Cloudways Free Trial: Length, What’s Included & How To Get

I’ve signed up for Cloudways free trial 3 times, and I’m here to guide you through the process. We’ll cover creating and verifying your Cloudways trial account, explore the features and limits, take a look at the user dashboard, walk you through migration, and more.

By the end of this guide, you’ll be ready to set up your Cloudways account.

You’ll also be able to migrate your site and reach out for help if needed.

With the Cloudways free trial, you can test server performance, access essential features, and connect with their support team. Best of all, there’s no need for credit card details to sign up.

I’ll also explain why upgrading your account after the trial adds extra value.

What Is Cloudways?

Cloudways is the ultimate managed cloud hosting platform designed to simplify the deployment and administration of your websites across some of the world’s top Cloud Hosting Providers like AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, and many more.

Because of the Cloudways free trial, it’s easy to experience the range of features Cloudways offers, including effortless one-click installation for popular applications like WordPress, automated backup solutions, and round-the-clock customer support. Why not seize the opportunity to explore Cloudways through their free trial? It’s the ideal starting point for your cloud hosting journey.

Is Cloudways Worth Investing In?

Cloudways is a great choice for reliable and user-friendly hosting. Getting your website up and running is easy and affordable. You can rely on their attentive support team to ensure your website stays online. They offer a variety of business-friendly plans with top-notch customer support.

Furthermore, Cloudways continually improves its services and features, making it a smart pick for those looking for modern hosting solutions. It’s no wonder Cloudways is a top hosting choice.

The best part is Cloudways 3-day trial across all their hosting plans.

I wholeheartedly encourage you to seize this incredible opportunity if you’re thinking about choosing Cloudways as your cloud hosting provider.

Whether it’s for personal or business needs, Cloudways has the perfect plan waiting for you. Once you’ve picked your plan, enjoy three full days to explore and make the most of all the amazing features Cloudways has to offer, absolutely free! And, you don’t even need a credit card.

Once your trial ends, you can upgrade to a paid Cloudways plan. This way, you’ll access excellent hosting features at a budget-friendly price starting at only $11/month.

Cloudways Free Trial Setup

To get started, simply sign up for your account using your email address.

The best part?

It won’t cost you a dime, and there’s no need to provide any credit card information. If you find that Cloudways hosting meets your needs, you have the option to upgrade your account at a later time. Keep in mind that this particular plan is valid for a 3-day period only.

To ensure uninterrupted service, make sure to upgrade your account before the trial ends.

Deploy Your Cloudways Server and WordPress

Want to deploy your Cloudways server and WordPress? Here’s a step-by-step guide:

It’s a breeze and will only take up about 10 minutes of your time. After you’ve completed your Cloudways verification, your final dashboard will look something like the one below:

Let’s Begin by Providing the Essential Information for Server Deployment.

• WordPress Version – 6.2.2
• Choose Your App Name – Feel free to name it as you prefer
• Select Your Server Name – Make it your own choice
• Define Your Project Name – Name it to your liking
• Choose Your Server Provider, Server Size, and Location

After you’ve filled in all the necessary details, simply click the “Launch Now” button. It may take 5-10 minutes to get your server up and running.

Moving on to the next step, open your server dashboard.

It provides access to your WordPress login, website domain connectivity, and more. Now, with just a single click on the application icon, you can easily access your website’s domain URL.

Link Cloudways DNS to Your Domain Registrar

To link your domain’s IP address with your domain registrar, start by obtaining your Cloudways IP Address. You’ll find this IP Address in the Access Details Section.

Once you have it, simply enter your IP address into your domain name registrar.

Here’s how to go about it:

If you want to link a Namecheap domain with Cloudways, follow these simple steps:

• Step 1: Find Your Cloudways IP Address
• Step 2: Log in to Namecheap
• Step 3: Go to Your Domain List
• Step 4: Click ‘MANAGE’
• Step 5: Choose Namecheap BasicDNS for Nameservers
• Step 6: Access Advanced DNS
• Step 7: Add a New Record

To set up your domain with Namecheap, you’ll need to input two records.

1. First Record
   • Type: A Record
   • Host: @
   • Value: Your Hosting’s IP address (e.g., 45.252.248.18)
   • TTL: Automatic

1. Second Record
   • Type: CNAME Record
   • Host: www
   • Value: Your domain name (e.g., example.com)
   • TTL: Leave it as default
   • Save your changes

You should also remove the URL Redirect Record.

Make sure to save your changes to complete the setup.

Congratulations, you’ve successfully connected your Namecheap domain to Cloudways!

These records are essential for directing traffic to the appropriate destination when someone accesses your domain, ensuring a seamless online presence.

The process is pretty much the same for most domain registrars. Just go to your domain management section and enter the necessary information.

Keep in mind that it may take up to 24 hours to spread worldwide. During this time, you can take on other tasks, like setting up SSL, managing your domain, and more.

Add Your Domain Name to Cloudways

To add your domain, go to the domain management in the Apps section.

Just enter your domain name in the empty field, as shown in the image below:

The choice is entirely yours when it comes to selecting “www” or going without it. Personally, I opt for the non-www version, as demonstrated by my current website address.

Installing SSL

Cloudways offers a free SSL certificate for your convenience.

To set it up, go to the SSL Certificate section.

Go to Server -> SSL Certificate, input your domain and email address, and follow the instructions outlined in the image. Click “Install HTTPS” to complete the process.

Once you click on “Install certificate,” you’ll be asked to add the CName record to your domain registrar, following the same steps as described in the DNS connection guide. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to contact Cloudways support.

Migrate Your Website

Now, let’s move on to migrating your website from your old host to the new one. The great news is, with Cloudways’ free trial, you can enjoy a hassle-free website migration at no additional cost. All you need to do is upgrade your account to the paid version to take advantage of this service.

After upgrading to the paid plan, Cloudways will take care of the entire migration process for you. Feel free to ask them for assistance in moving your website – they’re here to help!

How to Make the Most of Your 3-Day Free Trial?

During the 3-day free trial, you need to focus on evaluating your website’s performance.

Here’s a checklist of what to do:

• Assess your website’s speed.
• Monitor any instances of downtime.
• Track uptime statistics.
• Evaluate loading times.
• Calculate the average loading time.
• Reach out to customer support for any inquiries or assistance.

While 3 days might not provide a comprehensive understanding of your website’s performance, you’ll certainly gain a basic idea of how it has fared during this trial period.

To simplify your assessment, you can use tools like Google Page Speed, GtMetrix, and Pingdom. For tracking your website’s uptime and downtime, consider Uptimerobot.

If you find yourself satisfied with the performance, consider upgrading to the paid version.

On the other hand, if you’re not completely happy, you can explore other hosting server options, although I’m confident you’ll find this hosting to your liking.

Limitations of Cloudways Free Trial

As you start your Cloudways free trial, it’s essential to get familiar with the terms that come with this Cloudways offer. Let’s take a closer look at the hosting features you need to know.

You Can’t Choose GCE or AWS

Throughout your Cloudways 3-day free trial, please note that Google Compute Engine and Amazon Web Services cloud servers won’t be available. However, you’ll have the choices of DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode for your Cloudways free trial account. What’s even more exciting is that you can deploy multiple applications and host additional websites in a single account during this trial period.

No Access to Astra Pro Theme

One thing to note is that the Astra Pro theme, which is typically included with a 1-year license when you subscribe to a Cloudways hosting plan, isn’t available during the Cloudways 3-day free trial. It’s a premium feature reserved for exclusively for users on the paid plan.

No Access to Cloudflare Enterprises add-on

The Cloudflare Enterprises add-on is a valuable feature available only for the paid users.

To enjoy premium Cloudflare add-on features like Web Application Firewall (WAF), mobile and image optimization, and DDoS protection, just think about upgrading your account.

No Free Migration Support

Free migration services aren’t offered for free trial accounts. It might be a concern if you’re thinking about moving your blog to Cloudways without strong technical skills. But don’t worry, Cloudways has made the migration process easy for everyone. With our Cloudways Migration plugin, you can smoothly and securely transfer your WordPress site to a Cloudways server in just a few simple steps.

Simply put, while there are a few limitations in the Cloudways free trial, this cloud platform still provides an amazing and user-friendly hosting experience for everyone.

Quick Cloudways Features Overview

Cloudways provides various features to greatly boost your server’s performance. These include:

Multiple Cloud Providers

When it comes to cloud servers, Cloudways lets you choose from the top five industry leaders:

• DigitalOcean
• Google Cloud
• Amazon Web Services
• Linode
• Vultr

These providers offer strong solutions tailored to small businesses’ needs, with various processing power, memory, and storage options so you can choose exactly what you need.

Storage and Bandwidth

Depending on your selected cloud server, Cloudways offers plans with storage from 25GB to 3840GB and bandwidth from 2GB to 12TB. Your bandwidth usage is metered, ensuring you’re only billed for what you use, whether it’s monthly or hourly.

Free SSL Certificates

Cloudways hosting includes a free SSL certificate for enhanced security.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t include some additional features like free domain registration and email hosting, which some other hosting services provide.

Ease of Use

Cloudways hosting suits users with moderate technical know-how. It might not be the best choice for beginners in website hosting because of its more intricate user interface and configuration options, which can be overwhelming for those who prefer not to dive into server administration details.

User Dashboard and Management

Instead of the traditional cPanel, Cloudways offers a custom user dashboard for managing your hosting service. This user-friendly interface simplifies server management while still offering more advanced features than some other web hosting dashboards.

In the Cloudways dashboard, you can handle important server tasks like managing servers and applications, domains, SSL certificates, backups, and server scaling.

Solid Security Measures

Cloudways provides several security features across all plans, including:

• Free SSL certificates
• The ability to create an IP address whitelist
• Regular firmware updates and patches to protect against potential threats
• Security system to guard against vulnerabilities and unauthorized data access

Server Monitoring

Users who log into their dashboard have access to comprehensive server monitoring tools. This feature allows you to monitor over 15 variables, including incoming traffic, making it invaluable for assessing the need to temporarily scale up your plans to handle spikes in website traffic.

Final Words and Thoughts

Cloudways offers a generous three-day free trial, and it’s super easy to get started. The activation process is a breeze, taking no more than 10 minutes of your time.

During this trial period, you can enjoy the benefits completely free of charge.

The cheapest plan includes 1 Core, 1GB of RAM, 25GB SSD storage, and a significant 1TB of bandwidth. In my experience, 1TB of bandwidth easily supports over a million monthly visitors.

So, why wait? Click the button below and get started with Cloudways today.