If you’re looking for managed WordPress hosting, you may have heard of the name Flywheel .
Flywheel’s branding is: “Beautiful WordPress hosting and management. Built for designers and agencies.”
But what does this actually mean? And should you choose Flywheel to host your WordPress website?
In this post, I will discuss the general features that Flywheel hosting offers, as well as some unique features that Flywheel offers that can help you save time developing a WordPress website.
Flywheel has put a lot of effort into setting itself apart compared to many other WordPress hosts, so you’ll definitely want to check out these features.
At the end of this article, I’ll compare Flywheel’s pricing to some other managed WordPress hosts and provide my recommendation on whether you should choose Flywheel WordPress hosting.
Flywheel WordPress Hosting Features
At its core, Flywheel is a managed WordPress host , which means you get a lot of useful features that you won’t get on cheaper shared hosting plans:
- Automatic Updates – Flywheel automatically updates the core WordPress software for you.
- Automatic Backups – Flywheel backs up your site every night. You can also view snapshots of each backup and restore a backup in just a few clicks. No backup plugins required .
- Easily create a staging site - In addition to some other useful development features that I’ll discuss in the next section, Flywheel makes it easy to create a staging version of your site.
- Built-in Varnish Cache Engine - Flywheel utilizes server-side caching to make your WordPress site load quickly without the need for a caching plugin .
- Free SSL Certificate – Flywheel comes with a free Let’sEncrypt SSL certificate on all plans. Install it in just a few clicks.
- WordPress-specific security – Flywheel combines features like limited login attempts, IP blocking, Sucuri, and more to keep your website secure without the need for third-party security plugins.
- Free Malware Removal – If something goes wrong with your site*, Flywheel will fix it* for free.
- 10 Different Data Centers – Flywheel lets you choose from 10 different data centers spread across North America, Europe, and Asia so that you can choose a data center that’s close to your visitors.
- 24/7 Expert WordPress Support – Get help anytime via phone, email, or live chat.
3+ unique features that help Flywheel stand out from the competition
As I said at the beginning, Flywheel is branded as “built for designers and agencies.” This means you get access to a lot of unique features that other WordPress hosts don’t offer.
Now, depending on your specific needs, you may or may not actually be able to take advantage of all of these features. That said, some features are only really useful if you’re a designer or agency working with clients.
However, some unique features are helpful regardless.
The most notable feature is...
1. Local by Flywheel – Simple local WordPress development tool
Local by Flywheel is a WordPress local development tool similar to XAMPP or WAMP. However, unlike these tools, Local by Flywheel focuses on WordPress development.
This means you can quickly spin up a new local WordPress site using your own version of PHP, web server, and MySQL:
In fact, you don’t need to be a Flywheel customer to take advantage of Local by Flywheel ( the tool is available to the public for free ).
However, if you are a Flywheel user, you can use its “Connect to Flywheel” feature to push your WordPress site from your local environment directly to the Flywheel server. Likewise, you can also do the reverse and automatically create a local development version of an existing site on the Flywheel server.
This is especially useful if you’re working with a client, but it can also be a huge time saver if you need to do development work on your own site.
2. Blueprint – Create a new site using a predefined theme/plugin package
Another unique feature of Flywheel is what is called Blueprints.
A blueprint is a predefined package of themes and plugins. Once you create a blueprint, you can use it as the basis for quickly launching a new WordPress website.
For example, you can create a "blog blueprint" that contains all the plugins that every blog needs. That way, to start a new blog, you can just create a site based on that blueprint instead of having to manually install each plugin every time you start a new blog.
Similar to Local by Flywheel, this helps save you time in creating a WordPress website.
3. Simplify workflow for teams and clients
While the first two features are useful even if you’re just a regular WordPress user, Flywheel’s team and client workflows are really only useful if you run an agency that works with clients.
These features include:
- Organization – Create an organizational profile to house your entire team and help with project management.
- Easy collaboration - Invite other team members to participate in projects without sharing passwords.
- Bill Transfer – Once you’re done working on a client’s website, you can easily transfer the Flywheel bill to your client.
How much does Flywheel hosting cost?
Flywheel offers a wide range of features at very competitive prices. Here are the three main plans ( the table below shows monthly prices, but you get one month free if you pay annually):
While the TINY plan is affordable, it lacks some of Flywheel’s advanced features. So if you want all the features I mentioned above, you’ll need to opt for the STARTER plan, which starts at $25 per month.
How does it compare to other managed WordPress hosts?
Flywheel | Kinsta | WP Engine | SiteGround GoGeek | Pressidium |
---|---|---|---|---|
Starts at | $25 | $35 | $20 | $10.69 | $42 | |
Monthly Visitors | 25,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 100,000 |
As you can see in the table above, Flywheel can definitely compete with other best WordPress hosting providers .
Should You Choose Flywheel Hosting?
If you build WordPress websites for clients, I think Flywheel hosting is a great choice. It has a ton of unique features that can save you time and make your life easier. Even better, Flywheel offers these features at a very competitive price.
If you're a casual WordPress user ( that is, you don't build sites for clients), the choice is a little more difficult. While some of Flywheel's unique features are still useful, the WordPress hosting market in Flywheel's price range has become more competitive.
Here are the reasons:
Kinsta (where I host ShoutMeLoud) recently launched a new set of plans starting at just $35 per month ( previously Kinsta's cheapest plan was $100 per month).
Given that you can now host your site on Kinsta for the same price as Flywheel’s STARTER plan, and based on my own positive personal experience with Kinsta , I would recommend Kinsta as a top choice if you’re an average WordPress user looking for managed WordPress hosting at this price.
That’s not to say Flywheel isn’t useful! Give it a try and let me know the results!
Have you used Flywheel to host your WordPress website? Share your experience in the comments below!
Also, check out:
- Which is the top WordPress hosting for high traffic websites?
- How to save money on WordPress blog hosting renewals
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