I have changed webhosts more times than I want to remember.
When I first started a website back in 2006, my host of choice was BlueHost and I still recommend them as one of the more reliable hosts out there.
I’ve had different problems with different hosts, and I won’t go into all the gorey details. I was with my last host for about two years, and in that time, my server was down about 14 times. In nearly every instance, the reason for this downtime was never explained to me. Besides this, I quickly lost patience with their borderline (and not-so-borderline) rude support ticket responses. I finally had enough, but since I dread moving to a new host, I dragged my feet.
I had narrowed my choices to two hosting companies. Then one afternoon I was reading through reviews for one of my two chosen hosts and came across a glowing recommendation of another WordPress host and I decided to check them out.
I am really glad I did. Within one week I was happily settled in with my new host: Lightning Base.
Lightning Base is managed WordPress hosting. They know WordPress and they know how to configure their servers to make it run right. Chris Piepho is the founder of Lightning Base, and he personally answered all my questions in lightning speed, before I signed up.
I was impressed immediately.
Here are the things that made my decision to switch to Lightning Base easy.
Free site setup and transfer
Chris did all the work to get my sites set up on my new server. He did it right the first time, too. In the past, I’ve switched hosts only to discover that they didn’t keep some of my old server settings. It took many tickets to get things the way they should be. Not with Lightning Base. It was done right the first time and completed in hours.
Automatic backups
This feature is huge.
Even though we all know how important it is to back up our sites sometimes we just don’t do it. Or maybe you’ve got a plugin that will backup your database for you, automatically, every few days or weeks, but forgot about a backup plan for your files (like those in wp-content, for instance).
If you rely solely on your hosting company for backups you’re going to be majorly disappointed. Most hosts will only have a backup of your site that’s days old and that might not be good enough.
The backup on Lightning Base is amazing, and you can access it right within your cPanel. Lightning Base backs up 30 days of your site: all directories and files, as well as your database.
Let’s say you’re working on your site and you accidentally screw up something with your CSS file. Maybe you overwrite the entire thing with something else. No worries! Just log in to your cPanel and navigate to the date you want (say yesterday, before you overwrote the file) and then choose the file. You can now download a copy of the file and upload it back to your server.
Quick, friendly, and knowledgeable support
I judge businesses on how they handle problems. Let’s face it: you can be with a company for years and not have any issues with them. That doesn’t mean that the service is necessarily good, it’s just that you haven’t had any problems. I hear many people rave about how great their host is, but if they haven’t had any problems, how do they know? Yes, maybe your up time is good, but when you have issues with your server, how does your host handle things? Is their response time quick? Are they courteous?
Not only are my issues responded to quickly, but the issues are usually resolved with the first response. Contrast this with my last host. I would submit a ticket, and about 20 minutes later, receive a reply that they were looking into it and would be in touch. Sometimes, I wouldn’t receive another response for an hour or more. Many times their second response made it obvious that they didn’t understand my initial issue. It was frustrating and unnecessary.
WordPress is all they do
Having a host that knows WordPress is critical. No, you can’t bug them every 10 minutes or expect them to train you on WordPress, but they know what they’re doing. WordPress isn’t some mystery to them.
Better hosting for less money
I’m all for saving money, but I won’t save money just to get something inferior. I look for value, not price.
Lightning Base hosting is saving me significant money yet the service is far superior to the hosting I had before…and the hosting I had before that.
Immediate response to the Heartbleed vulnerability
By now, you’ve heard about the OpenSSL Hearbleed Vulnerability. If not, you can read more about it here: http://www.cnet.com/news/heartbleed-bug-undoes-web-encryption-reveals-user-passwords/
The problem was publicly announced on the 7th of April. By mid-afternoon on April 8th, Lightning Base had completed their final system patch. That’s fast. They also sent out an email to all their clients explaining the issue and recommending that they change their client are and cPanel passwords.
I’ve been with Lightning Base since October 2013 and I don’t anticipate every leaving (unless they suddenly change dramatically, which I doubt!).
If you’re less than happy with your host or you’ve been putting off a move because you’d rather bang your head on a wall and listen to elevator music for 24 hours straight than change hosts, I strongly recommend you consider Lightning Base Head on over there and send Chris a message. Ask him questions. You’ll get a quick, friendly reply.
Hi Laura –
Thanks for the review! We’re glad to have you as a client and it’s great to see comments like these. They’re a huge part of how Lightning Base has grown.
Best,
Chris
Thanks, Laura. I just discovered Chris and I am in my first day with Lightning Base and I am feeling confident. Like you, I’ve blew through a few “promising” hosts (as in “promising” but eventually…not “delivering”). This one feels good, like an old friend or a coat you’ve worn for years. Chis is above all else, a communicator and empathetic. That, and he really knows how to put together a great way to do things, confidently and inexpensively…online. And the fact that he let’s you do it for $4 a site in a semi-VPS environment. I’d be very surprise if it isn’t all that he says it is. It’s just a good feeling that I have. Like that old coat. I’ll let you know.
Regards, Ray Myers
Thanks for your comment, Ray. Chris really is amazing, just like the hosting he provides. 🙂
Chris is more than helpful. He did everything for me from restoring my site because I was trying out all kinds of plugins that broke it to waiving fees for me when I lost my son to a rare and fatal disease leaving me cash-strapped. You are right. His way of support is phenomenal and lightningfast. LightningBase is one awesome company worth checking out!
I agree Kenjie. Chris goes out of his way to help. Unlike other hosts, he knows WordPress. I’m very happy I found Lightning Base.
Lightining Base are awesome!
I have a large site with them and i am in the process of moving all my other sites to them.
The support is great and they really know their stuff!
Having been with them for over a year, and knowing nothing about WordPress, I have to say their service is tremendous. If you need help they don’t treat you like an idiot just because you are not an expert. Unfortunately some hosts do just that.
Gloria, you’re right. One of the things I love about Chris at LightningBase is that he is respectful. Lots of hosts can be a little short with people.
hello,
I am also facing the hosting problem. I just want to ask you whether you are still using the lightningbase or not.
@LightningBase seems affordable. But I am not sure how to migrate my site and @LightningBase would help me remove the malware from my site or not. I am not a techie…so no clue to handle…
Thank you
I am definitely using LightningBase and will be for years. I have no plans or reason to change. The service is excellent. I’ve finally found my hosting home.
LightningBase will help you with migration. As for the malware, I’m not sure. I know they can, but there’s likely a charge as dealing with sorting through all those rogue files is time consuming. I’ve done it plenty of times to know. But just send them a message and you’ll get a speedy reply!
Appreciated. Then what plan are you using? I would try the personal one and maybe upgrade if I see that Chris works well for me… 🙂
Thank you.
Ratanak, I think your plan of starting with the personal plan is a good one. Try it out. I know you won’t be disappointed though. I have numerous sites that I host there. Since I switched, which has been over a year, I have had ZERO problems. Zero. I cannot say that about my last two hosts. My server was down over 15 times in about a year and a half with my previous host. The host before that didn’t do proper backups, so I’d go to work on a site and find that entire theme folders were missing. Things like that. And not once did any of these others hosts apologize. On the contrary, they talked down to me or were short with me. Life’s too short for bad WordPress hosting! 🙂 Chris will take good care of you!
I LOVE LIGHTENING BASE TOO!!!
This evening, I made some major changes on my website.
Around 8:15PM I noticed I must have broken something on my website.
At 8:22PM I submitted a ticket. By 8:26PM Chris had responded to my ticket. Recognizing this was probably way above my tech level he had already started the backup for me. By 8:33PM my site was back up good as new. 11 MINUTES!!
I was BLOWN AWAY. I have NEVER received this type of service from ANYONE. ANYWHERE.
And this was not a fluke. I’ve consistently received awesome service from Chris from Day 1. I left Pressable (another WordPress Host) for Lightening Base nearly a year ago due to constant outages and lackluster support. Not one moment have I regretted the move. Best. Decision. Ever.
So to anyone looking for WordPress Hosting with AWESOME support at a reasonable price (Plans start at $9.95/month) I emphatically and without hesitation recommend Lightening Base.
Yep. The service cannot be beat. Chris is amazing. You can pay a lot more at one of those specialized WordPress hosts (which shall remain nameless here) and I know you won’t get the kind of service you will at Lightning Base. You just won’t.
Glad you are ecstatically happy Andrea!
Thanks for the review will check out their pricing
+1 to all of the above! 🙂
Laura thank for this topic that is not enought knowed. Thank
Gianni
Thank you for the post! Lightningbase is simply the best. Quick replies and really helpful. The prices are reasonable. I’ve had so much frustration before, and now I’m happy staying at lightningbase. Highly recommended!
Let me just join the parade and say that I too love Lightning Base. I used Bluehost for years and thought it was fine, nothing special but good enough. Then my site started getting very slow, and I discovered that Bluehost’s customer support is incredibly rude and unhelpful. They avoided all responsibility and told me only that everything was fine on their end. I cancelled my service after that and moved to Lightning Base, where the site is fast and service has been great every step of the way. Sorry this sounds like an ad but businesses like this deserve to succeed.
Thanks for leaving this comment Ana.
I LOVE Lighteningbase too!!!!
My VPS was recently wiped via a billing error and an office mate recommended LB and wow – Chris saved me. Unbelievable level of support too – I have every reason to stay with LB and love my new home. Great write-up too 🙂
Never knows something before, about Lighteningbase. Thank for the detailed post that clear every single point.