Second Front
I provided Second Front with a library of custom blocks so their marketing team could continue to steer the ship after launch.
Why Dedicated Hosting?
There’s a big difference in performance between shared and dedicated hosting. By becoming an Insider, you join a private network of websites built and overseen by me, while enjoying enterprise-level features.
Shared Hosting
To borrow a real estate metaphor: a shared web hosting plan with a page builder like Squarespace, Wix, or the GoDaddy Website Builder is like living in an big, fully furnished, multi-level apartment complex. Each website is siloed, but uses the same resources. If the building runs of out hot water, so do you. If someone’s apartment catches on fire, the whole building might be compromised.
Shared hosting also means you’re dealing with a property management company that may not be responsive to your needs, since you’re just another number in a complex with 100+ units. But unlike an apartment, you not only lack ownership of the walls you’re living in, but the contents of your apartment too. If you decide to move out, you’ll be starting from zero. All your belongings stay with the host.
Dedicated Hosting
On the flip side, hosting on a WP Engine dedicated server means you’re living in luxury single family with an individualized direct line to your own property manager. You own all your belongings if you decide to move.
If there’s a problem with the core or a plugin on upgrade, I’m available thanks to the included monthly hour of development in your plan, even if you don’t have a retainer with me.
The fire brigade is attached to your unit (daily backups), and all your resources are your own (each house has its own dedicated resources). No noisy neighbors or poorly performing websites can bring yours down. This translates to having 24/7 phone support from WP Engine on the front lines, and me in your back pocket. WP Engine provides all its dedicated servers with a 99% uptime service level agreement, meaning the site has to be up 99% of the time every month.
- Hosting Features
- Optional Add-Ons
Insider Hosting Features
Dedicated hosting offers performance and security above and beyond the sort of shared hosting you can get from cheap providers like GoDaddy, Squarespace, or Wix. Here’s a closer look at what you get when you host your website on my server.
Unmetered* visits Per month
Shared hosts will often limit the number of individual visitors who can view your site per month before charging you for more traffic. A sudden influx of visitors can end up disabling your website.
Unmetered* traffic
Shared hosts will often limit the amount of traffic (meaning downloads) your website can serve to visitors before charging you for more traffic. A sudden spike in traffic can end up taking your website offline.
2GB of Storage
Shared hosts may advertise “unlimited” storage space, but with a caveat that “unlimited” really means if you use too much space for their liking, they’ll force you to upgrade.
24/7 phone & chat Support
When you contact a shared host, you’re typically dealing with a foreign call center, by chat only. Add to this that shared hosts aren’t contractually obligated to help you with your website, only issues with the hosting environment.
Shared hosts generally do not offer a guarantee of uptime, or if they do, there’s no recourse if the downtime does not meet the advertised uptime percentage.
Automated plugin & theme management
Your WordPress theme and all its components automatically update themselves so you don’t have to. This keeps your site secure.
Automated backups of your website
Daily backups on WP Engine enable you to roll back to a previous version in the case of an error at the click of a button.
| Additional Features | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Global Edge Security with firewall and CDN (savings of $30/mo) | Shared hosts don’t always offer a firewall that protects you from malicious visitors who want to hack your website. |
| Layer 3+4 DDoS Protection | Shared hosts rarely include a buffer that protects you from a sudden influx of traffic aimed at flooding your website with bots or other bad actors. |
| GeoTargeting pages based on visitor location (savings of $15/mo) | Shared hosts typically serve web pages from a central server located in a specific geographical location, meaning visitors who are physically far away may experience slower load times. |
| Site monitoring alerts | If your site goes down, we receive alerts that keep you updated. You can reach out to WP Engine for support 24/7. |
| Application performance monitoring & burst capacity | The WP Engine infrastructure is designed to adjust itself under high traffic and load, ensuring that the site stays up in peak periods. |
| SOC II reporting | WP Engine has appropriate internal controls in place to protect customer data related to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. |
RE: “Unmetered” Storage / Bandwidth
* I hate asterisk’d sales copy too, but the word “unmetered” (or “unlimited” in some cases) means something entirely different with web hosts than it does in the real world, and it’s important you’re aware of this.
“Unmetered” here means WP Engine won’t enforce overages on bandwidth or traffic, so long as your website isn’t abusing the server’s resources or breaking the terms of service. If you suddenly exceed 1 million visits, for example, this may raise alarm bells that compromise the server, and we’d need to assess if migrating you onto your own dedicated server makes sense. This is a very unlikely scenario for a small business or entrepreneur, and if this were to happen to you, it’s likely you’re getting a TON of viral buzz and would benefit from being on your own web host, which I can help you set up separately.
Optional Add-Ons
We can build anything on WordPress: it’s just a matter of time. Here are some extra features we can add to your website for an additional fee. Subscription costs listed below are at-cost from the provider, unless otherwise noted.
| Optional Add-On | Why do I need this? | Extra Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Vanity Email Address | A vanity email address (for example, [email protected]) builds credibility with your customers. Send and receive mail from @yourwebsite.com rather than @gmail.com. | $150 setup fee + Google Workspace Plan (starting at $7/mo, for 1-year commitment) |
| Third Party Integration | If you have a special service you’d like to integrate with the website, such as a newsletter or CRM (Mailchimp, Hubspot, ActiveCampaign), a chatbot, legal or compliance tools, an e-commerce checkout form, or embedded social media content (Instagram or Facebook feed, for example) we can set things up from the get-go. | Most integrations are straightforward and usually take an hour or two (at $150/hr). I’ll provide an estimate based on the integration in question. |
| 32 Extra Themes from StudioPress | If the 10 free Genesis themes aren’t enough to choose from, you can buy a premium theme for a one-time fee from a much larger library of options. | These themes have a one-time fee that ranges between $49 – $139 |
| 87 Extra Themes from Kadence WP | If the 42 options between Genesis and StudioPress aren’t enough to choose from, you can subscribe to Kadence WP, which offers an even bigger library of 87 themes! | These themes cost an additional $69/year (billed annually) with a Kadence WP subscription. |
| 82 Extra Themes from GeneratePress | If the 129 options between StudioPress aren’t enough to choose from, you can subscribe to GeneratePress, which offers an additional library of 82 themes! | These themes cost an additional $149/year (billed annually) with a GeneratePress One subscription. |
| Additional Customizations | If you have more tweaks you’d like to make to the theme that requires custom design or development work, you can add time during the initial build at a reduced rate. | Once I learn about your customizations, I’ll provide an estimate based on a reduced rate of $130/hr. |
How Do I Get Started?
Just reach out to me at [email protected], or sign up for an appointment so I can answer any questions and start your onboarding process. The initial 30-minute consultation is free, and you can decide if I’m a best fit for you after our video call.
From My Portfolio
Devsec
While Devsec is a simple site from a technical perspective, we added visual complexity by introducing layers of graphical flourishes, motion graphics, and looping video to give it that science fiction feel.
OODALoop
The redesign involved a migration of a website with over 100,000 posts—twenty years of content!—while making sure the transition to the new site was seamless for its paid subscribers.
