- 3-Day Trial Without Credit Card
- Dedicated cloud resources with automated SSL, firewalls, real-time monitoring, and daily backups with one-click restore — no shared hosting slowdowns.
- Support available 24/7/365 via Phone, Chat, Knowledge Base and Blog
- Over 600 000 customers with 15 data centers worldwide
- Raid SSD-based virtual servers, excellent bandwidth features, 55-second server deployment, flexible API, Kernal-based Virtual Machines, Hex Core racks, dedicated ECC RAM, and DO server snapshot
- The redundancy and capacity of DigitalOcean clouds are ensured by Tier-1 networks and 10-gig-E connections
Cloudways vs DigitalOcean: Quick Summary
Cloudways emerges as the clear winner for most users seeking managed WordPress hosting. While Digital Ocean offers powerful infrastructure at lower starting prices ($4/month vs $14/month), Cloudways delivers significantly better value through managed features that would take hours of technical expertise to replicate on DigitalOcean.
I found Cloudways consistently outperformed in ease of use, customer support accessibility, comprehensive security (built-in malware scanning, WAF, and automated backups vs DIY security requiring SSH knowledge), and superior performance (99% GTmetrix score with 119ms TTFB vs 97% with 463ms TTFB).
Unless you’re a developer who specifically needs unmanaged infrastructure control and wants to handle all server administration yourself, Cloudways provides a vastly superior managed hosting experience with professional features, expert support, and optimized performance right out of the box.
1. Prices and Plans Comparison
Cloudways’ Specialized Managed Hosting Offers Better Value for WordPress Users Than DigitalOcean’s Raw Infrastructure
When I compare Cloudways and DigitalOcean, I’m really looking at two different approaches to hosting:
- Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that sits on top of infrastructure providers (including DigitalOcean itself)
- DigitalOcean provides raw cloud infrastructure that you manage yourself
Cloudways Flexible plans start at $14/month on DigitalOcean servers and include WordPress-optimized features like Object Cache Pro (worth $95/month), Lightning Stack, and 24/7 expert support. Their Autonomous plans range from $100 to custom pricing for high-traffic WordPress and WooCommerce sites with true autoscaling.
DigitalOcean’s Droplets start cheaper at $4/month, but you’re getting bare virtual machines without any management layer. You’ll need to configure everything yourself. DigitalOcean also offers App Platform (starting free), Kubernetes ($12/month), and Managed Databases ($15/month), making it more suitable if you’re a developer building custom applications rather than running WordPress sites.
| Hosting Type | Price Range |
| Cloudways Flexible (Managed WordPress/PHP) | $14 – $699/month |
| Cloudways Autonomous (Managed WordPress) | $100 – Custom pricing |
| DigitalOcean Droplets (VPS) | $4 – $699+/month |
| DigitalOcean App Platform | Free – Variable |
| DigitalOcean Kubernetes | $12+/month |
| DigitalOcean Databases | $15+/month |
2. Customer Support Comparison: Who’s Got Your Back?
Cloudways Delivers Faster, More Accessible 24/7 Human Support Than DigitalOcean’s Ticket-Based System
Cloudways Customer Support
Cloudways offers live support as their primary method for addressing technical issues, which I found to be a great first step in assessing their customer service. Here’s how I tested their support:
I started by logging into my Cloudways dashboard. On the right-hand side of the screen, there’s a “Need a hand” button that stands out prominently. Clicking on it opens up the live chat feature, which is where I could get in touch with support directly.
After clicking, I was given three options: Technical Help, Billing Help, and Affiliate. Since I was facing an issue with server access, I selected Technical Support. I was then asked to choose the specific issue I was experiencing, and from the available options, I selected SSH/SFTP, as that’s where my issue lay.
I described my issue clearly, explaining that the user didn’t have the necessary permissions to execute commands with sudo, and that I was receiving a message stating the user isn’t in the sudoers file. I emphasized that I had already verified the password but couldn’t proceed with administrative tasks.
Bot Response
Almost immediately, I received a response from the bot. The bot did a good job explaining why sudo access was restricted on Cloudways’ platform.
It mentioned that as a managed hosting provider, Cloudways restricts root access to maintain a secure environment for all customers, which made sense from a security standpoint.
Instead of sudo access, the bot suggested that I could manage many server parameters via the Server Settings section within the Cloudways platform, which included options like Execution Time, Upload Size, Memory Limit, and Timezone.
Although the information was clear, I still wanted further clarification, especially since the bot was unable to directly address my specific need for sudo access. So, I opted to talk to a human agent for more details.
Human Agent Response
I clicked the “Get more help” button, and within seconds, I was connected to Faraz, a human agent. Faraz greeted me warmly and immediately acknowledged my concern, showing understanding and a willingness to help.
He reiterated the root access limitations, confirming that root access could not be granted due to Cloudways’ security policies.
Faraz then referred me to a Knowledge Base article to further explain the reasoning behind these policies and provided alternative solutions for managing server settings through the Cloudways interface.
My Impressions:
What impressed me most about Cloudways support was the speed and accessibility. From clicking the support button to connecting with a human agent took less than a minute. The initial bot response was intelligent and relevant, and when I needed more help, the transition to a human agent was seamless.
The only limitation is the lack of phone support, but given how responsive the live chat is, I didn’t find this to be a significant drawback.
DigitalOcean Customer Support
DigitalOcean provides support through a tiered system that varies significantly based on which support plan you’re subscribed to.
To access support, I clicked Support on the left-hand main menu near the bottom of the dashboard. This took me to the Support page, which presented several options:
- View tickets
- Create a ticket
- Troubleshooting resources (support articles, community forums, status page)
The support page also clearly displayed the available support plans:
What immediately stood out was that live chat is only available starting from the Standard plan at $99/month. Free and Developer plan users are limited to email/ticket-based support only.
Testing DigitalOcean Support
I decided to test their ticket-based support to see how responsive they are and the quality of assistance provided. I clicked Create a ticket and was directed to the ticket submission page.
I submitted my ticket on December 08, 2025 at 09:35 AM, asking:
“Hi. I am planning to delete my droplet as it’s currently expensive for me to maintain. However, I’d like to save the entire contents of my droplet so I can restore it or use it later when I need to. Could you guide me on the best way to: Back up all my files and databases from the droplet? Take a snapshot or export the droplet for future use?Minimize storage costs while keeping my data safe? I want to ensure I don’t lose any important data and configurations.
If there are any specific tools or methods you recommend for this process, please let me know.”
I received a response from DigitalOcean Support on December 08, 2025 at 10:33 AM, approximately 58 minutes later. This was significantly faster than the promised “within 1 day” response time for the free Starter plan, which was impressive.
The Response Quality:
Mubashir, a Senior Cloud Support Engineer, provided a clear and well-structured response:
- Acknowledged my concern: He understood I was looking to preserve data while minimizing costs
- Recommended the best solution: Suggested taking a Snapshot as the most cost-effective option
- Explained what Snapshots are: “Snapshots are on-demand disk images of DigitalOcean Droplets saved to your account and you can use them to create new Droplets with same configurations and the data”
- Provided transparent pricing: Snapshots cost $0.06 per GB per month for Droplets and $0.06 per GiB per month for volumes, with a minimum charge of $0.01
- Included helpful details: Noted that snapshots remain as long as the account is active and there’s no additional charge for multi-region availability
- Provided documentation links:
- How to Snapshot Droplets
- How to create and restore Droplets from snapshots
- Closed professionally: Thanked me for being part of the community and offered continued assistance
My Impressions:
The response was professional, comprehensive, and technically accurate. Mubashir clearly understood the question and provided the optimal solution with all the necessary details to proceed.
The documentation links were relevant and specific to my needs, not just generic “check our docs” responses. The tone was friendly and welcoming.
However, there are significant limitations with DigitalOcean’s support model:
- No real-time help on free plans: With email-only support and 24-hour response times, urgent issues become critical problems. If my site went down at 9 AM, waiting until the next day for help would be unacceptable.
- Live chat requires expensive upgrades: To get live chat access, I’d need to pay $99/month for the Standard plan. That’s more than many users’ entire hosting budget. This effectively makes real-time support inaccessible for small businesses and individual developers.
- Response times scale with money: The tiered system means wealthier customers get better, faster support. While this is common in business, it creates a frustrating experience for budget-conscious users who still need reliable assistance.
- Limited channels on lower tiers: Even the $24/month Developer plan doesn’t include live chat. You’re still stuck with email tickets and 8-hour response times.
That said, the quality of support is excellent when you do get a response. The engineers are knowledgeable, professional, and provide thorough technical guidance.
3. Hosting Features Comparison
Cloudways Delivers More Managed Features and Expert Support Than DigitalOcean’s Self-Service Infrastructure
Cloudways Features
From my experience testing Cloudways, what immediately stands out is how they’ve built their platform around making WordPress hosting effortless.
When I launched my first server, I had unlimited websites running within minutes. No need to worry about arbitrary limits per plan. The NVMe storage starts at 25GB for the micro plan and scales up to 640GB+, which is significantly faster than traditional SSD storage I’ve used elsewhere.
The automated backup system is where Cloudways really excels. I can schedule daily backups or trigger them on demand before making changes, and they’re stored offsite for safety. When I needed to migrate a client site, Cloudways’ expert team handled everything for free.
They moved the site without any downtime or broken links, which saved me hours of work. The 1-click SSL installation through their custom control panel is easy; I just clicked a button, and the certificate was active.
Their custom control panel isn’t cPanel, but honestly, I prefer it. Everything is designed specifically for managing cloud servers and applications. I can clone servers, set up staging environments, scale resources with a slider, and monitor performance all from one clean dashboard.
The built-in caching and Lightning Stack optimization deliver consistent 200-400ms load times on my test sites. The 24/7 expert support via live chat has saved me multiple times when I needed quick assistance with server configurations.
The main limitation is email. Cloudways doesn’t include email hosting, so you’ll need to integrate Rackspace ($1/mailbox/month) or use an external provider like Google Workspace.
DigitalOcean Features
Testing DigitalOcean feels completely different. You’re getting raw cloud infrastructure, not a managed hosting service. You can host unlimited websites on your Droplets, but you’re limited by the server resources you provision (RAM, CPU, storage).
The storage ranges from 25GB on basic Droplets up to 640GB+ on larger configurations, with options to add block storage or use their Spaces object storage separately.
The bandwidth is generous, starting at 500GB and scaling up to 7TB+ depending on your Droplet size, and all your account’s transfer is pooled together.
However, here’s where things get technical. Automated backups cost an extra 20% of your Droplet price and only run weekly. If you want daily backups, you’ll need to set them up manually or use snapshots (which you manage yourself).
DigitalOcean doesn’t offer free site migration. You’re completely on your own to move your website data, configure your server, and get everything running. Their SSL certificates are free through Let’s Encrypt, but you’ll need to SSH into your server and use Certbot to install and configure them manually.
The control panel they provide is strictly for managing infrastructure (creating Droplets, setting up firewalls, monitoring resources). There’s no built-in way to manage websites, databases, or files as you’d get with cPanel. If you want that functionality, you’ll need to install your own control panel, like CyberPanel, or purchase cPanel licenses separately.
Email accounts aren’t included at all. You’d need to either configure your own mail server on the Droplet (which is complex and risky due to spam issues) or use a third-party email provider like Google Workspace or Zoho Mail.
The real value of DigitalOcean is flexibility and control for developers. Their API, CLI tools, Terraform integration, managed Kubernetes, and App Platform give you incredible power to build custom infrastructure. But if you’re not comfortable with Linux server administration, SSH, and command-line tools, you’ll struggle.
4. Website Performance Comparison
Cloudways Delivers Faster Load Times and Superior Web Vitals Compared to DigitalOcean
To see how well each provider really performs under real-world conditions, I ran GTmetrix tests on websites hosted on both Cloudways and DigitalOcean.
Cloudways Performance
Here are the key results from the GTmetrix test:
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Looking at these results, I can confidently say that Cloudways’ performance is exceptional for a fully functional WordPress site. Here’s why these numbers matter:
- A performance score of 99% is outstanding, showing that the website is loading extremely fast. This indicates that Cloudways is handling the server load and media-heavy elements like images and videos very efficiently.
- With an LCP of 925ms (under 1 second), the website’s primary content appears almost instantly to visitors, providing a smooth first impression. Google considers anything under 2.5 seconds “good,” so 925ms is well within the excellent range.
- The 1ms TBT is phenomenal. It means the website is not experiencing delays or long loading times during interaction, which is crucial for ensuring users can click, scroll, and navigate immediately.
What impressed me most was the consistency across metrics. Cloudways didn’t just optimize for one or two measurements.
Every aspect of performance from server response (TTFB) to interactivity (TTI) to visual stability (CLS) scored excellently. This demonstrates comprehensive optimization at both the infrastructure and application levels.
DigitalOcean Performance
Here are the key results from the GTmetrix test:
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The DigitalOcean results are solid and reflect good performance, but they reveal some important differences compared to Cloudways:
- 97% Performance Score: This is an excellent score by industry standards and indicates the site is performing well. However, it’s 2 percentage points lower than Cloudways’ 99%. While this might seem minimal, at these high performance levels, each percentage point represents significant optimization effort.
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) of 1.1s: At 1,100ms, the main content still loads quickly and well within Google’s “good” threshold of 2.5 seconds. However, it’s 175ms slower than Cloudways (925ms). This difference is noticeable to users.
- Total Blocking Time (TBT) of 0ms: This is exceptional and actually matches or beats Cloudways (1ms). The site is completely responsive during loading with no blocking, which provides an excellent user experience. This demonstrates that the frontend code and JavaScript are well-optimized.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) of 0: Perfect layout stability, identical to Cloudways. No unexpected content shifts during loading, providing a stable visual experience.
The DigitalOcean results demonstrate that with a properly configured Droplet, you can achieve very good performance. However, the slower TTFB (463ms vs 119ms) reveals the core difference between managed and unmanaged hosting.
5. Ease of Use Comparison: Which Platform Is Easier to Use?
Cloudways Is Significantly Easier to Use Than DigitalOcean’s Technical Infrastructure
Registration and Creating a New Account
The registration process tells you a lot about a hosting provider’s approach to user experience. Let’s see how both platforms handle this crucial first impression.
Cloudways Registration Experience
I began with Cloudways to see how easy it is to sign up and if the process is intuitive and straightforward. To get started, I visited the Cloudways website and clicked the “Try Now Free” button, which immediately guided me through the sign-up process.
The sign-up process was simple and intuitive. I was prompted to create an account by entering basic details such as my First Name, Last Name, Email, and Password.
Cloudways even gave me a few extra options to personalize the process: I could select “I would best describe myself as”, choose my monthly hosting spending, or sign up via LinkedIn, GitHub, or Google, which I thought was a great touch for convenience.
Once I completed the registration, I was taken to the next step, which was to choose an application and a cloud provider. I was given the choice between top-tier providers like DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, and more.
For beginners like me, I found DigitalOcean to be an excellent choice due to its balance of cost and performance. So, I went with WordPress and then chose DigitalOcean.
After selecting DigitalOcean, the next thing I had to decide on was the server size. The platform presented me with a list of options, from 1GB all the way up to 192GB of RAM, depending on the performance I needed. Cloudways gives you plenty of room to scale your server as your needs grow, so you don’t need to worry about outgrowing your plan too soon.
For my WordPress site, I decided that the 2GB server with 50GB of disk space was the best fit. It was enough to run a small to medium-sized website smoothly without breaking the bank.
Next, I was prompted to choose a server location. Cloudways offered a variety of global data centers, including locations in the US, Europe, and Asia. I decided to go with New York since it was the closest option to my target audience, which helps with loading times and website speed.
After selecting the server size and location, I clicked the Launch Now button at the bottom of the page to proceed. The entire process was straightforward, and within minutes, my server was up and running.
Cloudways made it easy to choose a cloud provider, set up a server with the right specifications, and get everything going with just a few clicks. Now that my server was live, I could move on to configuring my applications and setting up my WordPress website with ease.
DigitalOcean Registration Experience
Next, I went to DigitalOcean to see how it compares. I began with DigitalOcean to see how easy it is to sign up and if the process is intuitive and straightforward. The process is primarily done through their official website at https://www.digitalocean.com/.
After clicking the prominent “Sign Up” or “Get Started” button in the top right corner, I was presented with three signup options: email, Google, or GitHub. I chose the email method to see the full process.
Step 1: I entered my email address and created a password, then confirmed it.
Step 2: DigitalOcean immediately sent a verification email. I opened my inbox, found the email, and clicked the verification link to activate my account.
After clicking the verification link, I was asked a few onboarding questions:
- What is your role?
- What do you plan to use DigitalOcean for?
- How many teammates will you collaborate with?
I filled them out just to complete the setup. They help DigitalOcean tailor recommendations, but you can skip or change them later.
Once I submitted those details, I was instantly redirected to the main dashboard. Here, I was greeted with my first default project titled “first-project.”
The interface displayed a few sections like Resources, Activity, and Settings, along with a welcome message that briefly introduced DigitalOcean’s products:
“When you build on DigitalOcean, you can have full control of your infrastructure (with products like Droplets and Reserved IPs) or let us handle the infrastructure for you (with products like App Platform, Load Balancers, and Managed Databases).”
Below that, I saw the next steps to get started:
- Add a Payment Method to finish account setup
- Spin up a Droplet (a virtual machine you can create in seconds)
- Deploy a Web App using the App Platform
- Explore Cloudways & DigitalOcean, their managed hosting solution
Overall, the dashboard layout felt intuitive. Everything you need to launch your first resource is clearly visible. It’s a smooth start that makes you feel ready to build right away.
DigitalOcean often offers up to $200 in free credits to new users (valid for 60 days), which are automatically applied after you add billing information. You won’t be charged until your usage exceeds the credits or the credit period expires, whichever comes first.
The signup was fast and functional. I appreciated that there were no unnecessary steps or confusing detours. What stood out was how beginner-friendly the layout felt. The dashboard doesn’t overwhelm you with options, yet it gives you everything you need to start.
User Interface – Client Area & Dashboard
A well-designed dashboard can save hours of frustration and make complex tasks feel simple. This is why I always scrutinize the dashboard experience when evaluating hosting providers.
Cloudways Dashboard Experience
When I started testing Cloudways, the dashboard was one of the first things I wanted to examine closely.
The dashboard opens with a clean, minimalist design that immediately shows your infrastructure at a glance. Three prominent metrics greet you: 1 Total Server, 3 Flexible Apps, and 0 Autoscale Apps.
This overview gives instant visibility into your account’s resources without requiring navigation through multiple menus. I appreciated being able to see my entire hosting footprint the moment I logged in.
The Applications section displays your deployed apps in a card-based view. Each application card shows essential information: the app name, creation date, server type (Cruise Server in these examples), application category (Ecommerce), and team size (2 members).
The visual thumbnails help quickly identify applications, which becomes valuable when managing multiple projects. What I found particularly useful is the dual-tab system separating “Autoscale Apps” from “Flexible Apps.” This categorization helps you understand your infrastructure type at a glance and manage different scaling approaches separately.
At the bottom, Cloudways includes a Resource Center with Getting Started guides, Application Management documentation, and Server Management tutorials. Having contextual help directly in the dashboard reduces the friction of finding answers when you encounter issues. This was a thoughtful touch that I didn’t see in many other hosting dashboards.
The left sidebar provides icon-based navigation, keeping the main workspace uncluttered while maintaining quick access to different sections.
The top bar includes search functionality for servers and apps, notification indicators, and account settings. Everything felt intuitive and within easy reach.
This dashboard design reflects Cloudways’ positioning as a managed cloud hosting platform. It abstracts away much of the complexity you’d face with raw cloud servers while maintaining visibility into your applications and infrastructure..
DigitalOcean Dashboard Experience
Immediately upon logging into the DigitalOcean dashboard, I noticed it’s organized around a “project” concept. My default project was labeled “first-project,” and the main panel displayed three key sections: Resources, Activity, and Settings.
The Resources section showed everything I had deployed. In my case, one Droplet and one connected domain. Each resource displayed critical information at a glance: the Droplet’s location (NYC1), specifications (1GB RAM, 25GB Disk), and IP address with a convenient copy button.
What I found particularly helpful was the “Create something new” section prominently displayed in the middle of the dashboard. This section presents quick-start options for common tasks:
- Create an AI agent (fully-managed AI agent development)
- Create a GPU Droplet (virtualized GPUs available on demand)
- Create a Managed Database (worry-free database management)
- Start using Spaces (scalable object storage)
- Spin up a Load Balancer (distribute traffic between Droplets)
There was also a “Build on what you have” section that offered actions for existing resources:
- Add a disk to your Droplet (create block storage)
- Take a snapshot (make on-demand copies)
- Secure your Droplets (create cloud firewalls)
- Start using Reserved IPs (redirect traffic quickly)
- Track more Droplet metrics (enable the DigitalOcean agent)
The left sidebar contained the main navigation menu, which was extensive and clearly geared toward developers and technical users. The menu included:
- App Platform – for deploying applications from code
- GenAI Platform – for AI development
- Droplets – virtual machines
- GPU Droplets – specialized compute for AI/ML
- Functions – serverless computing
- Kubernetes – container orchestration
- Volumes (Block Storage) – additional disk space
- Databases – managed database services
- Spaces (Object Storage) – file storage with CDN
- Container Registry – private Docker image hosting
- Backups & Snapshots – recovery options
Clicking on any of these menu items would open detailed views in the main panel on the right, and some had their own submenus for deeper functionality.
The dashboard is comprehensive and powerful, but it’s immediately clear that it’s designed for users who understand cloud infrastructure concepts. There’s no hand-holding. It assumes you know what Droplets, VPCs, block storage, and load balancers are.
For developers and technically savvy users, this dashboard offers incredible control and visibility. For beginners coming from shared hosting, it would feel overwhelming and technical.
What I appreciated was the clean organization and logical grouping of services. Everything was accessible, nothing felt hidden, and the dashboard provided helpful contextual prompts for next steps. However, unlike Cloudways’ simplified approach, DigitalOcean’s dashboard makes you responsible for understanding and configuring every aspect of your infrastructure.
Hosting Setup: Creating a New WordPress Website
Setting up WordPress is one of the most common tasks you’ll perform when starting with a new hosting provider, so it’s a critical test of usability.
Creating WordPress on Cloudways
Once my server was up and running on Cloudways, I was ready to set up my WordPress website. I simply clicked on the “Applications” tab, then clicked on “Add Application”.
Here, I was to choose the server I wanted to install WordPress on. If you have many servers, you’ll see all of them listed. You can also add a new server by clicking “New Server.” I already had a server so I just clicked on it.
I then clicked the “Add Application” button, and on the next page, I selected WordPress from the list of applications and linked it to the server I had just created.
After a few clicks, Cloudways took care of the rest, and within minutes, my WordPress site was installed.
To access my WordPress admin panel, I went to the “Applications” tab, where I found all my installed applications. I clicked on WordPress to open it, and I could see the admin URL, username, and password.
I could either copy the URL and paste it into my browser or click the small icon beside the admin URL to open it directly. The login process was straightforward, and I could start customizing my website immediately.
The entire WordPress setup on Cloudways took less than 5 minutes and required zero technical knowledge. Everything was handled through the visual interface with clear labels and helpful prompts.
Creating WordPress on DigitalOcean
Next was DigitalOcean, and this was a very different experience from the normal hosting providers I was used to. I launched a WordPress Droplet through their Marketplace, but the process required significantly more technical involvement.
Step 1: Creating A WordPress Droplet
I created a WordPress Droplet from the 1-Click App Marketplace by pressing the “Create WordPress Droplet” button.
This took me to the Create Droplets page, where I could customize my settings before creating the WordPress Droplet.
I had to make several technical decisions:
Choosing a datacenter region: I selected a data center region closest to my user base to avoid potential latency. In some regions, there were multiple data center options (e.g., SFO3 and SFO2).
Choosing an image: The WordPress on Ubuntu image was pre-selected.
Choosing a plan: DigitalOcean recommends at least 1GB of RAM or more to run WordPress.
Choosing an authentication method: I was strongly advised to use SSH Key authentication rather than a password for better security.
Selecting additional options: I could enable improved metrics monitoring and alerting, and consider enabling automated backups (which cost extra).
Choosing a hostname: I gave my Droplet an identifying name like “WordPress Droplet 1.”
When I completed these choices, I pressed “Create Droplet” in the bottom bar. Once the Droplet was created, its IP address was displayed, and I could copy it to connect to and configure my server.
Step 2: Checking the Placeholder Page
Next, I opened a web browser and navigated to the Droplet’s IP address to visit my new site. Until I logged in with SSH, a placeholder security page appeared with a message indicating I needed to complete the configuration via SSH first.
This security measure protects the initial WordPress configuration, preventing unauthorized users from creating the administrative account before you do.
Step 3: Accessing the Droplet via SSH to Enable Configuration
To remove the placeholder page and configure WordPress, I had to connect to the Droplet via SSH. I opened my terminal and logged into the Droplet as root using this command:
ssh root@my_server_ip
Once signed in, I was asked a series of prompts to set up my WordPress site:
- Domain name: I entered my domain or subdomain (e.g., example.com)
- Email address: For the WordPress admin account
- Username: For the admin login
- Password: For the admin account
- Blog title: The name of my WordPress site
After confirming the information was correct, I was asked if I wanted to obtain a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for added security. I entered “yes” to generate the certificate.
Step 5 — Logging Into the WordPress Admin Panel
Once the initial configuration was complete, I could log in to my WordPress admin panel by navigating to https://example.com/wp-admin using the credentials I created during SSH setup.
Step 6 — Locating Logins and Passwords
Additional installation details were displayed in the Message of the Day (MOTD) when I logged into the Droplet via SSH. To access my MySQL database, I had to run this command:
cat /root/.digitalocean_password
This displayed my root MySQL password and WordPress MySQL password, which I copied for future use.
The DigitalOcean WordPress setup took considerably longer (around 20 minutes) and required familiarity with SSH, command-line interfaces, and Linux server concepts.
While the 1-Click installation handled some of the technical setup, I still needed to manually configure the site through SSH and understand server security concepts.
Server and Hosting Management
Server management is where you’ll spend ongoing time maintaining your hosting environment. Let’s examine how both platforms handle day-to-day server management.
Cloudways Server Management
Managing my server on Cloudways was simple and intuitive. I could access comprehensive server details by clicking the server name, which opened a detailed view with all management options clearly organized.
The Master Credentials section provided everything I needed for SFTP or SSH access. I could easily upload SSH keys through the interface or launch an SSH terminal directly within my browser with just a click. No need for external terminal applications.
The left-hand menu organized server management into logical sections:
Server Management: I could monitor real-time server health, view current resource usage, and quickly identify any issues. The interface showed CPU load, RAM usage, disk space, and active processes.
Monitoring: This section provided historical performance graphs showing trends over time. I could see when traffic spikes occurred, identify resource bottlenecks, and make informed decisions about scaling.
Manage Services: One of my favorite features. I could start, stop, or restart services like Nginx, Apache, MySQL, PHP-FPM, Redis, Memcached, and Varnish with a single click. No command-line knowledge required.
Settings & Packages: As detailed in the control panel section above, this gave me extensive control over PHP settings, MySQL configuration, Nginx behavior, and more, all through visual forms and dropdowns.
Security: I managed server firewalls, set up IP whitelisting/blacklisting, enabled two-factor authentication, and monitored security events.
Vertical Scaling: This was incredibly useful. When I needed more resources, I simply moved a slider to increase RAM, CPU, or storage. Cloudways handled the scaling process automatically, often without any downtime.
Backups: I configured automated backup schedules (daily or weekly), created on-demand backups before making changes, and restored previous versions with a few clicks. Backups were stored offsite for security.
Everything was visual, clearly labeled, and designed for non-technical users while still providing advanced options for developers. I never felt like I needed to learn server administration to manage my hosting effectively.
DigitalOcean Server Management
On DigitalOcean, server management is centered around the Droplet dashboard. Once I clicked on my active Droplet, I was taken to a comprehensive panel that provided complete control over the server, but this control came with technical complexity.
The first thing I noticed was the real-time monitoring graphs. These showed:
- CPU usage (current and historical)
- Disk read/write activity
- Bandwidth consumption (inbound and outbound)
- Memory usage trends
I appreciated being able to see both historical trends and live performance. It made it easy to spot traffic spikes or resource bottlenecks. For someone running production workloads, this visibility is invaluable.
Power controls were prominently displayed. I could restart, shut down, or completely power off my Droplet with a single click. There was also a “Resize” option that let me upgrade or downgrade resources, though this typically required powering off the Droplet first, causing downtime.
The networking features were powerful:
- Floating IP: I could assign a static IP that could be quickly reassigned to another Droplet without changing DNS
- Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): For isolating traffic and creating private networks between Droplets
- Firewalls: I could create rules to block unwanted connections based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols
- IPv6 configuration: For modern internet protocol support
I also explored backups and snapshots:
- Backups: Automated weekly backups that cost an additional 20% of the Droplet price per month
- Snapshots: Manual restore points that I could create on-demand before making major changes (these are billed based on storage used)
The monitoring tab allowed me to set up alerts for specific conditions:
- CPU usage exceeding a threshold
- Memory usage reaching critical levels
- Disk space running low
- Bandwidth consumption anomalies
These alerts could be sent via email or integrated with services like Slack.
DigitalOcean’s server management impressed me with its flexibility and depth. I could scale resources, monitor performance in real time, secure my setup with firewalls, and create comprehensive backup strategies. The graphs and metrics were detailed and professional-grade.
However, here’s the critical difference: all of this manages the infrastructure, not the website itself. If I needed to:
- Update PHP settings
- Configure MySQL
- Manage WordPress
- Install SSL certificates
- Set up Apache/Nginx virtual hosts
- Configure caching
- Troubleshoot application errors
…I had to SSH into the Droplet and work directly with the Linux command line. There’s no graphical interface for these tasks. This is where DigitalOcean becomes challenging for non-technical users. You’re managing a virtual server, not a hosted website, and that distinction requires significant technical knowledge.
For developers and system administrators who are comfortable with Linux, SSH, and server configuration files, DigitalOcean’s approach offers incredible power and flexibility. For website owners who just want to run WordPress without becoming server administrators, it’s an overwhelming and impractical level of complexity.
6. Privacy and Security Comparison: Which Platform is More Secure?
Cloudways Provides More Comprehensive Managed Security Than DigitalOcean’s DIY Infrastructure Protection
Cloudways Privacy and Security
Cloudways delivers comprehensive security through multiple layers of protection that work automatically without requiring technical configuration. The platform includes a dedicated server-level firewall powered by Imunify360 that blocks malicious attacks, bot traffic, and unauthorized login attempts.
DDoS protection operates at Layer 3 & 4 in collaboration with cloud providers to shield servers from overwhelming traffic attacks.
Application-level security features include a WordPress Vulnerability Scanner (powered by Patchstack) that continuously monitors your core, themes, and plugins for threats with instant notifications. Free 1-click SSL installation through Let’s Encrypt secures data in transit, while automated backups with off-server storage ensure recovery capabilities.
The built-in WAF includes Web Shield (blocking blacklisted traffic with CAPTCHA challenges), CMS-based WAF rules, DoS protection for SSH and HTTP, brute-force protection, bot protection, web honeypot for trapping malicious bots, and weak password protection.
IP whitelisting restricts SSH, SFTP, and MySQL access to specific addresses, while IP and country blocking manually prevents access from malicious sources. Regular security patches and OS updates (like Debian upgrades) happen automatically.
Real-time application monitoring alerts you to security issues through CloudwaysBot. User role management provides granular permissions for team collaboration. The platform maintains GDPR compliance and secure database defaults with remote connections disabled.
DigitalOcean Privacy and Security
DigitalOcean provides robust infrastructure-level security, but you’re responsible for implementing and managing most security measures yourself. Data encryption is comprehensive. AES-256 full-disk encryption at rest for Spaces object storage, LUKS encryption for Managed Databases and optional for Volumes, and HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit for all services.
Access control features include multi-factor authentication (MFA) for accounts, SSH keys for password-less Droplet login, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for team permissions, and custom scopes for API tokens with limited permissions.
Network security includes free Cloud Firewalls (network-based, stateful firewall service where you define rules to block unwanted traffic), Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for isolated private networks, and DDoS protection at the network edge.
Security auditing tools include activity logs for reviewing account security and login history, and integration with third-party tools like ScoutSuite for vulnerability scanning of misconfigurations. DigitalOcean maintains strong compliance certifications: SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3 Type II, CSA STAR Level 1, and GDPR/CCPA/PIPEDA compliance with available Data Processing Agreements.
However, critical security gaps exist compared to managed hosting. There’s no built-in malware scanning, no application-level vulnerability monitoring, no WAF unless you configure it manually, SSL requires manual installation and renewal (unless using App Platform), and backups cost extra (20% for weekly automated backups).
You must SSH into your Droplet to configure firewalls, set up intrusion detection, harden your server, and implement application-level security, all requiring significant technical expertise.
7. Server Locations Comparison
Cloudways Offers Significantly More Global Coverage with 65+ Locations Versus DigitalOcean’s 12 Data Centers
When I evaluated server locations, I knew this would directly impact my website’s performance for visitors around the world. The closer your server is to your users, the faster your site loads.
Let me show you what I found about both providers’ global reach.
Cloudways Server Locations
Cloudways impressed me with their extensive global network of 65+ data center locations across all continents. What makes this particularly powerful is that Cloudways doesn’t own these data centers.
Instead, they partner with five leading infrastructure providers (DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, and Linode), giving you access to each provider’s entire data center network through a single platform.
The flexibility to choose from 65+ locations means I could position servers strategically close to my target audiences anywhere in the world.
For a client with customers in both Europe and Asia, I could deploy separate servers in Frankfurt and Singapore for optimal performance in each region. The platform makes it easy to clone servers across different providers and locations as your business expands geographically.
One limitation I discovered is if you want to change your server’s location after deployment, you need to clone your existing server to a new location rather than migrating it directly. Cloudways doesn’t support region migration for existing servers, but the cloning process is straightforward through their interface.
DigitalOcean Server Locations
DigitalOcean operates 12 active data centers across 9 geographical regions.
DigitalOcean also has two legacy data centers (AMS2 and SFO1) that are restricted for new resource creation due to lack of physical expansion space.
Existing users can still create Droplets there, but DigitalOcean strongly recommends using newer facilities like AMS3 or SFO3 instead.
The data center coverage is solid for major global markets. North America has excellent coverage with multiple options on both coasts plus Toronto, Europe has three key locations, and Asia-Pacific has Singapore, Bangalore, and Sydney.
However, the network is notably sparse compared to larger cloud providers. You won’t find options in South America, Africa, the Middle East, China, Japan, or most of Asia outside of India and Singapore.
One significant limitation I encountered: you cannot directly change the data center region of an existing Droplet or app once it’s deployed. To migrate to a different region, you must:
- Create a snapshot of your Droplet
- Create a new Droplet from that snapshot in the desired region
- Manually reconfigure everything
For Apps Platform, changing regions isn’t supported at all. You’d need to completely redeploy your app in the new region. Managed Databases have a relocation feature through the control panel, but this doesn’t work for Droplets or apps.
If you migrate an app with a database to a new region, the database stays in the original region and can’t connect to the app, forcing you to back up, create a new database in the target region, and restore the data manually.
This lack of migration flexibility was frustrating. With global businesses, you might discover your initial data center choice isn’t optimal, and moving to a better location becomes a complex manual process rather than a simple migration tool.
Cloudways vs DigitalOcean: The Bottom Line
After rigorous testing across seven critical categories, Cloudways is the definitive winner for managed WordPress hosting. While DigitalOcean offers cheaper raw infrastructure, Cloudways delivers exceptional value through comprehensive managed features, superior performance optimization, instant 24/7 support access, and user-friendly management that eliminates technical complexity.
| Category | Winner | Why |
| Pricing and Plans | Cloudways | Better value with managed features included (Object Cache Pro worth $95/month, Lightning Stack, 24/7 support) vs raw unmanaged servers requiring self-configuration |
| Customer Support | Cloudways | 24/7 live chat for all users with <1 minute response times vs DigitalOcean’s tiered system requiring $99/month for live chat access |
| Hosting Features | Cloudways | Complete managed hosting with free expert migration, automated backups, 1-click SSL, and custom control panel vs DIY infrastructure requiring technical expertise |
| Website Performance | Cloudways | Superior performance with 99% GTmetrix score, 119ms TTFB, and 925ms LCP vs DigitalOcean’s 97% score, 463ms TTFB, and 1,100ms LCP |
| Ease of Use | Cloudways | Visual dashboard, 1-click WordPress setup, and intuitive server management vs technical SSH-based configuration requiring Linux expertise |
| Privacy and Security | Cloudways | Comprehensive managed security with malware scanning, WAF, vulnerability monitoring, and automated patches vs DIY security requiring manual SSH implementation |
| Server Locations | Cloudways | 65+ global locations across 5 cloud providers vs DigitalOcean’s 12 data centers with limited geographic coverage |
