WordPress is the go-to content management system (CMS) for most people. It’s simple, has countless plugins to do everything, and a vibrant community to suggest solutions to the most common issues. However, all works fine until they don’t, and at those precise moments, it seems scary to come out of trenches you never believed existed. Therefore, I always recommend managed WordPress hosting to people who aren’t tech-savvy enough or are too busy to focus elsewhere.
Nexcess WordPress Hosting
Nexcess comes from Liquid web, a veteran in the hosting industry. This offers fully managed WordPress plans with top-notch support. Some of the features include:
Automatic core WordPress updates Daily backups 1-Click staging Free SSL Optimized PHP Nexcess CDN TinyPNG Integration Object Cache Pro 24/7/365 Support 99.998% uptime guarantee Plugin performance monitor iThemes Security Pro iThemes Sync Qubely Pro WPMerge
Just so you know, the last four on the list are premium plugins that are included for free with every Nexcess subscription. In addition, one can claim free migration and also opt for the 30-day money-back guarantee if feeling otherwise.
How to Get Started with Nexcess?
This depends if you already have a WordPress project or starting afresh. In the first case, all you have to do is buy the subscription and contact Nexcess support to transfer the website to their servers. Subsequently, add the registered domain name to the Nexcess portal. Next, you need to point your domain to the Nexcess nameservers. One can ask the migration team about the nameservers and the process afterward. However, this depends on your domain registrar and includes nothing more than pasting a few lines in the DNS records. Additionally, you should take help from the registrar support or check out their documentation. For newbies, one can directly start by adding a domain to the Nexcess dashboard and following the process stated above.
Pros and Cons: Nexcess WP Hosting
A few features make Nexcess better than opting for its cheaper alternatives. In addition, we will check if something is missing or a deal breaker that can provoke second thoughts.
Plugin Performance Monitor
Personally, I feel the biggest benefit of having your WordPress project at Nexcess is the Plugin Performance Monitor. WordPress core, the bare-bones installation, is quite secure and blazing fast on its own. But things get to start slowing down as we add content. These tweaks may include using heavy themes, plugins, etc. The plugin performance monitor solves those problems by presenting a clear picture of the impact of those modifications. This helps us to identify the culprit so that we can find solutions or alternatives that fit our needs best.
Visual Compare
Visual Compare shows the difference between the staging site and the live one side-by-side. This will have the plugins update automatically in the background if it’s not changing the looks dramatically or wait for your approval before updating the live website. These changes are done on the staging site for review and save you a ton of work every time a plugin updates.
iThemes Security Pro
Another excellent feature that’s bundled in is iThemes Security Pro. This premium plugin paves the way for robust security irrespective of the website size. It allows for role-based control for your WordPress team, prevents brute force attacks, boosts login security, and does much more you can check out in our iThemes Security Pro review.
Friendly Support
What needs a special mention is their quick support. I pinged their sales department twice for a presale chat while writing this spec sheet review, and the support person (Mr. Nolan) was quick to respond. In addition, this wasn’t one of the conversations where the executives sound too salesy, trying to close the deal by all means. Overall, the answers were detailed, precise, and the demeanor decent.
Autoscaling and more…
Autoscaling can be a life savior in presenting a user-friendly website during momentary traffic spikes. Every Nexcess subscription gets 24 hours per month of free autoscaling. Subsequently, this service bills $.10/minute for every 30 minutes with a minimum charge of $3 if kept active. A few more goodies include:
iThemes Sync: Useful for managing multiple WordPress websites. Qubely Pro: A premium library of Gutenberg blocks. WP Merge: Database merging without overwriting. Nexcess CDN: Faster delivery to a global audience.
All of these features (and more) make Nexcess stand out from the average WordPress host. Factor in the ever-present support, and you have a winning combination of simplicity and performance. Coming to some ‘cons’…
Limited Bandwidth
This one will catch the eye of many; as a few of us are habitual of seeing unlimited bandwidth. But practically, there is no such thing as unlimited in web hosting. Everything is capped with some fair usage clause. And the listed bandwidth limits in Nexcess WordPress plans are more than sufficient. For context, WP Engine, another premium WordPress host, issues a 50GB bandwidth on its starter plan ($20 per month) and goes up to 500GB for a $193 a month subscription. On the contrary, you get 2TB (~2048 GB) bandwidth with Nexcess’s introductory WordPress package. Put simply, limited bandwidth won’t be an issue.
No Long Term Plans
While some web hosts (like A2 hosting) also have biennial and triennial subscriptions offering lucrative discounts, Nexcess stops at annual tiers. Consequently, the price doesn’t drop beyond a certain point, and it looks bad (for the first payment) compared to some of the competition. Except for these minor drawbacks, I personally consider Nexcess a well-rounded host that should prove performant for the entire subscription life.
Pricing
This can be confusing at first sight, especially with a temporary offer. So, let’s check that for the introductory package, Spark. The introductory plan is priced at $13.3 a month for the first three payments. Afterward, it’s $19 every month. The annual tiers are more discounted, billing $190 at once, which will account for $15.83 a month. This will save you two months on yearly payments without any offers (as in the images) on monthly tiers. Still, the yearly payments will save you a few bucks (if not the entire two months) in any case.
Nexcess Alternatives
Nexcess is good at what it does; however, you have a few more options to look out for.
#1. Kinsta
Kinsta has fully managed WordPress hosting powered by the Google cloud and its expert support. Its base plan is almost twice as costly as Nexcess, yet Kinsta has many fans. Due to the positive reviews all around the web, I recommend trying Kinsta WordPress hosting if budget is not an issue. Still, one should take note that Kinsta subscriptions are capped by the number of unique visits to your website, unlike Nexcess.
#2. Pressable
Pressable also offers cloud-based WordPress hosting with a visitor limit on every plan. This is also a fully managed service to help you focus on your work with all the hosting headaches taken care of. Interestingly, Pressable was acquired by Automattic, the minds behind WordPress, WooCommerce, Jetpack, etc. So, this is a WordPress hosting by the team WordPress, making it an attractive proposition. And did I tell you about Pressable’s 100% uptime guarantee?
#3. A2 Hosting
I have no doubt about A2’s Hosting performance, as we have tested WordPress on A2 shared hosting. The in-house optimizations were excellent delivering outstanding performance. With Managed WordPress, you can expect even more goodness and its dedicated support. In addition, A2 Hosting offers pro-rated refunds for unused service after the initial 30-day full refund. Overall, this will be my personal recommendation if Nexcess isn’t your cup of tea.
Summing up
Nexcess-managed WordPress hosting is great for its price. The listed features seem excellent, and you can try without any risk with its 30-day money-back guarantee. Besides, all the listed alternatives also have cash-back policies, and it’s a common practice with most web hosts. Finally, I would not want to leave this discussion without mentioning yet another option to host WordPress–Cloudways.
