Launching a WordPress website is exciting, but many users don’t realize the behind-the-scenes work that keeps it running smoothly. That’s why a lot of people wonder whether they should do WordPress maintenance themselves, pay for a maintenance service, or pick managed hosting instead.
Our experience shows that they are useful in certain situations. For example, we have found that maintenance services are particularly helpful for beginners and small businesses. We’ve also reviewed lots of managed hosting services and even use one of them on WPBeginner, so we know they’re useful for high-traffic and eCommerce sites.
In this article, we will compare WordPress maintenance vs. managed hosting and show you which is better for your website.
We will take a full look at WordPress maintenance and hosting explained in this article, but here’s a quick overview:
| Feature | WordPress Maintenance (Manual) | Managed Hosting |
| Cost | Low cost | High cost |
| Time Commitment | High | Low |
| Technical Expertise | Required | Minimal required |
| Control | Full control | Limited control |
| Scalability | Requires manual adjustments | Automatic scaling |
| Security | Depends on user’s efforts | Includes advanced security features |
What Is WordPress Maintenance?
WordPress maintenance is the ongoing care your website needs to function smoothly and securely. It includes different tasks like:
- Updates: Regularly updating the WordPress core, plugins, and themes to the latest versions to ensure optimal performance and security.
- Backups: Creating regular backups of your website’s files and database to prevent data loss in case of emergencies.
- Security: Using security measures like strong passwords, firewalls, and malware scans to protect your website from attacks.
- Performance optimization: Optimizing images, caching, and database queries to improve website speed and user experience.
- Troubleshooting: Identifying and fixing technical issues that may come up.
That said, let’s look at the pros and cons of WordPress maintenance.
Pros of WordPress Maintenance:
- Handling maintenance yourself is significantly cheaper than managed hosting, making it ideal for those on a budget.
- You have complete control over your website’s updates, backups, and security configurations.
- Taking the DIY route can be a valuable learning experience, enhancing your website management skills.
Cons of WordPress Maintenance:
- Maintenance tasks can be surprisingly time-consuming, especially if you’re new to website management.
- Successfully managing your own WordPress site requires a certain level of technical expertise, which can be challenging.
- One wrong move could lead to website downtime, data loss, or security vulnerabilities.
What Is WordPress Managed Hosting?
Managed hosting is a service where the hosting provider handles many of the technical aspects of running a website.
The idea behind a managed WordPress hosting package is to offer a completely hassle-free experience so that you can focus on running your business and doing what you are good at.
Here are some of the services you get in managed hosting:
- Server optimization: Ensuring your website is hosted on a server optimized for WordPress performance.
- Automatic updates: Keeping your WordPress core, plugins, and themes up-to-date without manually updating them.
- Enhanced security: Implementing strong security measures to protect your website from threats like hackers and malware.
- Performance optimization: Fine-tuning your website for speed and offering features like server-level caching, content delivery networks (CDNs), and other performance-boosting tools.
- Technical support: Providing expert assistance with any issues you encounter.
That said, let’s look at the pros and cons of managed hosting.
Pros of Managed Hosting:
- Leave the technicalities to the experts and enjoy peace of mind knowing your site is in good hands.
- Benefit from expert-level security measures and performance optimizations that you might not be able to do yourself.
- Free up your time to focus on creating content, growing your audience, and running your business.
- Access expert support teams specifically trained in WordPress to help you with any issues.
Cons of Managed Hosting:
- Managed hosting is undoubtedly more expensive than shared hosting or DIY WordPress maintenance.
- You might have less control over certain server-level configurations compared to managing your own server.
- While significantly easier, managing a website on a managed platform still requires some technical understanding.
WordPress Maintenance vs. Managed Hosting: Key Differences
Now that you know what is WordPress maintenance and managed hosting, both have differences and can useful in certain situations.
Control Over Maintenance
WordPress maintenance gives you more control, and you also take on the responsibility of keeping everything updated and secure. On the other hand, managed hosting offloads a lot of this burden to the hosting provider.
Cost of Website Maintenance
Cost is another factor to consider when choosing between WordPress maintenance and managed hosting.
While managed hosting plans are often more expensive per month, they provide a comprehensive package that may include the cost of backups, updates, and optimizations, offering significant convenience.
The cost of WordPress maintenance varies. If you’re doing it yourself, then it will be much cheaper than managed hosting. You can use free plugins to get the job done.
Alternatively, you might pick a WordPress support agency to handle website maintenance for you. Maintenance costs can be significantly higher depending on the size of your website, the level of service, and the number of development hours you choose.
Website Security
When you pick WordPress maintenance, strong security requires regularly updating everything and running security scans. You can manually do this with malware scanners or hire a support agency to handle website security for you.
On the other hand, managed hosting services often include advanced security features such as DDoS protection, firewalls, and proactive monitoring. Some providers also often offer quick responses to security threats.
Scalability
If you are handling your own WordPress maintenance, then scaling your website will need manual effort and expertise. If your website grows rapidly, then you’ll need to either outsource your website maintenance tasks, adjust your hosting plan, or optimize your site alone.
Managed hosting offers easier scalability options, automating many processes to handle traffic spikes seamlessly. However, depending on the plan you upgrade to, this can be costly.
WordPress Maintenance vs. Managed Hosting: Which Should You Choose?
Choosing between WordPress maintenance and managed hosting will depend on your specific needs and preferences. You should consider your technical expertise, time availability, budget, and website requirements to decide.
WordPress maintenance is generally most suitable for sites with low traffic, tight budgets, and users with technical expertise who can handle basic maintenance tasks.
While DIY WordPress maintenance offers full control over your website, it may require technical expertise and time commitment. It’s suitable for people who enjoy tinkering with their website or have a limited budget.
Alternatively, there are many WordPress maintenance services that can help you out. These are professionals who will ensure your site runs smoothly.
For instance, our WPBeginner WordPress Maintenance Service is the best and most affordable option on the market. You get a team of experts with 16+ years of experience who will handle everything for you, from regular updates, backups, and uptime monitoring to website optimization.
On the other hand, managed WordPress hosting is ideal for high-traffic sites, eCommerce stores, sites that require maximum uptime, and strong security, and users with limited technical knowledge.
It’s particularly beneficial for busy individuals or those without technical knowledge.
We’ve reviewed and tested many WordPress hosting services on actual websites. We’ve also used some of the most popular services to host WPBeginner and other brands.
Based on our experience, SiteGround is the best managed hosting service. They offer fast servers, top-notch security, 24/7 expert support, automatic updates, free backups, a CDN, and more.
You can find more options in our list of the best managed WordPress hosting companies.
We hope this article helped you learn about WordPress maintenance vs. managed hosting. You may also want to see our guide on how to make a WordPress disaster recovery plan and our expert pick of the fastest WordPress hosting services.
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Jiří Vaněk says
For quite a long time, especially in the beginning, I was deciding what would be better for me. In the end, finances basically made the decision for me. I maintain my WordPress site myself, and although it was challenging and sometimes painful at first, taking a lot of time, I eventually realized that once the site is fully functional, it doesn’t require as much time and maintenance as I initially thought. Of course, the initial investment was a huge amount of time. Everyone probably finds their own approach, but that’s the great thing about WordPress. If you really need a managed site, you can always find a service or developer at a price that suits you to take care of your site, because WordPress is so widespread that finding a quality person or company isn’t that difficult nowadays.