Decent NZ web hosting for ~10 websites

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deadlyllama

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#225704 1-Dec-2017 09:36

I'm looking at transitioning some customer sites (99% Wordpress) from a dedicated server I maintain to a web hosting service.

I'm after something that's physically in NZ, has good performance & good customer support.

Technical requirements are PHP & MySQL, and one site requires PHP 5.x.

SSL, ideally at no extra charge, would be great too. SNI is fine.

Has anyone had good experiences with local companies who would meet these requirements?

Benjip

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#1911482 1-Dec-2017 09:41

I have a VPS with RimuHosting (disclaimer: includes my referral code), I've never had any issues whatsoever. They have servers in Auckland (which I use). I run about 10 or so Wordpress websites and they all perform well above requirements in terms of speed.

Their support team have also helped me out a few times with getting things sorted/added.

deadlyllama

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#1911493 1-Dec-2017 09:57

Benjip:

I have a VPS with RimuHosting (disclaimer: includes my referral code), I've never had any issues whatsoever. They have servers in Auckland (which I use). I run about 10 or so Wordpress websites and they all perform well above requirements in terms of speed.

Their support team have also helped me out a few times with getting things sorted/added.

I'm not after a VPS (if I was I'd stick with s5.co.nz). I'm after a managed web hosting service that I can recommend to my clients.

hairy1

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#1911494 1-Dec-2017 09:59

I'm using webslice.co.nz which is fine but have also recently set up some sites on cloudways on a VULTR server in Sydney. I have been very impressed with Cloudways. The speed of Cloudways feels faster ex SYD although the ping to webslice is lower. Cloudways is optimised for WP. There is a free trial.

Cheers, Matt.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

deadlyllama

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#1911544 1-Dec-2017 10:46

hairy1:

I'm using webslice.co.nz which is fine but have also recently set up some sites on cloudways on a VULTR server in Sydney. I have been very impressed with Cloudways. The speed of Cloudways feels faster ex SYD although the ping to webslice is lower. Cloudways is optimised for WP. There is a free trial.

Cheers, Matt.

This needs to be handed off to someone non-technical so I'd take "people in Auckland who answer the phone" over "cloud service." Webslice do appear to answer the phone pretty quickly.

modcar

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#1911556 1-Dec-2017 11:02

Checkout HostingNZ - Servers are in Auckland, phones are normally answered pretty quickly and free SSL with every plan.

Dynamite Design & Hosting
www.dynamite.net.nz

hairy1

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#1911572 1-Dec-2017 11:42

Webslice support is very good. For non technical I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

wpcharged

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#1912728 4-Dec-2017 15:18

If you're after managed WordPress hosting with extra support I'd be happy to help at wpcharged.nz . Free SSL using Let's Encrypt with actual migration of the site to https. Servers in Auckland.

Mostly targeted towards businesses with WP sites that have better things to do than worry about backups, performance, security and white screens of death from WP updates.

There's a few other managed WP hosts in NZ that will offer more support than the standard shared hosting providers. From the big players in NZ I have only seen Freeparking offer free SSL.

bigalow

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#1912806 4-Dec-2017 17:19

the only thing wrong with hosting in NZ is the bandwidth cost

UmbrellarKR

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Umbrellar

#1913213 5-Dec-2017 11:02

Consider OpenHost - Let's Encrypt is about two clicks deep from the control panel and if you're after WordPress management we've just updated all OpenHost Linux servers to have Plesk Onyx which includes the new WordPress Toolkit which means lots of options. Easy enough to pick your PHP version 5.4 - 7.0 in the CP.

Yes locally hosted (scooter down the road to DC) and our tech-support team (other side of the office) answers the phone quick.

VirtualKiwi

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#1917255 12-Dec-2017 10:52

I'm using Sitehost with a VPS, and a Plesk subscription directly from Plesk. Plesk includes a Wordpress Toolkit which makes it easy to maintain multiple Wordpress installations.

I've found Sitehost really good to deal with. They're local NZ based, so you can actually talk to someone if you need to.

It also supports Lets Encrypt, so you can easily install free SSL on domains.

Sitehost have just recently lowered their pricing on storage, and their VPSs seem to be really fast.

I was previously with Openhost, and they're good too, but Sitehost is cheaper and faster in my experience (Even on supposedly lower specd VPS)

Sitehost distinguish between national and international traffic, whereas Openhost don't, so if you do more international traffic, Openhost may be a better option, but if you mostly have national traffic, Sitehost might be a better option.

Openhost let you pick a VPS with Plesk preinstalled, and they'll bill you for Plesk as part of your subscription, whereas with Sitehost, you need to install Plesk yourself (although they can do it for you for a fee), but Sitehost has worked out cheaper for me.

Sitehost don't really do shared hosting, but Openhost do, and they offer reseller plans so if you don't want to manage your own VPS, Openhost might be a good pick.

If you are happy managing your own VPS, or need more performance than shared hosting, a Sitehost VPS might be a better option. Sitehost also do Cloud Containers, which from what I can make out are sort of intermediate between a VPS and shared hosting.