Posted in: Q&A

Best web hosting for quickly spin up multiple sites

Hi everyone, been reading through here and there is a lot of good information but unless you are really knowledgeable about hosting and the technical terminology, it’s easy to get confused. But still good to have.
I’m hoping someone can help me navigate my request.

First, I’ve done WordPress before and have a number of domains on Bluehost but the company and support makes me want to leave. I’ve tried SiteGround a couple years ago and found it not very intuitive if you are not super technical.

I want to find a WordPress hosting that allows me to quickly spin up multiple sites easily for testing business ideas. Something easy to attach a domain to and has a either an easy interface for building the site or a Cpanel to install a WordPress template. Backup capabilities and metrics.

I’d like to only be spending max around $20 per month for all the sites. Once the business idea gains traction (if it ever does) then I can upgrade and pay more just for that one site.

Any suggestions? I’ve looked at Cloudway but their options are confusing to me, I don’t understand the configurations or if it meets my requirements.

Thanks for any help.

 

Answers:

Cloudways is not a traditional web host like Bluehost or SiteGround, which is why it might be more confusing to you. You need to choose the server provider you want to use and the server configuration. How many dev sites are you planning to have at one time? And how large are these sites? And will they be getting traffic? You could start with the lowest server config and scale up if needed.

If you are going to have 10 active development sites I would look at the 2gb configuration, which puts you just slightly over $20/mo. If you really want to stick with shared hosting you might want to look at A2 Hosting or Dreamhost. Avoid Bluehost, HostGator, and the 80 other brands owned by EIG. Also avoid GoDaddy.

Unlimited” shared hosting is a good option when you are spinning up lots of dev sites and don’t necessarily need the maximum performance.

I mentioned DreamHost. Their “unlimited” shared is $9/mo (no contract, month-to-month). Even cheaper if you lock in for a year. I use them for some client sites.

SiteGround got rid of cPanel in favor of their own custom control panel. It might be easier for you now. However if you go with SiteGround read the fine print on the pricing very clearly. The price they advertise is a promotional price. The actual price, which you will pay on renewal, can be double or even triple.

There’s a post here almost weekly of a SiteGround customer getting “sticker shock” at the renewal rate. They aren’t a bad host performance wise, but in my opinion too expensive for “throwaway” development sites.

It kills me that customers are so uninformed. It can’t get much clearer than this.
Anyway, if you went with the Grow Big plan at SG, which should be enough for what you are saying you’d like to accomplish, then the price is around what you are looking for.

 

I agree, but the “discounted from” wording is a little misleading. That could simply mean a made up list price (like you see at a furniture or clothing store), rather than the renewal price. There are plenty of other hosts that do this also and I feel some of them are more clear by saying “renews at”.

I’m a happy customer of crocweb. They have various options – including reseller – which might work for you. Litespeed servers, CPanel and superb support. Found them originally via WebHostingTalk forums – a good resource for real discussions of hosting (vs all the fake “review” sites out there).

 

If you want really cheap, you need to move away from managed hosting. Buy servers directly from server providers. Look at vultr HF or digital ocean. Then buy a panel license and you are set to start experimenting

 

Any cPanel, SSD, LiteSpeed host will meet all of your business needs. Most are well within the $15/mo range and will be more than fast enough for your business for years to come.
Agreed, cloud hosting and other similar time-consuming to learn hosting services can be a drain on the brain and totally not worth the effort – except for folks who do “that” for a living.
Seriously, paying for a cPanel license – that’s certainly the hard way to boil an egg.

Try Runcloud.io and attach it to a vps at buyvm.net. I’m using their $15 monthly server which is ample space.

Cloudways, but I agree that it’s confusing for someone not too familiar with hosting and technologies.