We’ve recently updated our hosting solution. In line with recent Google updates, and to increase the value of our service.
We believe that we now offer the strongest WordPress hosting solution possible, at no extra cost to our clients.
Find out what this means for all of our website clients by reading below:
Why did we change our solution?
The internet is a constantly changing landscape. With Google algorithm updates defining the path that all marketing agencies should take. As covered in previous articles, site speed has become far more important than ever before and sites served via SSL are currently experiencing rank boosts over those served without.
Regular readers of our newsletter/blog will know that we’ve been putting a lot of effort into getting our sites to run faster. We therefore have recommended that all of our clients have SSL certificates added to their site as soon as possible. However, by changing our hosting solution we’ve managed to streamline both processes.
Site speed improvements
We’re WordPress specialists, so the fact that our new solution is built specifically for WordPress sites has allowed us to unlock significant increases in site speed for sites that have been transferred across.
Prior to the change, we had to manually install and configure caching for our sites so that they would load as quickly as possible for the end user. Now, all Mackman hosted sites are automatically cached as part of our hosting service and have access to a CDN (Content Delivery Network). This is to aid file delivery and further decrease load times.
This may not sound like the most exciting update, but it does mean that we don’t have to dedicate as much time to technical speed upgrades as we previously did. Meaning we can focus more thoroughly on asset optimisation (image dimensions/quality etc).
SSL certificate additions
Through our new solution, basic SSL certificates are easy to apply using Let’s Encrypt. Which is is a free, automated, and open Certificate Authority.
This means that, as well as our existing client sites, all of the sites we launch in the future will automatically have a basic SSL certificate applied. Bringing them all in line with current Google recommendations.
Basic SSL certificate? Sounds dodgy…
Don’t worry. If you’re not confident with serving your site via a basic SSL certificate, or if we think your customers require additional protection, there is an upgrade option which applies a more robust certificate to the site instead.
However, for the majority of our sites, the Let’s Encrypt certificate will be more than adequate.
How do I get my site transferred to the new host?
Here’s the beautiful bit: you don’t need to. We’re so confident that our solution will improve all of our client sites that we’ve already started the transferal process. We’re even applying SSL certificates as we go!
How will I know when my site has been transferred?
Once your site has been transferred, you may notice the green “secure” information in the address bar of your browser. This demonstrates that the SSL certificate is in effect and your site has been transferred over. You may also notice a significant increase in site speed.
However, it’s more likely that you’ll find out because a member of our friendly technical team will contact you to let you know that your site has been transferred and answer any questions about the process that you may have.
We’re currently working to transfer as many sites over as we can. We expect to have the majority of our sites hosted by the new supplier within the next 4-6 weeks. So keep an ear out for the phone (or an eye on your inbox)…