Tired of your web host? It’s easier to switch than you think
If you’ve been following our journey as slowmads, you know that our mission is to live abroad on a budget, one country at a time. Whether we are navigating the cost of living in Sarandë or setting up a homebase in Vlore, our goal is always the same: maximum adventure with minimum stress.
But there is a “behind-the-scenes” part of this lifestyle that we don’t talk about enough—the digital foundation that allows us to share our stories with you.
When you’re a full-time traveler, your “office” changes every few weeks. You might have great Wi-Fi in an Albanian apartment one month and be completely off the grid the next.
We quickly realized that to stay on budget and keep our sanity, we couldn’t afford to be part-time web developers. As a small business owner, your “to-do” list is likely a mile long. You’re the CEO, the marketing department, and the customer service rep.
If your current web host feels like another project you have to manage rather than a service that supports you, it’s time to rethink one of your most important business investments.
Why Web Hosting is One of Your Most Critical Investments
Think of your web host as the digital foundation of your business. If the foundation is shaky, everything else – your traffic, your income, and your professional reputation – is at risk.
- The Cost of “Down”: When your site goes offline, you lose more than just a few hits; you lose potential sales and the trust of your audience.
- Your First Line of Defense: A great host isn’t just a place to store your website’s files; they are your first touchpoint for technical support should something go wrong.
Why We Left Our Previous Host
Like many, we started with a big-name provider because it was recommended and frankly “cheap” (Bluehost).
However, we quickly realized that a low entry price often comes with hidden headaches:
- Site Health Issues: Constant notifications that our site had critical health issues became a regular source of anxiety.
- The Upgrade Trap: “Critical health issues” refer to parts of your website that can be potential security vulnerabilities or serious performance issues. Our previous host insisted we needed to upgrade to a more expensive plan and move our site to a new server—which we could pay them to do, or do ourselves.
- The “Renewal Trap”: Cheap introductory rates tripled upon renewal, and our plan kept “downgrading” because they constantly changed what was included in each plan tier.
- Subpar Support: When issues arose, we were met with brief, unhelpful answers from agents and chatbots who didn’t seem to care about our specific needs.
(because I don’t often take pictures of myself while working, lol!)
Why we hesitated switching Hosts
If you’re like us and a lot of small businesses out there – the #1 reason people stay with a bad host is the fear of moving their website.
Even if you are tech-savvy like me, moving your website to a new host is stressful – there’s a lot of steps to coordinate and if something goes wrong you could break your site (and who has time for that?!)
I’m experienced website manager with 10+ years of wordpress experience (started creating websites back when you had to edit in html) and our move to Lyrical has exceeded all expectations. (yep, I’m older than google!)
The “Affiliate” Elephant in the Room
When I first started looking into web hosting for our travel blog, I noticed almost everyone recommended the same big-name providers. It wasn’t until I was knee-deep in technical headaches that I realized many of those recommendations were driven by massive affiliate programs rather than actual service quality.
To be completely transparent, Lyrical Host has an affiliate program too. But here is the difference: even if they didn’t, I would still be shouting their name from the rooftops because of how much they have taken off my plate. I’m a fan first, and an affiliate second.
I’m writing this because I genuinely want you to stop wasting your nights & weekends on tech support. However, to make the switch even easier for your budget, I do have a discount code for you!
Why We Chose Lyrical Host (And Why You’ll Love Them)
The number one reason we chose Lyrical Host is a two-parter:
- Done-for-you Migration: Lyrical Host migrated our website and email for free. There was no downtime and (this is huge!) NO STRESS!! I didn’t have to worry if I did it right.
- Support Like No Other: They understand that just because I can do the techy-stuff doesn’t mean I want to…. hiring them as our web host meant I hired a Website Support Team – designed to take the “tech” off my plate.
Here are just a few other reason we chose to switch to Lyrical Hosting
- The “Stress-to-Dollar” ratio: Why spend our weekend googling “how to update your SQL Server” or “why isn’t my cookie banner working” when I can simply ask our host and they’ll provide the solution?
- Automatic Daily Backups: We never have to worry about losing our work; they backup our site every single day (previous host required an add-on (at $49/month) to backup our site every day)
- Free SSL Certificate: No additional cost to provide extra security – meaning users can browse our website securely ( and google will like you )
- Automatic WordPress Core Updates: They automatically update our core WordPress files with the latest security fixes and features (after they’ve tested them!)
- Malware Cleaning Included: While other hosts just point out the problem and ask for more money, Lyrical Host scans and cleans our site for free.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): They provide extra security at the login level to stop hackers before they even get close.
- Pre-optimized For Speed: No need to buy premium caching plugins or hire someone to do a speed audit – it’s included!
Here are some other reasons you might like Lyrical
- all that stuff I mentioned above…. plus
- No Price Hikes: The price you sign up for is the price you pay on renewal—forever.
- Free Theme Installation: They’ll install any WordPress theme you like at no cost! If it’s a free theme, just send their support team the link. If it’s paid, just send over the zip folder after you’ve bought it.
- Free Malware Scans + Cleaning: Their systems monitor your website and automatically identify any common malware issues. They also do intensive malware scanning on request – just ask! Any issues are cleaned for free, and they’ll tell you the cause so you can stop it happening again – no need to pay for separate security services.
- State-of-the-art hosting platform that’s built to scale: A blogging, advertising, and PR dream – This means your site can happily go viral without skipping a beat, and at no extra cost to you.
- Easy Staging Environment: Create a duplicate of your website in seconds to test new themes, functionality, or whatever you like without affecting your live website.
- Free Website Speed Analysis: They’ll let you know which plugins are slowing your site down and other improvements you can make – in human language! They can even implement changes for you on request. (Their hosting has been independently proved faster than all major hosting companies, but it does depend on what you install and add to your site.)
- Full WordPress + Blog Support: They know WordPress inside out, and we’ll never leave you struggling alone or tell you to hire a web developer. Their support team is headed by an experienced, professional WordPress developer, so not only do they provide general hosting, domains, and email support, but they can make small code and cosmetic changes to your WordPress website, answer any WordPress-specific questions you have, provide plugin recommendations, fix errors, and much more…at no extra cost. It’s like having your own WordPress developer in your pocket.
- Huge Blogging Resource Library: Includes everything from workbooks to checklists to custom illustrations to stock photos to social media templates to icons…and more!
- They also provide free one-to-one masterclasses on everything from search engine optimization to improving your bounce rate.
- Active Facebook Community: The Lyrical Host family is worldwide, and our vibrant community consists of authors, doctors, food fanatics, fashion lovers, business strategists, students, parents, and a wide variety of other people who all have one thing in common – they’re passionate about their websites. Ask questions, take part in challenges, download freebies, shop other members’ products, and join in with our interactive story.
- Giving Back: A portion of your hosting plan goes toward planting trees, supporting girls’ education in Mozambique, and saving coral reefs.
Why the “Tiny” Plan was the Right Fit for Us
As a fulltime traveler and small business owner, we don’t need a complicated, enterprise-level server; we just need something that works so w can focus on travel and writing. That is why we chose the “Tiny” Plan.
Despite the name, it feels anything but “tiny” when it comes to value:
- The Essentials Included: It covers one WordPress website with 70GB of space and 110GB of bandwidth—plenty of room to grow.
- Professional Touch: We got six email accounts included (10GB each), which immediately made our email easier to organize.
- Safety First: It comes with automatic daily backups and a Web Application Firewall, so I don’t have to stay up at night wondering if our site is secure.
- No Price Creep: One of my favorite things is that it stays the same price on renewal. No “anniversary surprises” or bills that suddenly triple.
- Creative Perks: Even on this entry-level plan, we get access to a huge resource library of small business resources.
If you’re starting out or realized your current host is just one more thing on your “to-do” list that you hate, the Tiny plan could be the key to your Tech Support Team.
Isn’t it about time you reclaim your time
As a small business owner, your time is your most valuable asset. Every hour you spend fighting with a slow website or a confusing control panel is an hour you aren’t spending growing your business or being with your family.
Paying a little more for a host that “works for you” and has your back isn’t an expense – it’s how you buy your time back.