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IONOS
IONOS WordPress hosting offers a cheap way to get your WordPress business online and running.
The platform was established in 2003 and has 15 facilities in 9 countries.
They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 customer support via phone, email, and chat.
They are popular too, with over6.32 million customersin the 2024 financial year.
This will help you determine if IONOS is the right fit for your WordPress hosting needs.
Below are some of its worthy features:
1.
OPCache & Caching Plugin
IONOS utilizes OPCache to speed up WordPress sites.
This cache system works by keeping precompiled script bytecode ready to deliver during a users visit.
It can speed up WordPress sites as much as three times!
you could access IONOS performance via the WordPress site menu.
Here, youll find theCaching prefs(enabled by default).
The free SSL helps protect data between the user and the server.
3. Business Email Address
Each IONOS WordPress plan provides at least one business email address.
The email storage is 2 GB, which can be slightly limited for some businesses.
However, IONOS does offer paid email add-ons.
Note: There is a limitation on using a custom email as it requires domain registration with IONOS.
It is a capable builder that shortens the time to market.
Malware & Security Scan
In addition to free SSL, IONOS provides daily scans for malware.
They proactively look for threats and alert the user as soon as something suspicious occurs.
The DDoS shield effectively removes any suspect traffic.
Daily Backups
As a website owner, you dont have to worry about things going wrong.
Developer-friendly
Developers will find IONOS easy to use, thanks to SSH and SFTP access support.
Pre-installed WordPress Plugins
IONOS WordPress offering is pre-optimized for ease of use, performance, and security.
IONOS Ease of Use
IONOS is fairly easy to use.
This is what the IONOS dashboard looks like.
I found the custom control panel elegant, useful, and beginner-friendly.
Getting Started
I found the process of setting up hosting with IONOS intuitive.
You only need a few steps to set up the site.
However, importing or directing the domain can require more steps than usual, but nothing complicated.
It took 10 steps to get my site up and running using IONOS AIs site builder.
Here are the steps I followed:
- get in to your IONOS account.
Open theWebsites & Storesoption and hit Create new website or store.
From there, youll get three options, but choose to create a website.
Now, choose theWordPress optionand click onContinue.
Next, itll ask you to enter the project name and choose the WordPress language.
Once you input these, you’re free to install WordPress by clicking on Start WordPress Installation.
Wait for some time, and the installation should be done.
Itll give you a temporary domain so that you’re free to access and work on it.
IONOS AI will now ask you to pick the site structure: single-page or multi-page.
Depending on your choice, itll design your options.
I opted for a single page, which gave me the following options.
you could also create AI-powered content using the built-in AI Writing Assistant.
IONOS provides two options to connect your external domain:
I went with the first option.
Note:IONOS doesnt use TXT to verify domain ownership and only uses NS name servers.
I didnt find the IONOS domain transfer process to be user-friendly.
They do offer clear guidance.
However, their approach might interfere with how other domain providers work.
IONOS WordPress Performance
Performance-wise, IONOS is fast.
Thats because of multiple performance-focused features such as:
First, I tested the website speed performance viaKeyCDNperformance tool.
The test results are as follows:
Note:The AI website builder used theExtendable WordPress theme.
As IONOS WordPress plans dont support CDN.
Still, I went forward and installed theW3 Total Cache plugin.
According to IONOS customer support, CDN via plugin should work as long as it doesnt affect the DNS.
But, during my testing, I found that enabling CDN is also not possible.
I tested it with W3 Total Cache and was greeted with this message.
Its also not possible to use Cloudflare CDN as it relies on updates to DNS configs.
Despite no CDN support, I think IONOS does a great job of loading sites fast.
How Much Does IONOS WP Hosting Cost?
The live chat is available from the Help & contact option at the top right menu.
Once you press it, youll notice recommended help articles and a tip section.
TheIONOS Help Centeroffers access to plenty of tutorials, guides, and information.
It should solve most of the basic issues.
As stated earlier, I was having trouble connecting the external domain to IONOS.
During the process, I kept asking questions whenever I felt stuck.
In the end, I was successfully able to add the domain.
There is also aContact tabfrom which you’re able to contact them via phone.
I found IONOS to work effectively with AI website builders.
It can make any business fast-track its site development and then make changes via a staging environment.
The performance tests also hint at optimized servers for WordPress with fast response times.
However, I didnt like the lack of CDN support for WordPress.
Plus, external domain integration is time-consuming and unintuitive.
Overall,IONOS WPreceives theGeekflare Value Awardfor its affordability and versatile features.
Its a reliable hosting provider, ensuring ease of use and robust security.
This makes it an excellent choice for any organization looking to get their WordPress business sites up and running.
