Managed hosting where managed actually means something.
Most hosting sold as managed hosting is a shared server with a control panel and a support queue. Ours means your site runs in its own isolated container, updates are tested on staging before they touch it, backups run off-site nightly and get restored as a test, and when something is wrong a person who already knows your site answers.
Managed hosting from R1,250 a month, maintenance included, migration free, cancel on thirty days.
Server healthyIsolated, monitored, backed up
What managed hosting should give you
Nine things that separate real managed hosting from a cheap shared account with a better word in front of it. Ask any host you are comparing us against to confirm each one in writing.
An isolated environment
Your site runs in its own container with its own resources. A busy neighbour cannot slow you down, and a compromised neighbour cannot reach you.
A staging site
A full copy to test updates and changes on before anything touches the live version. This single feature prevents most of the disasters we get called about.
Nightly off-site backups
Stored away from the server itself with thirty day retention, and restores performed as a test rather than assumed. A backup on the same machine is not a backup.
A global CDN
Your pages cached at edge locations worldwide, so a visitor in Cape Town and one in London both get it fast. Included rather than sold as an upsell.
Current server software
Kept to a supported PHP version and tested against your site first, so you never hit the white screen that follows a forced upgrade nobody prepared for.
SSL issued and renewed
Installed, renewed automatically and monitored for expiry. Nobody should lose a day of traffic to a lapsed certificate, and yet it happens constantly.
Caching configured properly
Tuned for WordPress and WooCommerce, including the pages that must never be cached, like carts and checkouts. Default caching on a store causes real damage.
Support from people who know your site
You message us, not a queue that asks you to clear your cache first. We built or audited the site, so we already know how it is put together.
Migration handled for you
We copy, test fully on the new server, then switch DNS at a quiet hour. Free with any plan, and your existing site stays live until the new one is proven.
The cheapest hosting is the most expensive thing on your site the week it fails.
Shared hosting against managed hosting
Cheap hosting is genuinely fine for a hobby site and we will say so. This table is about what changes once the site has to earn money.
| What you are paying for | Cheap shared hosting | Managed hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Resources | Shared with hundreds | Isolated container |
| Updates | Your problem | Tested on staging weekly |
| Backups | Same server, if any | Off-site nightly, 30 days |
| Restores actually tested | No | Yes |
| Staging site | No | Included |
| CDN | Paid add-on | Included |
| Speed under load | Degrades | Holds |
| Support | Ticket queue | People who know your site |
| If it gets hacked | Quoted separately | Cleanup included |
| Monthly cost | R60 to R250 | From R1,250, plan included |
The real comparison is not R60 against R1,250. It is R60 plus a backup service, plus a security plugin licence, plus your own hours, plus the cost of the week it goes wrong and nobody is accountable because three different suppliers each blame the other two.
Managed hosting you can walk away from
Some agencies keep your site on their own hosting account specifically so you cannot leave. It is the oldest trick in this industry and it works because most people only discover it at the moment they want out.
Full access from day one
- Files, database and staging, all of it
- The account is in your name
- Your domain stays at your own registrar
- Full backups downloadable whenever you want
We help you go
- Thirty days notice, no exit fee
- A complete backup handed over
- We assist the migration to your new host
- No holding the DNS or the logins to force a conversation
We would rather keep clients because the managed hosting is good than because leaving is painful. Ask any host you are considering whether they will put that in writing.
How a managed hosting migration works
Free with any plan, done in the evening, and your current site stays live until the new one is tested and you have approved it.
Full copy taken
Files, database, email routing checked. Nothing touched on your live site at this stage.
Rebuilt on our stack
Current PHP, caching configured, SSL issued, and the site tested page by page rather than at the homepage only.
You approve it
We give you a preview link so you can click through everything before anything changes publicly.
DNS switched
Done at a quiet hour with a low TTL set in advance, so visitors move across without noticing.
Old host kept 14 days
We cancel nothing until the new setup has run clean for two weeks. Then you close the old account yourself.
Done this way, a move does not affect rankings, and Google documents the correct approach in its site move guidance. URLs stay identical and the site usually gets faster, which is itself a ranking factor. We provide managed hosting to businesses across Johannesburg, Sandton, Midrand, Centurion, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Bloemfontein and Polokwane, and remotely nationwide.
Managed hosting pricing
Managed hosting is not sold separately. It is included in every maintenance plan, because hosting without maintenance is exactly how sites end up in the state we get called to fix.
Essential
Managed hosting, staging, nightly backups, updates and monitoring for a standard business site.
Growth
Everything above plus content, search work and two hours of changes a month.
Critical
For stores and lead-critical sites: one hour response, after-hours line and a maintained staging environment.
Full plan comparison on website maintenance packages, security detail on website security and speed work on website performance. Sites we did not build join after a once-off audit at R2,500, credited against your first three months.
Managed hosting questions we get asked
What does managed hosting cost in South Africa?
Ours starts at R1,250 a month with the full maintenance plan included. Standalone managed hosting locally runs roughly R400 to R3,000 a month depending on resources. We do not sell it standalone, because hosting without somebody maintaining the site is where most of the problems we get called about actually come from.
Where are the servers located?
On enterprise infrastructure with a global CDN in front, so pages are served from an edge location near the visitor. For a South African audience that means local delivery speed, and international visitors get the same rather than waiting for a round trip.
Will moving hosts affect my Google rankings?
Not when it is done properly. URLs stay identical, the site is tested before the switch, and DNS moves at a quiet hour with a low TTL set in advance. Rankings usually improve afterwards because the site gets faster, and speed is a ranking factor.
What happens to my email when I move hosting?
Nothing. Email and web hosting are separate services with separate DNS records, and we do not touch your mail records. If your email currently sits on the same old host, we plan that move separately so nothing goes dark mid-migration.
Can I get access to the server?
Yes, full access including files, database and staging, with the account in your name. Some agencies hold hosting hostage to keep clients. We hand you everything and help you leave if you want to, which is a deliberately uncomfortable commitment to make in writing.
How much traffic can the managed hosting handle?
Far more than most South African business sites will ever see, and it scales if you outgrow it. If a campaign or a press mention is coming, tell us and we provision ahead of it rather than discovering the ceiling live on the day it matters.
Do you host e-commerce stores?
Yes, with caching configured correctly for WooCommerce so carts and checkouts are never cached. Busy stores usually belong on Performance or Critical, since downtime on a store is directly measurable in lost sales rather than lost goodwill.
What is a staging site and do I need one?
It is a private copy of your live site where changes and updates get tested first. You need one the moment your site matters, because it turns a broken update from a public emergency into a private inconvenience nobody else sees.
Can I host multiple websites?
Yes, each on its own plan, and we discount multiple sites under one account. Tell us the number and we will price it properly rather than multiplying the list price by however many you have.
Is there a setup fee?
No, and migration is free. The only once-off charge is the R2,500 audit for sites we did not build, and that is credited against your first three months, so staying makes it cost nothing.
What if I want to leave?
Thirty days notice. We hand over a full backup and help move the site to wherever you are going. No exit fee and no holding the DNS to force a conversation about staying.
Do you offer a service level agreement?
On the Critical plan, yes, with a one business hour response commitment and an after-hours emergency line. Lower plans commit to same business day, which suits most businesses honestly and we would rather say that than sell an SLA nobody needs.
The rest of what we do
Managed hosting is one part of what we do. Start from website design company in South Africa for the overview.
We will move your site across for free.
Send us your web address and current host. We copy the site, rebuild it on our stack, and give you a preview link so you can see it running faster before committing to anything.