress experts
- CDN (Content Delivery Network) for super-fast site loading
- Generous 60-day money-back guarantee
- Excellent performance tracking and analytics tools
- 100% WP Engine uptime guaranteed compared to the 99.8% market average.
Performance
WP Engine offers many tools to enhance website performance, which can determine how long a visitor stays on your site and whether they will come back again.
The free CDN service ensures your site loads quickly, and you can use the free WordPress website tester to get speed and security insights in seconds to see where improvements need to be made.
Image-heavy sites will also benefit from the page speed booster that optimizes images and cleans up code, so you can 2X your page speed on desktop and mobile.
Security
WP Engine benefits from multiple security features, such as automatically upgrading your site to the latest WordPress version without you lifting a finger.
Their cutting-edge security ensures your site is protected from ever-evolving security threats and will block malware, brute force attacks, DDoS attacks, and more.
They also use 3rd party security firms to perform security audits and code reviews, so security levels are watertight.
24/7 WP Engine Support Team
WP Engine's chat support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
They claim 97% customer satisfaction with help being available by live chat, no matter what pricing plan you're on.
24/7 phone support is also available, except for those on the Startup plan.
If a problem can't be resolved by phone or chat, the customer support team will create a dedicated ticket and get back to you with a solution as fast as they can.
Alongside all that, you can search for answers in the Support Center, which is filled with articles, guides, and detailed tutorials.
Ease of Use
WP Engine-managed WordPress hosting comes with a suite of features and tools that can be accessed easily in your WordPress dashboard.
They have 24/7 live chat support, so you can answer any questions when you get stuck, and the extensive knowledge base offers information on every aspect of setting up and managing your site with them.
Premium WordPress Themes
WP Engine acquired StudioPress in 2018, which is one of the most popular theme frameworks.
WP Engine customers can use all the available Genesis Framework WordPress themes at no additional cost.
All StudioPress themes are SEO-optimized, secure, and high-performing, so you can create a beautiful and successful website quickly.
Website Monitoring
WP Engine offers website monitoring, so you get an immediate alert if an issue is detected on your site.
You can see site status and average response time and resolve issues faster right in the WP Engine portal.
Smart Plugin Manager
The Smart Plugin Manager runs a site test after every update to identify if any issues have been caused.
If any problem is identified, faulty updates are rolled back so your site keeps working at maximum performance.
What Are the Hosting Plans?
WP Engine pricing is not the cheapest out there, but it offers tiered plans to choose from, with varying levels of features and support.
Here are the basic hosting plans and what you get with each:
- Startup. $20/month: This includes 1 website, 10GB storage, 50GB bandwidth, security, site building tools, and 24/7 chat support for up to 25,000 monthly site visitors.
- Professional. $40/month: Here, you can have up to 3 sites, 15 GB of storage, and up to 75,000 site visitors.
- Growth. $77/month: Up to 10 sites with 100,000 site visitors, all the features and tools in lower plans, plus additional resources and 24/7 phone support.
- Scale. $194/month: Up to 300 sites with 400,000 monthly visitors. Same features and tools with even more resources.
- Core and Enterprise plans. These start at $400 and $2,000/month and offer customized features, tools, and support options.
WP Engine Review: Pros and Cons
WP hosting offers excellent tools and features for WordPress users, but it might not be right for everyone.
Take a look at the pros and cons before you make a decision.
Pros
- Advanced security features
- Reliable uptime
- 60-day money back guarantee
- Free site migration and support
- Excellent customer support 24/7
- Fast site speed
- Consistent performance
- Premium tools and features
Cons
- Price plans may be too expensive for some people
- No domain name registration (so you have to buy your domain name elsewhere)
- Some plugins are disallowed that may conflict with WP Engine features
What Are People Saying About WP Engine?
WP Engine has a 4.8 Star rating on TrustPilot, with many happy customers praising the customer support, tools, and more.
WP Engine Review: Who is it Right For?
WP Engine is ideal for small businesses, agencies, developers, and enterprises looking for easy-to-use web hosting with excellent security and performance features.
It's a good fit for you if you want:
- Excellent site speed. With WP Engine's managed hosting, blazing-fast site speed and 100% uptime are guaranteed without having to install any 3rd party plugins.
- Ease of use. Beginner WordPress sites will love the simple features and tools and detailed knowledge base guiding them through how to set up and run their site with managed WordPress hosting.
- Superior customer support. Whether on the StartUp or Enterprise plan, you can benefit from round-the-clock support every step of the way.
- In-built security. No need to search for and install 3rd-party security plugins that may slow down your site. WP Engine has the best security features, and your site will be updated automatically to protect you from vulnerabilities.
- Room to scale your business. Developers, marketers, and brands will love the WP Engine's advanced features, and the choice of plans allows you to scale when it feels right.
Best Alternatives to WP Engine
If you're not sure if WP Engine is the best choice for hosting WordPress websites, take a look at these recommended alternatives:
WPX Hosting
WPX Hosting is a top-managed WordPress hosting option that is well-known for being super fast and having premium customer support.
Your site will be migrated over from another host for you, and you can enjoy 99.95% uptime guaranteed, daily backups and data protection, WordPress staging, and ironclad security features.
It's incredibly easy to use, as the support team does everything for you, and updates are taken care of automatically, making this a great option for beginners.
Pricing: Business $20.83/month, Professional $41.58/month and Elite $83.25/month.
Learn more in this WPX Hosting review.
Chemicloud
Chemicloud is an excellent option if you're looking for hassle-free and reliable web hosting.
It's an affordable option, with different plans to choose from, such as Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, WordPress Hosting, and Cloud VPS Hosting.
You can benefit from premium security and technology features, a user-friendly control panel, multiple server locations, and 24/7 customer support.
They even offer a 45-day money-back guarantee, so you can take it for a test run risk-free.
Pricing: Starter $2.95/month and Pro $3.95/month.
Learn more in this Chemicloud review.
BigScoots
BigScoots offers managed WordPress hosting with site-specific management and monitoring tailored to each client's needs.
They work with sites all around the world, ranging from brand-new blogs to Fortune 500 companies, high-traffic authority websites, agencies, and more.
With BigScoots managed WordPress hosting, you can be rest assured your site will be monitored, optimized, and enhanced without you having to ask.
Pricing: Starter $31.46/month, Professional $89.06 and Business $224.06/month.
WP Engine Review: Final Verdict
At the end of this WP Engine review, you can see that this managed WordPress hosting is ideal for beginners and more experienced website owners looking for the next level of performance from their sites.
The many excellent features include:
- Blazing-fast website speed,
- Consistent uptime,
- Excellent security,
- And round-the-clock support from an attentive customer support team.
No need to search for different plugins to improve site performance, as WP Engine includes everything you need.
Whether you're a marketer looking to manage multiple client sites, a beginner blogger who needs extra support, or a large business looking for premium features to manage your growing empire, WP Engine offers everything for success.
Want more website hosting options?
Check out the best GoDaddy alternatives.
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