WP Engine is a premium managed WordPress host. Rather than a general shared plan, it specialises in running WordPress sites fast and securely, with performance tuning, daily backups, staging environments and automatic updates handled for you.
Who it suits
WP Engine fits a growing business whose website is genuinely important to the operation, runs on WordPress, and gets enough traffic that speed and uptime justify a higher spend. It is aimed at owners who would rather pay to have the technical side managed than tinker with servers themselves.
What you get
- Managed WordPress hosting with performance caching built in.
- Daily backups, staging sites and automatic core updates.
- Strong security, with malware protection and free SSL.
- A global content delivery network to speed up delivery.
Pricing
WP Engine is priced in US dollars, with managed plans starting around 20 US dollars a month and rising with traffic and sites. It sits well above local shared hosting, which is the trade-off for the managed service. Check current plans and the rand cost at today’s exchange rate before committing.
Our take
WP Engine is excellent at what it does, but its servers are overseas and its pricing is premium, so for a small local site serving South African customers it can be more than you need. If your WordPress site is business-critical and high-traffic, it earns its keep. For a typical SME site, a fast local host like Host Africa will usually serve your audience better and cheaper.
Related: Top web hosting for SMEs · Host Africa · Technology explained