// guides, comparisons & tools

Web hosting guides from someone who actually pays for hosting

38 guides, comparisons, explainers and free tools. Many are built on our own Pressable account, invoices from 2017 to 2026, and real migrations, with screenshots instead of stock photos.

From 13 years of real hosting

Guides built on our own accounts, invoices and migrations.

Pressable how-to guides

Step-by-step guides with screenshots from a real Pressable account.
Pressable how-to guidesPressable Edge Rules: block countries, bots & AI crawlersHow to use Pressable Edge Rules to block or challenge countries, allow only your IP into wp-admin, keep AI cra…Pressable how-to guidesManage Pressable with Claude (MCP)Set up Pressable MCP to manage sites, DNS, firewall and edge rules from an AI assistant like Claude. Access to…Pressable how-to guidesRestore a site from Pressable backupsHow Pressable backups work (hourly database, daily files), how to restore files or the database, take on-deman…Pressable how-to guidesStaging vs sandbox vs DupliKit on PressablePressable has four site types. Learn when to use production, staging, sandbox and DupliKit sites, how they cou…Pressable how-to guidesPressable with DDEV and GitHubPull a live Pressable site into DDEV with one command, push it back, and deploy themes and plugins from a GitH…Pressable how-to guidesPressable single sign-on (SAML) setupConnect Pressable to your identity provider with SAML: the 5-step wizard, domain verification, test login, enf…Pressable how-to guidesAvoid Pressable overage chargesRead Pressable's Usage and Traffic Metrics pages, understand how visits and storage are counted, what overages…Pressable how-to guidesIs Pressable Plugin Schedules worth $3?What Pressable Plugin Schedules does (staging tests, performance checks, automatic rollback), what it costs, i…Pressable how-to guidesPressable for agencies: bulk actions, transfers & ZapierThe Pressable features agencies use to manage many WordPress sites: bulk actions, collaborators, tags, site ow…

Bluehost guides

Prices, renewals, the AI Builder and the fine print, from Bluehost's own pages and Terms.

HostGator guides

Prices, checkout and cancelling, from a HostGator account opened in 2013.

Comparisons

Managed WordPress hosts and hosting models, side by side.

Hosting explained

Plain-English explainers for the terms hosts use to sell you plans.
Hosting explainedFree SSL vs paid SSLFree Let's Encrypt certificates use the same encryption as $40-240/yr paid ones. What paid certificates add (w…Hosting explainedIntro vs renewal hosting pricesWhy a $3.75/mo hosting plan costs $10.99 later, how billing terms change both prices, and how to compare hosts…Hosting explainedAI website builder vs WordPressAI builders make a site from a description in minutes; WordPress gives you control and portability. A plain co…Hosting explainedPHP workers explainedPHP workers decide how many uncached WordPress requests a server can handle at once. What they are, why cachin…Hosting explainedVisit-based hosting billing explainedManaged WordPress hosts bill by monthly visits. How a "visit" is counted, how bots are handled, what overages …Hosting explainedEdge cache vs CDN vs page cacheThe difference between a CDN, an edge (full-page) cache, page cache, object cache and OPcache, which requests …Hosting explainedHourly vs daily backupsBackup frequency decides how much data you lose when a site breaks. When daily backups are enough, when you ne…Hosting explainedHSTS and preload explainedWhat HSTS does, what includeSubDomains and preload mean, the hstspreload.org requirements, and the mistake tha…Hosting explainedEgress firewalls & environment variablesThree server-level protections most WordPress sites lack: an egress firewall, secrets in environment variables…Hosting explainedWhat MCP means for web hostingModel Context Protocol (MCP) lets AI assistants use tools like your hosting account. What it is, what hosts li…

Free tools

Calculators and checklists that do the math for you.

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