DreamHost DreamPress Review (Will It Take Your WordPress Site to the Next Level?)

DreamHost is a web hosting provider with a managed WordPress hosting service called DreamPress. In this blog post, I’ll review DreamPress and see if it’s a good fit for your WordPress website.

In my existing DreamHost review, I have covered the key features and pros and cons of this secure and affordable web hosting service. Here I will zoom in on their DreamPress plan.

The platform offers a decent range of hosting plans for all sorts of different needs, including solutions for WordPress sites. DreamPress is its offering for fans of WordPress and is a fully managed WordPress hosting service that crams in a bunch of extra features.

How does it stack up, though? And is it worth the cost? Let’s discover what DreamPress is all about in this detailed review.

TL;DR: DreamPress is an excellent option for anyone with WordPress hosting needs. It offers a robust platform with 100% uptime, enhanced security, and killer support. However, its cheapest plan is lacking, and you’ll get the best deal if you upgrade to its mid-tier plan.

What Is DreamHost DreamPress?

DreamHost has been around since the dawn of the internet – 1996 in fact – so while I was busy with my teenage angst and trying hard to be cool, DreamHost was hard at work establishing itself as a main player in the hosting world.

Fast-forward to 2023, my teenage angst is, unfortunately, decades behind me, and while I’m no cooler now than I was back then, DreamHost has remained one of the biggest and most respected hosting platforms available.

DreamPress is a product offered by the top hosting company DreamHost. It came onto the scene in 2013 and has provided high-quality managed hosting services specifically for WordPress sites since then.

With three plans on offer, DreamPress can be scaled in line with your business, removing the need to change WordPress hosting services when your company starts to grow. And you get enhanced features such as excellent security and premium support.

What does “managed WordPress hosting” mean exactly?

Well, it’s for the non-techy people that don’t want to get involved in the nitty-gritty of the everyday admin, issues, and problem-solving that comes with managing software applications. 

You get a dedicated team of WordPress experts that are on hand to keep your WordPress website running as smoothly as silk, leaving you to concentrate on more important matters.

Sounds expensive, right?

Actually, DreamPress managed WordPress service is highly affordable, and you get some really neat features to boot. 

Let’s get into the detail in this DreamHost DreamPress review.

DreamHost DreamPress Features at a Glance

DreamHost is a highly-rated web host having standout performance, speed and security features, but is DreamPress just as good? Here’s what it provides:

• A high-performance cloud server using Nginx and HTTP/2 and HTTP/3
• WordPress and SSL certificate preinstalled
• A free domain included with all shared and managed WordPress hosting plans
• Between 100k and one million monthly visitors (depending on chosen plan)
• Between 30GB and 120GB SSD storage (depending on chosen plan)
• Free SSL and CDN from Cloudflare
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Unlimited email
• WordPress website building tool
• 24/7 specialized technical support for your WordPress site (email tickets and live chat)
• Phone support with callbacks
• 1-click install WordPress and staging site
• 1-click restore and backups on-demand
• JetPack free on DreamPress plan, JetPack Professional on the Plus and Pro plans
• Free WordPress website migration

Why Choose DreamHost DreamPress?

Listing the features is one thing, but what really stands out about DreamPress? And more importantly, why should you choose it as your managed WordPress hosting platform?

Well, there are several things about DreamPress that I feel are particularly impressive and well worth the service’s price tag.

Fully Managed Service

I’ve already talked about what managed service is in regard to hosting, and with DreamPress, you’re getting a reliable and top-quality service.

The team will handle everything, including site migration, installation, optimization, security, and updates. This feature saves a tonne of time and lets you get on with other matters of business. 

If you spot an issue or experience a problem, the DreamPress team is on hand to, well, handle it!

1-Click Staging

“Breaking” your WordPress site is just about the worst thing you can do. Most rookie WordPress users have, at some point or another, added a dodgy plugin and crashed their entire site.

With 1-click staging – DreamPress’ brand-spanking new feature – you can instantly set up a carbon copy of your website, allowing you to try out new things without wrecking the original site. 

So, if you’re keen to try out a new theme, test those dodgy plugins, or add new content and elements to the site, you can do so to your heart’s content without fear of seeing your site go down in flames. And if you do manage to destroy the staging site. You can simply create another one and start again.

Enhanced Backups

Backups are crucial if your website experiences a problem or is a victim of any malware attacks. The feature allows you to essentially rewind the clock and revert to a previous version of your website.

Now, while most hosting plans have backups as part of their plans, they’re not always particularly regular. So if you do need to use the feature, you may lose data accumulated between the present time and your previous backup.

DreamPress, on the other hand, has you covered. You get automated daily backups on all plans. Plus, you are free to perform a manual backup at any time you choose. If you need to revert to a previous version, you can quickly do so at the simple click of a button.

Built-in Caching

Caching is a conundrum and out of the realm of knowledge for the average WordPress user. So most ignore it and hope it does its thing without intervention.

However, caching is really important because it affects your page loading speeds, site reliability, and SEO rankings. Plus, your website visitors will have a decent experience if the caching is what it should be.

I won’t go into what caching is here. All you need to be aware of for the sake of this review is that the DreamPress team takes care of all caching for you and keeps your website’s engine purring like a kitten. 

They apply multi-layer technology to your website and the hosting environment for super speedy speeds. You do have a few manual features on your control panel, though, including:

• One-click purging: Clear the cache of single posts, pages, or even your entire site in one click
• Pause and restart: If you’re working on your site, you can pause the cache, and it’ll automatically restart after 24 hours

JetPack Pro Included

If you subscribe to the mid and high-tier price plans Plus and Pro, you also get Jetpack Pro included in the subscription price.

JetPack is one of the most popular and common WordPress plugins and is used to enhance the security of your WordPress site as well as increase its functionality and performance.

Here’s what Jetpack can do:

• Real-time backups and one-click restores
• Automatic malware scanning and one-click site fixes
• Uses Akismet anti-spam for powerful protection

A subscription for Jetpack costs $30/month, so you’re getting yourself a bargain here since it’s included with DreamPress.

High-Quality Website Builder and Templates

It seems that no hosting provider these days is complete without a website-building tool. DreamPress, of course, has WordPress-specific themes, and they’re pretty decent.

You can browse over 200 themes, and they’re neatly arranged into business niche categories so you can easily find what you want.

The building tool features drag-and-drop editing tools that even novices can get to grips with. So you can get your brand new WordPress site together pretty quickly and without possessing a tonne of technical knowledge.

Premium Support

Who doesn’t like to feel special? With DreamPress, you get access to a team of WordPress specialists that are on hand to help you whenever you need it.

However, the level of support you get depends on the plan you have chosen. Here’s the breakdown:

• DreamPress: 24/7 ticket support, live chat support
• DreamPress Plus: Everything above plus up to three phone support callbacks per month
• DreamPress Pro: Everything above plus up to five phone support callbacks per month and priority support (expedited support, proactive monitoring, and advanced troubleshooting)

Pros and Cons of DreamHost DreamPress

What are the best (and worst) bits of DreamPress? Here’s a summary so you can see at a glance whether or not it’s for you.

Pros

• You get a super speedy service with a 100% uptime guarantee
• DreamHost is one of the few hosting providers that is officially endorsed by WordPress
• The platform offers excellent security features, especially on the higher-tier plans
• You have a nice selection of WordPress themes, and the website builder is beginner-friendly
• Subscribers are not locked into a contract and can cancel anytime they choose

Cons

• The features are somewhat limited on the cheapest plan
• If you want email and Woocommerce capabilities you must pay extra
• The dashboard controls take a bit of getting used to

DreamHost DreamPress Pricing

There are three price plans available for DreamPress:

• DreamPress: $19.95/mo or $16.95/mo paid annually
• DreamPress Plus: $29.95/mo or $24.95/mo paid annually
• DreamPress Pro: $79.95/mo or $71.95/mo paid annually

All plans come with a 97-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. Like the sound of what DreamPress has to offer? Get started here today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary – DreamHost DreamPress Review for 2023

I’ve long been a fan of DreamHost, so it will always be one of my top recommendations for a hosting service. It’s fast, secure, has an expert support team, and has an unbeatable 100% uptime, so it ticks all the boxes.

However, I find the cheapest DreamPress plan a little disappointing and not really worth it if you want everything that Jetpack pro offers. If you pay ten bucks more and upgrade to DreamPress Plus, you get more generous plan limits (more than double the cheap plan), plus Jetpack Pro is included, which would usually cost $30/mo. 

See for yourself, check out the different plans here. Plus, you can take advantage of the 97-day money-back guarantee to try out DreamPress risk-free.