WP ENGINE REVIEW 2021
Every aspect of the world today has advanced so much in terms of technology. Web hosting has not been left behind since each day there is a phenomenal growth in the hosting industry that reduces the complexity of the industry.
Today, WP ENGINE users enjoy managed hosting of their websites. Unlike the standard mainstream hosting space, managed WordPress hosting handles the setup, administration, management, and support of a server on your behalf. This allows you to direct your energies only to site operations.
If you want your website optimized, secure, and fast loading without doing any work yourself, you should consider managed hosting.
Are you a WordPress user interested in managed hosting? WP Engine is a top choice for managed hosting for many WordPress users. However, its plans are not one of the cheapest in the market compared to other WordPress hosts. To help you out, we are going to conduct a thorough WP Engine review. We will discuss all you need to know before making a purchase.
About WP Engine
WP Engine is a specialist hosting company offering only one service- managed hosting for WordPress.
A businessman, Jason Cohen, realized the growing hunger for optimized WordPress hosting services as the Platform was expanding popularity in all areas. Then, he proceeded to install WordPress for users, maintain critical elements, and handle updates, cache, frequent backups, frequent security scans, and much more.
Later in 2010, this idea prompted him to form WP Engine.
Today, the WP engine handles all the tedious technical tasks overwhelming for bloggers and business owners on WordPress. It is approximated to serve over 150,000 customers worldwide.
The company has set up its headquarters in Austin, Texas, USA.
WP Engine company summary
| Company location | 504 Lacava street, suite 1000. Austin, Texas,78701, United States |
| Company official website | https://www.wpengine.com |
| Company social media pages | www.facebook.com/wpengine https://mobile.twitter.com/wpengine |
| Company contact details | 512873500 |
| Founders | Jason Cohen, Ben Metcalfe, and Cullen Wilson in 2010. |
WP Engine hosting plans and prices
WP Engine offers managed hosting only to WordPress users. Here are the plans available for you.
Startup
If you’re a small website or a small blog owner, we recommend this plan for you. It will only cost you $25 per month. However, you can save up to $60 or 2 months free if you pay annually.
With this plan, you get;
- 25,000 visitors a month
- 50 GB bandwidth
- 10 GB storage
- One site included
Growth
If you are a growing business, this would be the plan for you at $95 per month. Here you get;
- 100,000 visits per month
- 200 GB bandwidth
- 25 GB storage
- 10 sites included
- 24/7 phone support
With annual billing, you can save $230 or two months free.
Scale plan
We recommend the scale plan for a fast-growing business or blog. It will cost you $241 per month.
You will get;
- 400,000 visits per month
- 500 GB bandwidth
- 50 GB storage
- 30 websites included
- 24/7 live chat
- 24/7 phone support
Custom plan
Those with large business organizations should opt for this hosting plan. Most branded businesses prefer this plan for their website. It is ideal for websites with huge traffic.
For this plan, you have to speak to a sales representative to get your personalized quote depending on your requirements.
Here you get;
- Millions of visit per month
- 400GB + bandwidth per month
- 100-1TB storage
- 30 sites included
The main PROS of using WP Engine web hosting
Uptime
Uptime is one of the most significant concerns when it comes to web hosting. WP Engine assures its users of 99.95%.
You know what? A 60-minute downtime will qualify you for a credit of 5% on your monthly WP Engine bill.
Customer Support
With WP Engine, there is plenty of customer support. When starting as a user, you get access to an extensive support center with articles, docs, and step-by-step guides on how to build certain things for your website. Besides, there is a FAQ section with solutions to common problems.
You will be impressed by the quick and informed responses 24/7 from dedicated customer help via phone, email or live chat. The support options are easy to access on the user’s portal once you are signed up.
Load speed
WP Engine will give you exceptional load speed. On average, its speed is 431ms. All WP Engine plans combine custom NGINX extension, a built-in content delivery network (CDN) and SSD technology to quickly ensure your web pages load.
The NGINX extension focus on prioritizing human requests over robot requests to offer load balancing, giving visitors a better experience. On the other hand, CDN delivers site content to your visitors based on their location, boosting your website’s speed.
Server locations
WP Engine has around 20 data centers worldwide to deliver content to your visitors based on their location. During peak times or unexpected traffic spikes, your server is lighted.
The data centers are located in the United States, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Germany.
High-level security
There have been increased attacks targeting WordPress-based websites. However, WP Engine is built to counter these vulnerabilities.
You get a free SSL certificate regardless of the WP engine plan you take. The SSL renews automatically before expiration.
WP often scans all your web files for any suspicious activities and blocks site access by specific traffic sources flagged as spam.
Cons of using WP Engine
WordPress-only hosting
WP Engine only works with WordPress. Those using any other content management system are locked out, not benefiting from its services.
No email hosting
With WP Engine, you have to invest in email hosting separately. If you like to host your email account and register your domain through your website host, you will need to use third-party services for domain registration or email accounts.
No domain registration
WP offers only hosting services. If you want to register your domain, you find another company, which may be inconvenient.
Overage charges
Like most managed WordPress hosts, all WP plans have a monthly visit limit. They will penalize you with overage fees if you exceed your plan’s visitor limits.
You will be charged $2 for every extra 1000 visitors.
Banned plugins
WP bans plugins on your website either because they conflict with its performance or duplicate WP features. You may find a plugin you need isn’t allowed.
Frequently asked questions about WP Engine
What is WP Engine?
WP is a managed web hosting company built to host WordPress websites only.
What is managed WordPress hosting?
It is a WordPress-optimized hostingsolution where the host company takes care of your website’s updates, security, backups, caching, and more.
What will happen if I go over my monthly Limits?
For every extra 1000 visits, you will pay between $ 1-2. If you’re often going over the limit, you should upgrade to the next tier to avoid extra charges.
How does WP Engine calculate user visits?
Every time a unique IP address logs in on a daily basis (UTC), WP adds one visit to the count. Also, pages and dynamic requests count as an extra visit. However, there is a tool in place designed to ignore visits from bots or pre-fetched traffic.
You will not be charged for bots’ visit to your site.
Am I allowed to cancel WP Engine hosting and get a refund?
Yes. You are free to cancel your WP hosting service at any time from your account dashboard.
They offer a full refund for the first 60 days of hosting if you have pre-paid annual pricing.
Which WP Engine hosting plan is right for me?
If you want to host a single website, sign up for their starter plan. However, if you need to manage multiple websites, choose growth or scale.
Bottom line
Do we recommend WP Engine? Yes. WP is not the cheapest managed WordPress hosting company. However, we feel its speed, reliability, automated backups, content, WordPress updates, and much more warrant its higher price. If you are a blog writer or a small business looking for a completely hassle-free website host, WP is an ideal choice. It will handle many technical tasks for your website, leaving you with enough time to focus on providing quality content for your site.
