CMS Critic

WP Engine Review – Simply the Best WordPress Hosting

By on · 18 Comments
Review of: WP Engine
Reviewed by:
Rating:
5
On July 3, 2012
Last modified:April 7, 2013

Summary:

WP Engine offers top notch support with exceptional speed. With reasonably priced managed hosting options for any type of site, they are an excellent solution to consider.

Finding the best WordPress hosting can be a daunting task. There are millions of hosts out there that do a “good” job of hosting all types of sites but what if your site starts to take off and you want performance, price and support for a reasonable price?

That’s when shared hosting stops being a good idea. Since 2008, this site (CMS Critic) had run on HostGator’s business shared hosting plan. It did the job reasonably well with minimal downtime but lately, I started to see that their support guys were deactivating my site if my traffic got too high or the load on their shared hosting CPU became too much.  That’s when I decided it was about time I moved this site to a proper host and search out some truly solid WordPress hosting.

I started the search by reading through the various forums out there and, unfortunately, 90% of the sites I encountered appeared to be fake review sites that provided no meaningful or honest suggestions as to what service might actually be the best out there. I took it upon myself to use some of the more popular webmaster forums instead of simply trying to Google for the term ‘best WordPress hosting’ as this was turning up nothing of value.

In my research for the best WordPress hosting solution, I discovered an option that intrigued my quite a bit, a company called WP Engine. What caught my attention specifically, was the fact that Automattic, the company behind WordPress, actually invested $1.2 million in their WordPress hosting business. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them invest in a WordPress hosting provider before and that was pretty much close to what sealed the deal for me that I should give these guys a try. So I did.

Today, I am running 100% of this site on WP Engine’s WordPress hosting.. and I love it.

WP Engine is staffed by WordPress geeks who know their stuff and getting support when I needed it was quick and easy. I opened a ticket and was able to explain the issue without having to explain WordPress or how it works.

Add to this the fact that their system automatically set up caching on my site and migration was done from Hostgator to WPEngine in less than 6 hours (including file transfer time!). That’s pretty darn good considering this site has almost 1,000 articles and pages on it plus tons of media.

Another awesome feature that I fell in love with is their plugin that ties the hosting into my WordPress dashboard. From here, I can create an entire staging site with a single click. This makes a complete copy of my site that I can work on without having any impact on my production site. This, for me, was a huge bonus that I actually didn’t know about until after I signed up for their plan.

WP Engine also curates plugins and lets you know the ones that work best with their system and which ones not to use to get the maximum output from you site. You just can’t get this kind of expertise anywhere else. During the migration of my hosting from Hostgator, I didn’t even need to use their support staff at all, I just used their extensive articles on migrating and followed them with ease.

What did I get with my WordPress hosting package through WP Engine?

  • A crazy fast site.
  • Unlimited data transfer.
  • Automatic daily backups.
  • The ability to back up my site by creating a restore point with a single click.
  • Managed upgrades.
  • A Firewall.
  • Malware scanning.
  • CDN services (although I have found I don’t need them).
  • WordPress experts available to answer my questions.
  • The ability to create a staging site to develop on without impacting production.
  • Amazing support from people who know WordPress really, really well.

I seriously can’t rave about these guys enough. If you are in the market for the absolute best WordPress hosting available, then you need to take a look at these guys. I did and I couldn’t be happier. Did I mention that you get a 60 day money back guarantee? Good luck getting that from another WordPress hosting provider.

Check them out here: WP Engine – They simply offer the best WordPress hosting I know of.

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Author

Mike Johnston

Mike is a CMS Analyst & Consultant who founded CMS Critic in 2008. He regularly consults with companies to assist them with the CMS selection process and is available for speaking engagements. You can contact him here or follow him on Google Plus.

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  • Tim L.

    The firewall and anti-malware makes this quite attractive. I’ve had trouble with WordPress invasions in the past and this kind of protection could take care of that for me. I admit I don’t k now much about site security.

  • Kelly

    Hmm. This is definitely more expensive than the hosting I currently have, which I have multiple WordPress and regular HTML sites on right now. They definitely have good aspects, the support looks phenomenal and your review definitely stands for a lot. Thanks for the information.

  • RobP

    Ohhh this would’ve been very helpful in my early years of building everything on WordPress when I didn’t know a widget from my elbow. It would definitely be helpful to have WP experts in the same place you host your sites. Searching up answers to my tricky questions took too much time.

  • Cmarten

    I’ve been with my current host for close to a decade now, and never had any troubles with it, other than a one-time block due to excessive traffic on one site. I simply adjusted the allowances upwards. That being said, I can definitely see the benefit in having a host that is dedicated to WordPress and can actually help with issues stemming from that CMS in particular. All that stuff I’ve had to research elsewhere or figure out on my own.

  • winston2

    Am glad to hear that you’re happy with WP-engine. Actually I have a similar experience so I understand how you felt and how you feel now. After disastrous hosting adventures with Dreamhost and Hostgator I stumbled upon the British site best-inexpensive-web-hosting.com that explains why so many hosting review sites are fake. They recommended the British web host Linux Hosts LTD to me and, from that moment on, all my (WordPress) problems were over.

  • John

    Sorry. Have to respectfully disagree. My experience with WPEngine is that they are getting a ton of favorable publicity, they were probably very spot on early, but now that they are reaching a level where someone like me, with my $100/mo., who they can afford to keep or lose as a customer on a whim, I think they are blowing off more people than this review will imply. I, for one, am a customer who was blown off. Repeatedly. My site was down and I was told it was a theme config issue and not their problem. Fine, IF I wasn’t a new customer who had just migrated from a competitor, where the ‘config’ was perfect. It was only AFTER moving to WPEngine that I had issues. Instead of trying to help. They passed the buck, just like every other hosting company I have used since the early ’90s.

    • http://www.cmscritic.com/ cmscritic

      John,
       
      Sorry to hear about the poor experience. I, however, have found them to be excellent and there will always be people with differing opinions. What makes you think they are blowing people off? Which competitor were you with prior and why did you move to them in the first place? I’ve not found them unresponsive to help and will follow up on this for you.
       
      Mike

    • https://www.bryanbondurant.com/ Bryan Bondurant

      The truth is, not all things are possible. When you have a added theme, modified CSS, a bunch of plugins, then try to copy and paste the site onto a new server sometimes it just does not work. At least it does not work unless you pay an expert a large fee to sort it all out.
       
      I believe in a theory called “Radical Simplicity” that goes something like this. Keep everything on the backside scrorching hot and everything on the front side as plain jane as possible. I do not use any added theme and never will in the future having been burned with that too. I use only plugins that are essential. 
       
      Anyway, one cannot expect a 5,000 bucks a month minimum  WordPress VIP site for a hundred bucks a month.

    • austingunter

      Hey John,
       
      I appreciate the comment. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on our service. I always recommend that folks who are looking into our hosting ask our actual customers what their experience with us has been.
       
      I’d like to address your comment directly because it’s an important concern that’s actually more common than you might think.  A lot of people who are new to premium WordPress hosting ask the very thing you’re asking, and that is, “Where does support end and custom development begin?”  As a Managed Hosting Platform, our responsibility is to create incredibly scalable, fast, and secure hosting for individual WordPress sites. And it’s important to distinguish between WordPress, which has your theme, plugins, database, etc, vs. a Hosting Platform, which involves the systems, the hardware, the servers, caching, and the like.  Hosting platforms are responsible for delivering your site, but not for customizing it. That’s what a developer would be for.
       
      A helpful analogy is to think of WP Engine has someone that you lease some incredible downtown office space from. They provide an amazing space with downtown views, nice bathrooms, and even provide security to keep your stuff safe. But in most cases, a property manager won’t help you move your furniture in, or help you set up your computers because those are your property. You can hire movers and interior designers to arrange things perfectly.
       
      Here’s an article on WP Realm, by masonjames  about this: http://wprealm.com/blog/when-does-support-turn-into-customization/
       
      Your theme is your property and your responsibility. If WP Engine were to tweak that, it would blur the line between custom development and technical support. We do offer expert tech support, given by WordPress experts, however, there is a scope to our service, and we have to stay inside scope in order to be profitable as a business, and continue providing excellent service to our current customers. We *always* prioritize current customers, the ones who are trusting us with their sites, rather than chasing after new people.  
       
      What you pay for with WP Engine is incredible hosting technology, hardware, caching, CDN that is scalable and incredibly secure.  We back this up with support that keeps your sites online and happy. And when our customers need custom development on a theme or a plugin, we have a curated list of developers and designers who can provide a stellar service for you.
       
      Keep me posted if I can help you with anything. I’m happy to talk via email: austin at wpengine dot com.
       
      -Austin

      • http://www.cmscritic.com/ cmscritic

         @austingunter  masonjames And this is why I stand by the title of this post. Thank you Austin!

      • John

        @austingunter
        This copy is taken right from your own WPEngine.com website, and as a writer/publisher myself, I don’t read between lines. I am very literal, and your own ad copy is too:
         
        “Great support? Many hosting companies claim this. But when you’re hosting WordPress, you need specific support. If a plugin breaks, or a theme file doesn’t work, and you’re hosted with a typical hosting company, they’ll throw up their hands and say “Not responsible! We just provide the server and the bandwidth, buddy.” Not so at WP Engine. Our staff consists entirely of WordPress experts, so we can help you track down and troubleshoot WordPress issues.”
         
        I’m glad to hear your company has so many fanboys. I just don’t like being lied to. YMMV.

        • http://www.cmscritic.com/ cmscritic

           @austingunter John, you are missing the point. Read what you just shared “help you track down and troubleshoot WordPress issues”. There’s a difference between WordPress issues and theme issues.  You are paying $99 / month. Be grateful they help with anything. With the speed of the hosting and the pricing, I’m just glad we get extras period. Anyways, we need to stop the negativity so I won’t be publishing future posts on this particular thread. Others of course are welcome to share their experiences. Thanks.

        • https://www.bryanbondurant.com/ Bryan Bondurant

           @austingunter Uhgmmm?? Im no fanboy, just an experienced internet content provider and manager. Yes they can fix it. Yes they have people that do this, sorry but its not included in the server price. You go to Ford and pay for an engine then put old wore out tires on the thing you cant expect to be winning the Daytona 500. Same with this, WordPress is free. Hosting is a monthly or yearly fee. Everything else is an hourly fee and starts at 65 bucks an hour and goes up from that.
           
          If you have a “Theme” something I advise my clients to not use. Why are you not blaming your problems on the “Theme” as that is most likely where your problems are. The second place to look is something you did yourself, something you tweaked trying to make your site look pretty like the big boys not realizing the big boys have fulltime staff getting paid big bucks to keep the front end all shined up and pretty.
           
          Trying to blame ones problems on WordPress, WPengine. and or FANBOYS is just not dealing with reality. I believe I stated it here already but one cannot expect to get WordPress VIP for 25 bucks a month. WordPress VIP starts at about five grand a month.
           
          Everyone reading this can learn, if you dont have big bucks to run a site, dont add every junk theme and plugin that is available.
           
           
           
           

  • https://www.bryanbondurant.com/ Bryan Bondurant

    WPengine.com is great. Managed WordPress is a great idea. I went through your same ordeal a few months back. I set up accounts with WPengine.com and ZippyKid.com too. I ended up going with ZippyKid but not because WPengine was bad or anything.
     
    With ZippyKid I get very personal service. They have jumped through every hoop in my three ring circus and I cant say enough good things about them. A couple of my issues were addressed by a personal phone call. In fact Vid Luther the head of the entire company called me this morning. Tell me when the last time anyone running a tech company called someone? No, nothing was broke, just a good business call.
     
    I have been working with RackSpace for years. My original idea was to lease more space from them but it would be a serious time killer to manage. ZippyKid is a partner with RackSpace and runs on the RackSpace Cloud. It was a no brainer to go with ZippyKid because I got everything I wanted including business class email. I did not have to do anything regarding my current RackSpace accounts and when I set up new accounts everything points at RackSpace via ZippyKid.
     
    I plan to open another account with WPengine soon for a live sandbox, to keep ahead of the game. At this point it comes down to these two companies if you want business class Managed WordPress hosting for your site or clients. As we type there will be companies claiming they can do what ZK and WPE do, bloathosts  jumping on the “Managed WordPress” bandwagon,  so buyer beware. The good news is both of these companies saw a need and are now addressing it, Its good to WordPress.
     
     
     
     

    • http://www.ppcplans.com/ pashmina

       @Bryan Bondurant  I agree. The personal phone support for me puts ZippyKid head and shoulders above WP Engine.And that is why I’ve ultimately switched to ZippyKid as well.
       
      But I also think that WP Engine assumes that their audience is more technically inclined. The migration tutorial was not easy to follow. I thought it was rather convoluted. Their last step “Adjusting the Import” goes into geek speak oblivion for me. There’s also this “Quick Primer on DNS and Hosts File” That’s one piece of info I really don’t care to learn, and being the customer, should not have needed to learn just to transfer my site. This defeats the purpose of selecting a premium “managed” hosting company.
       
      Still, I managed to get my site transferred and stuck it through. After my site was live on WP Engine, I received DNS error notifications from Googlebot. Nothing else other than my hosting had changed. Now here I’m really technically challenged and lost. I forwarded the first email notice, and then the second email notice 2 weeks later to WP Engine Support. Their customer rep suggested I sign up for Pingdom to verify the errors. Are you kidding me?? Again, defeats the purpose of managed hosting. And to me their communication came off as being “we’re not responsible.” Quite the opposite attitude of what their website purports about their Support.

      • https://www.bryanbondurant.com/ Bryan Bondurant

         @pashmina Pretty much Zippykid is smaller so you get better support. Another thing is ZippyKid is associated with RackSpace which is known for support. If you ever put in a ticket with real WordPress you know its not unusual to get a email a moth later. WPEngine is more closely related with actual WordPress and Automattic.
         
        I dont have anything negative to say about WPEngine but for now all my hosting is via ZippyKid who have broken their backs to keep me happy and my sites as I desire them to be.

  • http://tonik.pro/ Jann Krynauw

    I have been using WP Engine for about a year to host all my sites and can confirm that the experience has been absolutely amazing. I recently moved my sites to their premium plan with dedicated servers and the migration was done in a few hours.

    • cmscritic

      Glad to hear your experience had been as positive as mine. I think they’ve got an excellent offering with a good selection of plans and I’m excited to have discovered them. Thanks for sharing!