Price Drop on AutoSSL plans!
-Starting today, all WP NET Managed WordPress hosting plans include support for
FreeSSLAutoSSL.Update 19 August: We’ve decided to rename our FreeSSL feature to AutoSSL!
All customers on MWP2 servers are now able to install Let’s Encrypt certificates and convert their site to use the
https://prefix.This move is largely in response to recent changes in many of the major web browsers and how they display non-HTTPS websites. You may have heard recently that the Google Chrome browser will now display “insecure” in the address bar when viewing any site using HTTP. These changes are further driving the move towards SSL / TLS encryption for all websites.
Effective today, the Starter + SSL hosting plan is retired and all customers on that plan have been crossgraded to Starter 1GB. All customers who were previously on the Starter + SSL plan will have their next account reduced to the $29 per month ($319 per year) price.
Converting your site to HTTPS
Converting your site is pretty straightforward, just login to the Plesk Panel, go to the Security Advisor and follow the steps to install a Let’s Encrypt certificate and convert your site to use the
https://prefix.If you need any assistance or need more information, please see Using WordPress with SSL in our Knowledgebase or contact WP NET Support and we’ll be happy to help.
Announcing the Revisium AntiVirus Scanner
-We are thrilled to announce that the excellent Revisium Antivirus Scanner is now available to all customers on MWP2 servers.
Revisium AntiVirus Features
Revisium Antivirus is an intelligent malware detection tool with one-click automatic malware cleanup and blacklist status checking. Scans run automatically each night, and customers can review scan results and run additional scans on-demand directly in the Plesk Panel.
PHP 7.2 Now Available
-We are pleased to announce that the latest, greatest — and fastest ever — version of PHP: 7.2 is now available to all WP NET customers.
Customers on MWP2.0 shared-server plans and those on Managed Cloud Servers can now select PHP 7.2 for use.
Please note that WP NET will not automatically switch customers over to the new PHP version. Customers who want to use PHP 7.2 will need to login to the Plesk Panel (or Cloud Server Control Panel) and change the runtime for the sites they want to upgrade, this is very easy and quick to do and if you experience any issues you can immediately switch back to whatever runtime you were previously using.
Some WordPress themes and plugins may still not be fully compatible with PHP 7.2. If you do decide to upgrade to PHP 7.2, you will need to to carefully test your sites to ensure everything is working OK. If not, it’s a simple process to switch back to 7.1, 7.0 or 5.6. If you need any assistance, just contact WP NET Support and we’ll be happy to help.
Recently, the recommended PHP version for use with WordPress was changed to version 7.2.
PHP 7.2 Coming Soon
-The latest, greatest — and fastest ever — version of PHP: 7.2 will soon be available to all WP NET customers.
We are in the final stages of testing PHP 7.2 for both our shared-server Managed WordPress and Managed Cloud Server customers. Once we’re sure it is stable and compatible with all our systems we will release it for general availability. … continues
Introducing Free Site Migration to WP NET
-We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to choose WP NET Managed WordPress Hosting & Support. So — from today — all new sign-ups include free, managed migration for your WordPress site*.
Migrations can be tricky if you’re not familiar with the process. There are a few pitfalls to be aware of, and if you’re moving from a budget shared-server host, getting a full backup of your site can be difficult and time consuming.
WP NET’s WordPress Experts will manage the entire process for you and we’ll provide you with a temporary URL so you can test your site before you point your domain to our servers.
Sign up for a WP NET Managed WordPress Hosting & Support plan today, and you’ll be up and running in no time.
Each plan includes the following number of site migrations:
- Starter and Starter + SSL: 1 free migration
- Professional: 2 free migrations
- Business: 4 free migrations
If you have used all your allocated free site migrations, you can order additional migrations for NZD$80 per site (previously $99).
* Conditions apply, please see our Managed WordPress Hosting & Support Service Specification for details. All prices exclude GST.
Introducing Google Safe Browsing Scans
-At WP NET, our customers website security is of the utmost importance to us. We employ various, overlapping malware and virus detection systems to provide the most robust protection to our customers.
Starting today, all WP NET Managed WordPress hosted sites will be scanned daily using the Google Safe Browsing API. This is in addition to our existing server-side malware scans and Sucuri SiteCheck external scans.
Our existing uptime monitoring system also performs additional Google SafeSearch and virus / malware scans on a rotating hourly schedule.
If a scan identifies any issues, WP NET support will contact the customer directly to discuss the best course of action to remedy the problem(s).
If you have any questions regarding our security and protections systems in place, please contact NET and we’ll be happy to help.
Announcing MWP2.0 with PHP7 & AutoSSL
-Awesome! I’ve been waiting to write this one for quite some time. Today we are releasing the biggest update and changes to our standard Managed WordPress Hosting & Support plans, since we first launched as WP NET in 2014! We’re calling it MWP2.0!
Starting today, all new sign ups for Managed WordPress will be deployed to MWP2.0 accounts and include all the MWP2.0 features outlined in this blog post.
Existing customers will be progressively migrated over to MWP2.0-based servers, beginning in around 6 weeks time. If you urgently need some features included in MWP2.0 (like SSL), then please contact us and we’ll do our best to bump you up the line.
All new features and storage space come at no additional cost — Starter 1GB remains $29 per month. To use AutoSSL, you will need a Starter 1GB + SSL plan, which is $39 per month. If you sign up for any hosting service and pay annually you get one month free, every year of the service.
MWP2.0 – New features
- Site Clone & Sync — create staging sites in a few clicks
- Improved Backups — we now store 7 days of backups (up from 2)
- PHP7 – FPM powered versions 5.6, 7 and 7.1
- AutoSSL via Let’s Encrypt — never worry about certificate installation or renewals again
- HTTP/2 – all HTTPs pages will automatically use HTTP/2
- More disk space — databases no longer contribute to usage
You can read more about the changes on the MWP2.0 page, or read on for more … … continues
WP-CLI Now Available on Managed Cloud Servers
-We are thrilled to announce that WP-CLI is now available on all WP NET Managed Cloud Servers!
WP-CLI is a fantastic utility that allows you to manage your WordPress sites directly from the command line. Working with WP-CLI is fast, flexible and … kinda fun!
We’ve been working on this for a while, so we’re really pleased to finally get it out of the gate — it’s installed on all Managed Cloud Servers right now! Just connect to your server via SSH and start managing your WordPress sites like a pro.
WP NET’s Managed Cloud Servers allow you to host managed and un-managed WordPress sites, so for customers that manage sites themselves, WP-CLI will provide an excellent new tool to help you efficiently manage your WordPress installations.
Getting Started
The following WP NET KnowledgeBase articles cover everything you need to know about connecting to your server via SSH and getting started with WP-CLI. Note that these articles are accessible by existing customers only, so you’ll need to login to My WP NET.
- my.wpnet.nz/cloud-server-ssh-guide
- my.wpnet.nz/cloud-server-wp-cli-guide
- my.wpnet.nz/cloud-server-control-panel-guide
WP-CLI Tutorials
The following links provide some in-depth tutorials on using WP-CLI. You can ignore the instructions regarding installation and set up — that’s already done for you!
- Advanced WordPress Management With WP-CLI
- Toolbox of the Smart WordPress Developer: WP-CLI
- Advanced WordPress Development: WordPress Automation With WP-CLI
Also, for a comprehensive list of all the commands available in WP-CLI, see: WP-CLI Commands.
If you have any questions regarding WP-CLI support on Managed Cloud Servers, please open a support ticket, or contact us.
PHP7 Coming Soon for Managed WordPress Hosting
-We are busy working on some major updates to our shared-hosting Managed WordPress Hosting & Support platform, which we’re calling MWP 2.0! (Managed WordPress 2.0)
We can’t provide all the details just yet, as we are still testing and finalising some features. However, we realise that many customers are getting desperate for PHP7 — well, I can confirm that PHP7 will be available in MWP 2.0!
There will also be many other exciting new features, but you’ll need to wait just a little longer to hear about those, but just to give you an idea, MWP 2.0 will be focussing on speed and security. PHP7 is a big part of the performance improvements we’ll be rolling out, as PHP7 alone will give your WordPress sites a serious speed boost.
Expect an official announcement in the next 4 – 6 weeks!
Now Accepting Payments via Stripe
-We are pleased to announce that we can now accept credit card payments via Stripe!
Stripe has recently launched in New Zealand and so we can now take advantage of their excellent service and features. Credit card payments to WP NET are now simple to set up and manage.
New customers can opt to pay by credit card at checkout and the payment will be processed by Stripe and the card details securely sent and stored with Stripe for re-billing as required.
With Stripe credit card payments, WP NET is able to bill customers on-demand and on a recurring basis, and we can bill varying amounts too, so there will be no more issues with recurring payments when you upgrade your account and your monthly amount due changes. This should be a huge relief to our customers who have experienced this issue with our previous payment processor.
Please note that credit card details are not stored within WP NET’s systems — all details are encrypted and securely transmitted to Stripe for processing and storage.
Over the next few weeks we will be migrating away from using 2CheckOut for existing recurring billing subscriptions, but we will be in contact with affected customers via email with instructions on how to transition over to using Stripe.
If any of our customers have questions or concerns regarding credit card payments, please open a support ticket and we’ll be happy to help.
System Updates
System Updates