Are you on WordPress and looking for the best experience in the hosting services for it? Managed cloud hosting services are what would help you work seamlessly with a focus on improving your productivity without having to worry about how to configure your hosting. If you are looking for the best options in the genre, ServerPilot vs Cloudways has been the two capable and strong contenders. If you are unable to make up your mind on which among the two to opt for, we present a comparison between the two capable services. Hopefully, this comparison will help you arrive at an educated decision regarding the best option for your cloud hosting requirements.

ServerPilot Hosting – An Overview

If you are looking for a faster hosting option to work with the PHP sites or WordPress, ServerPilot should be one of the excellent options you can go with. Also, what makes it an outstanding choice is the fact that it has a modern layout and functionality.It is your one-stop action place so that you can control every server and app across your entire cloud network. However, please note that ServerPilot is only the platform for managing your servers. It does not provide you with servers. ServerPilot lets you choose the PHP version you would want to use with each of your apps and servers. Even installing it should be the most straightforward task as such even when you are a newbie.The control panel on the ServerPilot would be one of the most straightforward options you would be using. Add your apps, users, databases, and certificate with simplicity. Even installing WordPress on your site should be quite simple and easy task. You can also install additional modules as well.What we loved the most is the availability of a massive number of user guides. You also have access to support and help sections if you are looking for personalized support for any of your issues. However, the support is available only during office hours.

The Pros

• It is an On The Top service for a VPS service you are opting for.
• The pricing of the service is quite affordable if you are opting for a paid plan
• ServerPilot lets you install or modify your server as per your preferences
• An easy to use interface and control panel that can be used even by the newbies

The Cons

• You may need to have enough knowledge of Linux
• Lack of varnish Cache can be a huge issue if you need it. Of course, you may install it separately.
• Backup functionality does not by default. You will need to configure it separately
• There are no options for database management. Command line approach can be an issue. However, you may install PhpMyAdmin if you need to.

Cloudways – An Introduction

If uniformity is what you are looking for in your hosting service, Cloudways should be the best option for your needs. The Web App management option is what would make it stand apart from the other alternative options like ServerPilot.The service is wholly streamlined and offers you an easy to use option for deploying cloud servers and cloud apps. Cloudways integrates seamlessly with a host of services like Vultr, DigitalOcean, Google, Amazon, and Kyup. Apart from WordPress, Cloudways also supports a lot of content management services like Magento, Drupal, and Stack. Cloudways offers you login options for the standard functions like WordPress, SSH, and MySQL. The interface also consists of several other options like CRON jobs, domain names, and SSL certificates. Almost all your applications are supported with the Varnish cache. Thus you will find your sites loading faster.The support options available on the service are entirely up to the mark. The live chat support is available for 24×7. If you are looking for the email support channel, get assured of faster response times. There are no free plans as with the Serverpilot though.

The Pros

• Cloudways is an entirely managed service
• You should be able to use it even when you are a beginner
• One click option for app deployment
• Options available for Varnish cache option. This will help your sites load faster.
• Full management functionality including backup and restore functionality

The Cons

• You will need no root access or server modification to work with Cloudways
• The data management is not up to the mark
• You will need to use a single PHP version. No option for using different versions as in the case of Serverpilot.
• No option for downgrading the server

Serverpilot vs Cloudways – The Comparison

How do the two services compare with each other? We would be able to arrive at the right differentiation if we could examine them based on a few key features.

Ease of Use

Setting up your account on the Serverpilot is much easier than on Cloudways. You need to visit the Serverpilot service and connect your server. Getting n account on Serverpilot does not take much of your time and efforts.While doing it on Cloudways takes a whole lot of time. You are mandated to have a chat with the customer service executive to get your account activated. And to think this is for enabling a trial account on Cloudways!But, the same cannot be said about setting up an app. You can set up your account through a few simple steps right away. Serverpilot needs you to have some sort of technical expertise to set up your app.

Speed

Speed would be what will be dependent upon the cache. Cloudways comes with varnish cache option. This will speed up your services effectively. While on the Serverpilot, you are expected to set up the varnish cache yourself. If you are not someone who is well versed with technical tasks, it may be a little difficult for you.

Pricing

Serverpilot lets you opt for free plans. However, it is quite apparent that the free plans come with a limitation regarding functionality, but then the free program is entirely free – no matter how many apps you have been configuring on it. Cloudways, on the other hand, does not offer any free plan. Of course, you have a free trial period, but once it expires, you are left with no option than opting for any of the paid plans.However, the cost for the servers on the Serverpilot is billed separately. That would indeed be an additional cost. Cloudways offers the server cost built into the plan, and thus you do not need to pay anything extra.

A Few Other Salient Differences between the Two Services

Some features worth mentioning could be

• You would not get the backup functionality with Serverpilot. In fact, from a hosting perspective, that should be one of the most important aspects to be missed. Cloudways comes with the backup feature built within, and you do not need to have any technical expertise.
• Infrastructure optimization should be one of the excellent features that Cloudways offers you. The concept is built within the service, and you do not need to configure anything separately. Doing the same with Serverpilot can be a little cumbersome.
• The layout and usability of Serverpilot expect you to be tech savvy and have enough technical expertise. Cloudways can be the best option for those who do not possess the kind of technical knowledge.
• Serverpilot lets you have complete access to your server. You may even have the root access. Cloudways, on the other hand, does not allow you to have root access. Of course, that should be understandable given the fact that Serverpilot is designed for the tech experts, while Cloudways is for those who do not possess enough of the technical experience.

Tabulated Comparison between Serverpilot and Cloudways

Here is a detailed comparison between the two competing services in the hosting service providers. This can provide you with a better input into what to expect from either of these services.

Features / Particulars	Cloudways	Serverpilot
Multiple Billing	No	Yes
Fully Managed Hosting	Yes	No
Security Management	Yes	No
Live Chat Support	Yes, 24 x 7	Yes, Only Office Hours
Application Support	Yes, available	No
Multiple Infrastructure Support	Yes	Yes
Server Customisation	Yes	Yes
Multiple PH versions	No	Yes
Support for API	Yes	Yes
Multiple Add-Ons	Yes	No
SSL Availability	Yes, free on all plan	No, to be obtained separately
One click customization	Yes	No
One Click Deployment	Yes	No
Free Plan	No, only trial for 15 days	Yes

The Concluding Thoughts

Well, that was a complete comparison between ServerPilot and Cloudways. As we have repeatedly been stating, ServerPilot is for those who have enough information about technical matters. If you fit the bill, you can go with ServerPilot, and if you are not, you can go with Cloudways.Choose the option best suited to you. We assume you will benefit from the comparison we have presented in the above discussion.

CloudFlare offers you free CDN service and also provides the free SSL services. If you are opting for the SSL certification on your CloudFlare settings, you may get confused between the different options available for you. Don’t worry; we will help you make the correct choices without leaving any confusion.

What is CloudFlare?

CloudFlare is a caching and security as a service. This service will help you protect and accelerate your online websites. The web traffic is routed through the global network of CloudFlare with an acceleration of static and dynamic content. The CloudFlare service helps you block the threats and limits the abusive bots and crawlers.When you opt for SSL in CloudFlare, you will find four different options to configure. What do these SSL options mean? We will find out in the following description about each of the different options.

What are the SSL Options?

You will have four options to choose from if you are going with the options for setting up the SSL – SSL Off, Flexible, Full and Full Strict. What does the SSL  do to your connection?The SSL options let you have control over your connectivity –

• It allows your visitors to browse your website over a secure connection
• When your visitors connect with you, the SSL option controls the way CloudFlare connects to your web server.

The SSL options are listed from the least secure to the most secure. The possibilities are available on all plans provided by CloudFlare. The Off option is least reliable, while the Full Strict option is the most secure among the total options available.

Which Options should you go for?

Let us now explain what each of these CloudFlare SSL certifications does? Which circumstances do you use them for? Let us understand the differences between each of these setting options and what they do.

Off

This option will turn the secure connectivity off. That would make your connectivity completely disabled between you and your visitor. Regarding technical language, there won’t be any secure connection between your visitor and CloudFlare, as also there will not be any secure connection between CloudFlare and your web server.This will make your visitors connect to you only over HTTP. If any of your visitors attempt connecting to your site over HTTPs, they will get a 301 redirect to the HTTP version of your site.

Flexible SSL

This SSL option ensures a secure connection between the visitor to your website and CloudFlare, but there will not be any secure connection between your web server and CloudFlare. This option will be a good one if you do not have an SSL certificate available on your web server.However, your visitor will see your website as HTTPS enabled. We do not recommend opting for this setting if you have any sensitive information on your site. The Flexible SSL option will only work for the port 443 and 80. All traffic between your visitor and the CloudFlare is encrypted, but there will not be any encryption between your web server and CloudFlare.We would recommend opting for the Flexible SSL option only if you are unable to set up SSL on your web server for any reason.

Full SSL

As it should be evident by now, Full SSL will mean a completely secure connection. You will have a fully secure connection between your visitor and CloudFlare and also a secure connection between your web server and CloudFlare.If you want this connectivity option to work, you need to have SSL certification on your web server. You will also need to configure your server to answer the HTTPS requests from your visitors. However, you need not have an authentic certificate as such. Even a self-signed certificate should do.

Full SSL – Strict

This is the most secure connectivity option you would ever opt for. In this connectivity option, you will have a secure SSL connection between the visitor to your site and CloudFlare in addition to a secure connection between your web server and CloudFlare as well.The significant difference between the Full SSL connection and a Full Strict Connection is the latter would need you to have an authenticated certification installed on your web server. Your server should be configured to answer the HTTPS requests. But, the SSL certificate needs to be a valid one. A self-signed certificate will not work here. You need to go with an SSL certificate that is signed by a certificate authority. The certificate authority must be the one trusted by CloudFlare.If you are using an SSL certificate generated and trusted by CloudFlare, you may not need to install it on your web server. You can create a self-signed certificate and make use of it on your server for an end to end encryption.

Strict SSL – Only Origin Pull

This mode is available for Enterprises only. The SSL option will work similarly as the Full SSL Strict option. The choice will upgrade all your connections between CloudFlare the origin of your web content from HTTP to HTTPS. The link will be over HTTPs even if the request is over HTTP.You can use the Origin CA certificates for both Full and Full Strict modes> The Origin CA certificates are generated by CloudFlare and are also trusted by CloudFlare.

The Concluding Thoughts

Well, we assume we have been of help in understanding the differences between different SSL options on CloudFlare SSL. We presume the inputs provided in the above discussion would have provided you with a bright idea on how to use the different SSL options with your CloudFlare settings.If still in doubt, do share your issues with us through the comments section here below.

If you are into building websites, you should be aware of the cPanel and similar other options. These are the hosting control panels that help you perform a host of tasks in creating g your website. Some of the functions you can have included creating subdomains, managing the FTP users and handling several other automated tasks. However, several hosting platforms may not allow you have access to Hosting control panels. This is where tools like ServerPilot and similar other tools (ServerPilot Alternatives) help you out.

What is ServerPilot?

As we stated above, there are a few cloud-based hosting platforms that would not let you have a hosting control panel. Platforms like DigitalOcean have dropped their prices considerably and thus have become an affordable option for the wannabe bloggers.But using them will need you to know command line tools for managing the hosting. This can be quite complicated. Moreover, if you are someone who is a newbie and not well versed with the technical aspects of a hosting platform, ServerPilot makes it easier to control and manage your cloud servers.Promoted and founded by Justin Samuel and Kevin Luikens, ServerPilot offers you an optimized solution for running PHP websites on cloud-based hosting platforms like DigitalOcean and Amazon Web Services. It provides you with a centralized control panel to perform basic tasks on your server.If you are DigitalOcean or any similar hosting platform, ServerPilot can be your best option to host WordPress and similar other PHP sites. It merely converts a server into an optimized WordPress hosting platform.

The Best ServerPilot Alternatives

Of course, you may be using ServerPilot, but looking for a few alternative options you can use in replacement to it for some reason, we may be of some help to you in looking for the best ServerPilot alternatives.

1. RunCloud

RunCloud Minimises the risks and pain of setting up of a PHP server on cloud hosting platforms. Setting up a PHP server needs you to have a robust knowledge of  Linux, DevOps, and security.RunCloud minimizes all the pain associated with this and handles the task on its own. You can concentrate on developing your content and focus on delivering the best results to your clients and audiences.We would consider it to be an improved version of ServerPilot and one of the best alternatives to it. A few features that it offers you include

• Support for cloud platforms like Vultr, Rackspace, DigitalOcean, Linode, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform.
• It has an easy script for installing new age CMSs like WordPress and Joomla.
• Web-based database management.
• An automatic firewall that can also be customized.
• Free SSL certification powered by Lets Encrypt.

Managing web servers is an essential element you would want to work with when you have not enough of coding knowledge. If you are looking ahead for easy management of web servers without those complicated command lines, RunCloud can be the easiest option for managing your webservers. What features does it come with? Let us check out the best and top features that RunCloud offers you.

RunCloud – What it is?

RunCloud is a modern web server panel that you can use to work with the PHP web applications. It is one of the best options as a SaaS control panel for cloud servers and VPS. Some of the services supported by RunCloud include Dedicated servers, Digital Ocean, Linode, AWS, Vultr, and Amazon Lightsail.RunCloud is an excellent option for managing your web servers. You do not need to have any command lines. It does not require you to spend unnecessary time on configuring the web servers. This would help you focus on developing the web application for your needs. It also offers you a rich set of features that would mostly make it a great choice in almost all respects.

The Top features of RunCloud

Of course, RunCloud offers you excellent features in every aspect. We will list out a few top features to find and explore why it is one of the most preferred web server management services.

Ability to edit files online

At times, you may also need to have quick access to the data folders inside your web application. In such situations, if you are forced to launch another window for editing those files – it may not be something that would be a perfect setting.That is where RunCloud lets you focus on the easier functionality of editing your files. It does not need you to download a file through an FTP client and re-upload it. RunCloud makes it easy to edit your data with the web-based file manager. It offers you almost all the editing functionalities like adding, editing, deleting or renaming the files.

Use Multiple PHP version within each web application

RunCloud lets you make use of the multiple PHP versions for each of your web applications. Your web server can be configured with various web applications, and each of them can have different versions of the PHP applications.Changing your PHP version too is not much difficult. Just go into your web application settings and choose the PHP version you want to use the application with. Click on Update PHP Version, and you are good to go.

It offers you free SSL/TLS certificates

The encryption for your website is quite essential as Google will mark all the sites with no SSL certification as not secure shortly. If you are not yet using the HTTPS encryption on your site, you run the risk of getting marked Non-Secure.If you are on RunCloud, you will find it easy enough to apply for SSL/TLS certification. It lets you set up your free SSL/TLS certification through Lets Encrypt. It helps you comply with the PCI-DSS, NIST and HIPAA standards.

Choose Your Web Server Stack

You have the option for running your web applications in any of the web application stacks you would want to. RunCloud offers you two separate web application stacks through your Web Application Settings. It provides you with an option to use either NGINX+Apache2 Hybrid Stack or the Native NGINX Stack.The NGINX+Apache2 Hybrid Stack has been considered to be offering high compatibility with web applications. In case your web application uses an Apache web server, it would be essential to opt for the hybrid stack. However, when it comes to NGINX, it is one of the fastest regarding performance if you compare it to hybrid stack. It does not need a .htaccess file.

An Easier PHP Installation

It does not take more than a few clicks to install PHP applications in RunCloud. You do not need to download the configuration files, unzip them and then upload them back to the server. You can connect your PHP applications right away.The script installer on RunCloud can install the following PHP applications – Concrete, Drupal, MyBB, phpBB, phpMyAdmin and WordPress among a host others. It offers you one of the most accessible options for installing your favorite PHP applications.

Autopilot Functionality for server manipulation

The complete autopilot mode for the server manipulation for your web applications makes RunCloud an excellent option in every respect. Instead of spending time in configuring the server, the autopilot mode lets you make the task easier. Meanwhile, it also provides you an option for flexibility and enough control. Built-in server manipulation is another area that would make it an excellent choice on many counts.

Options for Git Deployment

If you are using the Git repository for building your website, RunCloud is an excellent option for your needs. You can configure the GitHub repository to aid RunCloud to pull the changes into the server automatically.

Other notable features worth the consideration

Apart from the highlights and vital elements we explained above that make RunCloud an excellent option; there are a few other features that would speak for the web server management tool.Some of them can be summed up as

• It will let you connect with an unlimited number of servers.
• You can deploy an unlimited number of web applications.
• The simplicity to create and configure various Open Source databases.

Another exciting feature we loved is the instant notification for server health. All the information with respect to the server processes and health of your servers are pushed to you through Slack and Telegram. It lets you know about server health, server load, memory usage, and disk space usage.

Our Thoughts on RunCloud:

RunCloud is indeed an excellent option for deploying your servers with ease. The automatic configurations that it comes with should make it an excellent choice for you. What makes it stand apart from the other web server management tools is the flexibility and freedom that it offers in spite of having a complete automatic configuration.We assume you have found the features useful and practical in every respect. Use it once to experience all those features.

2. Cloud2SME Cloud

This is yet another excellent option for you if you are looking for ServerPilot alternatives. It provides you with an economical, fast and easy solution that should be suitable for your needs no matter whether you are a newbie or an expert.The performance of the platform clearly shows the experience that the company has put in cloud computing and virtualization. The service is available in several countries like UK, USA, Australia, Africa, France, UAE, and Japan to name just a few.A few excellent features that make it an attractive option include

• An assured safe deployment
• Full-scale virtualization support
• It supports platforms like Java, PHP, WinDev and Dot Net. There is no support for WordPress and Joomla though.
• Daily backups and disaster recovery options.
• You can manage it through web access
• Best in class chat, email, and phone support.

3. RapidWeaver

One of the best website building toolkits, it also offers you options like SEO health check-up. Whether newbies or a professional. You will indeed love the simplicity and high-end functionality that the toolkit provides you.The freestyle themes and stacks, you will get your website running within a few minutes. The service is specifically built for Mac and has been popular with the users globally.A few features we liked includes

• A 64-bit app for building more prominent websites with ease
• Multiple file upload options and a few other tricks, publishing your content has been faster than ever.
• A host of the responsive theme.
• The live preview features help you check how the site will look within the browser.
• You have access to the WYSIWYG interface and an excellent web building experience.

4. Yahoo Web Hosting

Yahoo has been one of the prominent service providers in the arena of web services. They also provide services in the realm of web hosting services.More straightforward design tools are what would ideally make it one of the excellent options you can go with. You do not need to have any technical expertise, downloads or specialized software.A few features worth the consideration include

• The online web design tool comes as part of all your plans with yahoo web hosting
• Choose a business style template and customize it with a host of colors and page layouts.
• The preview feature lets you test the site before it is live on the web.
• Ability to add slideshows, images, videos and a host of content right away.
• Access to site reporting tools and raw log files

5. Dnsimple

Dnsimple is another best ServerPilot alternative that can work elegantly to help you manage your website. Use it to register domains or buy SSL certificates.One of the good options if you are looking for the domain hosting services, it offers you simplified access to the controls, APIs, and a world-class customer support mechanism.Some features that we liked with them include

• An excellent domain and DNS API
• It offers you SSL certification hassle free from Lets Encrypt.
• Simplified DNS automation functionality.
• One click support for all services.

6. WP Engine

No matter whether you are planning a personal blog or opting for a full-fledged complicated website for your brand, working with your WordPress management is simplified beyond boundaries.Every plan you opt for comes with robust technological advancement in terms of functionality and excellent customer service functionality. Founded on the world’s most popular CMS, it offers you a wholly managed WordPress integration.Here are a few features we would indeed love with the tool are

• Built on over 30 open source technologies for offering you an innovative experience
• The tool is blended seamlessly with Google and AWS
• Award-Winning customer support with a 24 x 7 x 365 constant support mechanism.
• Everything right from site launch to migration to upgrades – works at your fingertips.
• Best suited for all your requirements for web hosting

7. Flywheel

Flywheel is one of the primary option specifically designed for designers. One of the robust WordPress management tools, it has everything you are looking for in your ServerPilot alternative.In case you are in a business that deals with web development and design, Flywheel is the best option you can go with. Some of the features we indeed liked with the tool include

• An optimized dashboard relieves from the clumsiness of a cPanel and helps you manage your WordPress installation
• One click staging option for staging your website. Staging helps you test the functionality of your site before you can make it live.
• Efficient nightly backups ensure that you do not lose any of the details.
• Ensure that your site is free from malware and virus attacks with a complete security package.

8. ZPanel

One of the best free option for controlling web hosting, the web control panel works perfectly with your Microsoft Windows and POSIX sites. The service is available in PHP and makes use of several open source packages.It has been gathering users in a considerable number over the years. The full-fledged system is easy to use and offers you an excellent web hosting functionality.Some of the features we loved with the ZPanel include

• It works with a host of open source programs like open source projects such as Apache, Mysql, PHP and Filezilla
• The panel can handle a host of tasks like domain names, DNS, Email boxes, FTP accounts, and Mysql Databases
• The simple installation functionality is what would make it an ideal solution.
• If you are working with unmanaged VPS servers, the ZPanel offers you a host of simple service configurations.
• You can install it if you are comfortable with programming.

9. Cloudways

Finally, before we wind up our list, we would like to end it with our personal favorite – Cloudways. Cloudways is both functional and affordable for most startups and individuals who want high-performance hosting from the first day!Cloudways delivers fully managed Hosting Services and promises no slower running WordPress sites and no more WordPress hosting setup headaches.Their platform-as-a-service (PAAS) cloud servers come with a fantastic feature set, and you can quickly scale hosting resources as your website grows. Their infrastructure is optimized for speed, performance, & security.If you’re still on the fence about using Cloudways as your managed WordPress host, then sign up for the 30-day Free trial that Cloudways offers to test their platform.

The Winding Up

Well, ServerPilot is indeed is an extremely functional service when it comes to managing your websites. However, if you are looking for the alternatives that offer you the same level of functionality, the options we shared above should ideally meet all your requirements. Do share your thoughts and experiences with us if you have used any of them. Also, share any other better alternatives if you have come across any.

Recently, one of our websites was moved away from Bluehost to SiteGround WordPress GoGeek hosting plan due to a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons was SiteGround’s LetsEncrypt WildCard SSL offerings which Bluehost did not offer on my account. Another advantage was their managed hosting and an incredibly responsive technical support. I have already spoken about a cPanel migration on a different post. In this post, I will be talking about SiteGround WordPress Website Transfer DNS Propagation Time.The DNS Propagation time is critical because it is the transition phase where your website visitors may hit your old host and sometimes the newer host. This process continues for approximately 24 hours till the replication is complete across Nameservers globally.But, before you change your DNS settings, make sure to check the entire configuration on the new host thoroughly. Check each and every settings to ensure that your source and destination data is an exact replica, file by file.In order to check it temporarily, before changing or updating the DNS information, update your host files with the following:Browse to C:WindowsSystem32Driversetc and open the hosts’ file

127.0.0.1 localhost123.45.67.89

www.example.com#98.76.54.32 

www.another-example.com

It is only a temporary measure to preview your site, so once your registrar has the updated information and DNS is fully propagated, you will need to remove any lines you added to the host’s file. Once you have modified the host file on your personal computer, you will need to use the full domain name to view the site. When editing the host file, you are telling your computer not to look at the parent DNS servers for information on how to reach your domain name. Instead, you are showing your PC that the domain name is located at that specific address and to use that address when you type the domain name into your browser.If everything is working correctly, you will be able to update your DNS to complete the process.

SiteGround WordPress Website Transfer DNS Propagation Time

The DNS propagation time starts the moment you update the DNS records with the domain registrar. In our case, it was GoDaddy with whom we have our domain registered. Refer below:So, how long does the process of replicating to another host take? Nameserver changes usually take between 24 – 48 hours to start working entirely. This period is called propagation, and the projected length of time it takes for root nameservers and cache records across the entire WW-web to be updated with your site’s DNS information. It is because of this propagation, and not all traffic will be directed to your new nameservers on your new Siteground hosting account; some visitors will remain to be addressed to your old name servers on your old hosting account until propagation is complete.How swiftly visitors are directed to the new nameservers depends on their physical server location, internet service provider and some degree of luck; it is not something Siteground has no control over. Once propagation is complete, your site will appear on the target server, and your emails will be fully functional.There is no more straightforward way to tell when propagation is complete. During the first 48 hours, even if you can see your site on the new server, your next door neighbor might still be viewing the website on the old server.Refer to the screenshot below. The www and non-www versions of my website were pointing to two different hosts, and I used a simple CNAME entry on my target host to resolve this issue.

Time To Live & Remote Caching

Since most DNS records don’t change very often, most resolvers are configured to cache the results of previous look-ups and respond to subsequent requests from the cached results for a period until the resolver host decides that the cached copy is too old to be trusted. Propagation is the time period it takes for the record cached on all resolvers everywhere to expire. In each record in the DNS zone, there is a Time To Live or TTL value that specifies in secs, how long a resolver should cache the record.One technique to reduce the time taken for changes to propagate is to reduce the TTL value in the current zone before making changes. However, the difference in the TTL on the record itself will take the length of time specified in original TTL value to propagate before propagation period is lowered for further changes. Also, some ISPs configure their resolvers to ignore the TTL value determined in the record altogether and in the cache, the record for a length of time that they specify instead. Some resolvers are configured to cache the DNS records for up to 72 hours, although most are configured for less. Ultimately, time resolves propagation issues. Here is another insight from a different service, see below:Here is another insight from another DNS Propagation Time checker:To fully confirm that a site DNS is wholly propagated to the new host, ensure that you have done the following tests:

• DNS Caching – 24-48 Hours minimum, 72 Hours Max.
• Browser Caching – Local Computer Cache. Clean your temporary internet files or use the in-private or incognito mode to see if the redirect is properly working.
• FlushDNS – Use ipconfig /flushdns in case if you are using Windows.

Conclusion

In our scenario, it took less than 48 hours for the DNS replication to complete. However, it took about 4 hours of my name to figure out why the non-www was not replicating correctly. Adding a CNAME solved it and from there onwards, everything was running fine.We hope this article was helpful for you to successfully move your WordPress site. Let us know for any questions or concerns in the comment section below. Thanks for visiting!

The month of July is here, and Chrome 68 will now show “Not Secure” for all unencrypted connections. For WordPress users, it means moving over to HTTPS without hassles or losing traffic. If your web host supports “Letsencrypt” then you can easily move your existing site from HTTP to HTTPS and use a simple 301- redirect to ensure no traffic disruptions. To easily do this, we recommend using “Really Simple SSL.” However, you might encounter into Fix Fatal Error: Call to a member function flush_rules(). How to fix that? Let’s find out.

Fix Fatal Error: Call to a member function flush_rules(): The Fix

In our example, we will use SiteGround Hosting as an example. The first step is to enable SSL on your account. The option is available under the “Manage Account” section on the main user panel. See below:Once you have confirmed that the certificate has been issued, you can go to the WordPress Admin Panel and add the “Really Simple SSL” if not done already.Once you are on the Plugin Menu which says:

Almost ready to migrate to SSL!
Some things can’t be done automatically. Before you migrate, please check for:
Http references in your .css and .js files: change any http:// into //
Images, stylesheets or scripts from a domain without an 
ssl certificate: remove them or move to your own server.

When you click on “Go ahead, Activate SSL,” You might encounter the following error:

Fatal error: Call to a member function flush_rules() on null in /wp-includes/rewrite.php on line 273`

To fix this, I had to do two things.

1. Clear and Purge All Cache (SG Cache in our case)
2. Under “wp-admin/options-permalink.php” click on “Save Changes.”

That’s it. When we went back and activated SSL, it worked without any further error messages.

Conclusion

Let us know about your experience with our solution provided. Are you facing similar issues? Let us know in the comments section below. Thanks for visiting!