​Using the WPEngine EverCache system the secret sauce in the service. EverCache takes care of your caching needs automatically, you can manually set rules for cached pages but it is doing the work for you from the word go.

WordPress core patching is a very beneficial feature, this is a time saver. Your website is backed up before core updates take place, in the off chance that something goes wrong WPEngine will rollback your website to the time before the patch update.​ You can control these manually from your control dashboard or leave it automated.

​Now apart from the obvious being pricing (as it can be expensive for a new site) what would make it on to a list about drawbacks from using WPEngine?

The list in this section is more annoying than it is negative, and it depends on how you use the website. It will also vary depending on what you are used to from other hosting providers. My review comes from an ecommerce website, nothing crazy, just a total of 90 pages for a small online store.

• LACK OF EMAIL
• DISALLOWED PLUGINS
• VISITS PRICING MODEL

Emails are not provided as part of your WPEngine hosting subscription, what a bummer this is the main drawback for me. They do however allow for a variety of third party email providers with easy integration and connectivity.

WPEngine themselves as a company recommend and use Google Apps for their email.​

They also suggest Zoho as an alternative to Google Apps.​

Some additions that are not deal breakers are not having an affordable SSL available, the one offered is quite expensive at $199.00 yearly and their is no ability to use Lets Encrypt - A Free SSL Provider. This one is more of an annoying problem, for ECommerce (larger sites) you might, like me, find some caching problems when using WooCommerce. To have the caching problem fixed you can arrange to run through the exact problem with customer support - Unlike most hosts however, they'll actually do it for you rather than trying to instruct you to do some insane technical development job.

I am continually impressed by WPEngine as a company, I know this is the section of the review that talks about the cons but I don't have anything else that detracts from the positives - And the negatives really aren't that bad at all.

Somewhat Embarrasing

I was reading up on the people that make the company tick for this review, I wanted to give a in-depth insight into the company that has made me take a closer look at my website hosting provider as a legit business.

I decided not to, I found Technical engineer Mark Kelnars bio a little strange that it was set to default text.

On further looking into both Mark and Stephen's extra activities, and I saw just how busy they keep themselves. These two guys have a hectic schedule​ of meet-ups, speeches and workshops.

Look at the picture lets use this as a con because they left the default text in his bio.​

I found this out through a friend who had her website hacked, If you contact support they will arrange to help you get everything back as it was completely restored.​ Now you might read this and think "But how did the hack take place in the first place?" that would be domain level not on the server level. I think this is a selling point for non technical minded for sure. Included in the daily backup is a scan for malware, taking that extra step to provide value to their customers.

Another security benefit using WPEngine is the access or more so the restricted access, most FTP access is FTP but WPEngine uses sFTP over a secure tunnel or SSH. ​ If you don't have a good password management system and continually forget passwords and locked out of your account maybe WPEngine is not for you, if you fail the log in attempt 3 times you run the risk of having your IP blocked not good and definitely not productive. The only way to get access to your website is by contacting support for assistance, this is very useful but not very functional.

WPEngine automates your backups, running a daily copy you don't have to think about it. ​Backups are stored on the WPEngine server and they keep another copy on an Amazon S3.

Fair Usage Policy is not really the type of policy WPEngine uses, they instead go for a unlimited bandwidth offer but you have a monthly visitor allowance. This removes the fair use policy and instals more of a credit system for sites that attract large volumes of traffic.

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One of the drawbacks to being the premium provider is that you charge like a premium provider. WPEngine may not be for you if you own a lot of domains, the price is quite high but for the level of performance and service you get what you pay for. If you do own a lot of websites you could consider identifying your most profitable sites, and moving the ones that are not to another less expensive hosting provider.​

I would say that for people just entering the digital space that the entry price per month would not be best suited, you should look to crawl before you run like Usain Bolt. ​My thoughts are that this is tailored more towards people that have had some experience online.

WPEngine is NOT for anyone that is using any other content management system than WordPress, simply put if you are not using WordPress for your website this is not for you.​ Anyone that has a lot of custom coding on their website, you might find WPEngine not suitable for you as they remain firm with the framework. They must provide a reliable and premium service by preserving the integrity of their hosting plans.

Jason Cohen

Founder

"WP Engine's managed hosting platform provides the performance, reliability, and security required by the biggest brands & agencies in the world, while remaining affordable and intuitive for smaller businesses and individuals"

Hosting Perfected​

​What a very bold claim to make, but can they back it up? Keep reading.

I took a journey into getting to know my host for this review and I found what they call WPEngine Labs, super cool and again i'm impressed by the level of effort put in. When a brand and Ill call WPEngine a brand, dedicates resources to continue to innovate and lead the market you know its something special to be a part of.​ What WPEngine Labs is about is innovation and making the overall product better.

Not only have they dedicated a website and team to the continued innovative development of the product, they have dedicated a leadership team. Leadership teams get things done, the team at WPEngine Labs is no exception constantly pushing forward making changes & creating a better host.

Well the biggest sign of social proof of quality is showcasing your clients openly, ​when your client portfolio includes a website speed testing platform you know you have something special. WPEngine also provides services for project management software Asana and business directory powerhouse Yelp! That is enough social proof right there for me to decide ok these guys mean business.

​Its hard to find negative reviews for premium providers of services, I am a firm believer that the price tag weeds out the cheapskates. That being said I have found a negative review that still had some positive notes contained within. Looking at the images below its hard to not want to work with WPEngine they have a very premium product that delivers results.

As a provider of digital services you have more risk of having reviews seen opposed to being a provider of physical services, as the bulk of your dealings with customers will be online. The impressive thing I noted from the above complaint, was the he mentioned positives in his bad review. Seeing a 2 star review is bad for business, but if you can achieve bad review status with highlighted positive notes then you my friend are doing good business. I tip my hat to the people at WPEngine, you are doing good things.

After reviewing DreamHost and WPEngine I am impressed with the reviews both have received, very well done to them on delivering amazing quality of services.​

Tutorials & Knowledge Base

Things I have come to use more so than customer support recently is the knowledge base provided by the hosting companies.​

WPEngine provides a very comprehensive library in their knowledge base, that should assist answering some even advanced troubleshooting. ​

Topics covered:​

• Learn The Platform
• Site Setup
• Make My Site Faster​

• Troubleshooting
• Enhance My Site
• Manage My Account

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