"Managed" appears on a lot of hosting plans, and it doesn't always mean the same thing. On one plan it means the server is looked after. On another it means WordPress updates install automatically. On a third it means a person checks your site after each update and fixes what breaks.
So the useful question isn't which label is on the plan. It's who does the updates, and who fixes the site when an update breaks it.
Shared, VPS and managed WordPress hosting compared
| Shared hosting | VPS | Managed WordPress hosting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Space on a server shared with other sites | A virtual server of your own, with set resources | Hosting set up for WordPress, with WordPress looked after |
| Who runs the server | The host | You, unless you buy a managed VPS | The host |
| Who updates WordPress and plugins | You, though some plans now do it automatically | You | Usually the host, though some charge extra for plugin updates |
| Who fixes a broken update | You or your developer | You or your developer | It depends on the plan, so ask |
| Suits | Simple sites with someone keeping them current | Developers, technical teams, several sites | Sites that bring in enquiries or sales, with no one in-house on updates |
What do managed WordPress hosting services include?
The bundle varies between hosts, but a managed WordPress plan usually includes:
- Automatic updates to WordPress, and often to plugins and themes.
- Security, such as a web application firewall and malware scanning, and on some plans malware removal.
- Speed, from server caching, fast storage and often a content delivery network (CDN).
- Daily backups, with a way to restore one.
- A staging copy of the site, for testing changes before they go live.
- Support from people who know WordPress, not just the server.
Read the plan rather than the heading. "Backups included" doesn't always mean daily backups, and "malware scanning" doesn't mean anyone will clean the site if it's hacked.
Why updates decide most of this
Most of the risk in a WordPress site sits in its plugins. Patchstack, a WordPress security company, counted 7,966 new security holes in the WordPress ecosystem in 2024: 96% in plugins, 4% in themes, and only seven in WordPress itself. Keeping plugins current is most of keeping the site safe.
Automatic updates help, and some shared plans now include them, with automated checks before they install. What an automatic update can't do is notice that a plugin update clashes with something on your site, or fix the enquiry form it broke. That takes a person who knows the site.
That's the real difference between the three models. Shared and VPS hosting leave that person to you. Managed hosting may include one, so check whether it does.
When shared hosting is fine
Shared hosting is a sensible home for plenty of WordPress sites. It suits you when:
- The site is simple: a few pages that rarely change, no shop and no logins.
- Someone owns the updates: you, a staff member or a developer checks the site every month.
- Backups are taken care of, and someone knows how to restore one.
- A slow moment now and then won't cost you a sale.
A good Australian shared plan with automatic updates and frequent backups is a reasonable choice for a small brochure site. Check the price after the first term: introductory discounts are common, and the renewal price is the one you'll keep paying.
When a VPS makes sense
A VPS (virtual private server) gives your site its own share of a server's memory and processing, so other sites can't slow it down. It makes sense when:
- You have the skills in-house: a developer or technical team who will run the server.
- You need control: software, settings or PHP versions a shared plan won't allow.
- You host several sites and want them on one server you control.
An unmanaged VPS is a bare server. The operating system, security patches, firewall, backups and PHP versions are yours to look after, as well as WordPress. Some hosts sell managed VPS plans that look after the server for you. Check whether that includes WordPress, because often it doesn't.
Managed WordPress hosting on a VPS gives you both: a server of your own that no other site can slow down, and someone else running it and WordPress on it. That's how I host: every client gets their own server.
When managed WordPress hosting is worth it
Managed hosting is worth it when:
- The site earns its keep: enquiries, bookings or sales come through it.
- No one in-house owns updates, or the person who did has moved on.
- The site does more than show pages: a WooCommerce shop, member logins, or forms that feed a CRM.
- An update has broken the site before, or it's been hacked.
Does WordPress hosting need to be in Australia?
If most of your visitors are in Australia, host the site in Australia. Any page that isn't served from a cache comes from the server where the site lives, and a server in the US or Europe adds a long round trip to each of those requests. Checkout, search results and logged-in pages are rarely cached, so they feel it most.
A CDN with Australian locations speeds up images and cached pages, but it doesn't move your server. Ask where the server itself is, not just where the CDN reaches. Australian hosting also usually means support during your business hours and billing in AUD.
What managed WordPress hosting really costs
The monthly price is the smallest part of it. A cheap plan isn't the cheapest option if you then pay a developer to update the site, or to rebuild it after an update goes wrong, or if an enquiry form quietly stops working for a month.
Compare what you'd pay in a year, including the people: the hosting, the time someone spends on updates and checks, and what a broken checkout or a hacked site would cost you. Check the price after any introductory term, too, because that's the one you'll keep paying.
Questions to ask before you sign
Get the answers in writing, for the exact plan you're buying:
- Server location: which city is the server itself in?
- Updates: who installs WordPress, theme and plugin updates, and how often?
- Testing: are updates checked before they go live, and by a person or a tool?
- Broken updates: if an update breaks the site, who fixes it, and is that included?
- Backups: how often are they taken, how long are they kept, and who restores one?
- Malware: is cleaning a hacked site included, or only scanning for problems?
- Staging: is there a test copy of the site for trying changes first?
- Blocked plugins: does the host block any plugins your site uses?
- Limits: are there caps on visits, storage or bandwidth, and what happens if you go over?
- Email: is your email on the same account, and what happens to it if you move?
- Price and term: what's the price after the first term, and is there a minimum term?
- Ownership: is the account in your business's name?
The plugin question catches people out. Some managed hosts block plugins that clash with their own caching or backups, and publish a list of the ones they don't allow. It's better to know before you move.
How to move hosts without downtime
Moving a WordPress site to new hosting doesn't need to take it offline. The order is what matters:
- Take your own backup of the site and its database before anything moves.
- Sort out email first if it lives with your current host, so it keeps working after the move.
- Build the site on the new hosting and test it there: forms, checkout, logins, redirects and anything connected to another system.
- Prepare the switch a day or two ahead by shortening how long the internet caches your DNS settings, so the change takes effect quickly.
- Copy the latest content, then switch. Visitors reach either the old server or the new one while the change spreads, never a blank page.
- Keep the old hosting running for a few days, in case anything needs to come back.
For a WooCommerce store, orders keep landing on the old server until the switch. Copy the orders straight before it, or pause checkout for a few minutes, so none are lost.
Managed WordPress hosting with me
I'm Anthony Keal, an independent digital consultant in Melbourne. I host and look after WordPress sites myself, and most of the sites I look after were built by someone else.
My managed WordPress hosting starts at $169 a month ex GST, or $249 and $379 with one or two hours of changes a month. Every plan includes:
- Your own server, never shared hosting: every client gets their own virtual private server (VPS), which I manage, in an Australian data centre, on fast NVMe storage with redundancy built in. No other business's site shares it or slows it down.
- Server-level protection: an external firewall in front of the server, server backups, and maintenance done without taking your site offline.
- WordPress core and plugin updates, done by me and tested before they go live.
- Backups you can rely on: daily backups of your site and database, kept for 30 days and stored off the server; a weekly backup of the whole server, kept for 4 weeks; a backup before every update; and a restore tested every quarter.
- SSL, the security certificate that puts the padlock in the browser.
- Uptime monitoring, which tells me when the site goes down, usually before you notice.
- Fixes on me: if an update I install breaks something, I fix it at no charge.
It covers the website only, not email: Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both work well alongside it. There's a 3 month minimum, then it's month to month, and if you leave you take your site, your content and your domain with you.
The difference from most managed plans is who's on the other end. You deal with me, and I'm the same person who makes your changes and fixes. Those come from your plan's hours, billed in 6 minute blocks, and unused hours roll over for 12 months. A hacked or down site is a critical incident, so I work on it outside business hours too.
Happy with your current host? I can do the updates and fixes there instead, from the same hours. For hours and changes, pricing starts with a free 20-minute call, then a ballpark by email when the scope is clear. Nothing starts until you've agreed the price.
Send me the site's address and tell me where it's hosted now. I'll look at the WordPress version, the plugins and the hosting before we talk.
