V is for Virus

Are you protected against viruses? Do you back up your family photos? Do you floss regularly? Do you … do things you’re supposed to do?

Of course we don’t.

Can you delegate flossing? Well … But what can you delegate that you don’t like to do, you know you should do, you could probably afford to do (in fact, you probably can’t afford to not do), but you just don’t do?

I used to think it was overkill, but I’m coming around on “managed hosting.” This site, for example, is hosted by a company that takes care of those things, upgrades core WordPress files, has a blacklist of nasty plugins I shouldn’t be using (and they won’t even let you–which is a good thing), and protects this site from known viruses. Sure, I can update my .htaccess file as easily as the next guy … can’t you? 🙂 But why should I be spending my time doing that stuff? It’s not even fun. It’s like fixing something in your attic: no one even knew it was broken and no one cares that’s it’s fixed–except maybe you. And you barely care. But when it really breaks, you’ll know and you’ll hear about it from others.

When you’re healthy, you’re invincible. When you’re sick, you’re at the mercy of those who can help you.

So I’m coming around on managed hosting. This site is hosted by WP Engine and so far, so better-than-good. Is it more expensive than cheap-o hosting? Yes. Does my site load like lightning? Is it backed up automatically? Is it upgraded, updated, and protected? Yes, yes, yes. How much is that worth to you? It’s something like $7/month versus $20/month, say $13/month on average, call if $150/year. If I spend two hours fixing my broken site per year, I’m already losing money on my “cheap hosting.”

WP Engine posted a note about the recent WordPress attacks. They even give you some easy-to-use tricks to help protect your site. But even better?

They just do it for you. It’s done, it’s taken care of, it’s out of sight, out of mind. Is that worth $150/year? I manage (and host) a few hundred websites. Can I provide that kind of guarantee? No way.

Ouch, I think I just convinced myself about managed hosting. I didn’t really mean to. If you feel the same way and want to give WP Engine a try, I’ve had a great experience so far.

Is your website protected from nasty stuff like this? [Playing with Photo Booth.]