WordPress, without the console.
PHP-FPM and a managed database on a dedicated instance, backed up nightly alongside your uploads — and once it’s here, CodeHerder can ship theme tweaks and content changes as pull requests instead of a slow support ticket.
When this isn't the right fit A brochure-only WordPress install with no plugins and rare content changes is sometimes cheaper as a one-time static export than as an ongoing PHP install — ask on the quote form if that sounds like your site.
What it needs to run
The shape of the workload, before any hosting decision gets made.
- Runtime
- PHP-FPM, long-running
- Build step
- None for core — plugin/theme builds if you use one
- Standing process?
- Yes — PHP-FPM plus a web server in front of it
- Data store
- MySQL or Postgres-compatible, plus the uploads directory
- Verdict
- Dedicated, almost always
How it runs here
The same management as every other tier we run, written in WordPress's own terms.
Provisioning
A dedicated instance with PHP-FPM and a web server already configured, sized to the plugin set you actually run.
Deploys
Theme and plugin code deploys from a push to main — the pipeline we already run, not an FTP upload into production.
Data + backups
The database and the uploads directory back up together, nightly, so a restore is one operation, not a database dump plus a media folder you hope you saved.
TLS / DNS / monitoring
Certificates auto-renew, DNS is managed end to end, and monitoring catches a crashed PHP-FPM pool before a visitor sees a white screen.
Moving it in
Already running somewhere else? See the full migration playbook — here's what's specific to WordPress.
- 1
Point us at it
Read access to the current host or a database export and the uploads directory — that’s the whole ask.
- 2
We stand up a copy
Database, uploads, and active plugins moved as one unit onto a staging mirror you can click through first.
- 3
Cutover on your schedule
DNS and TLS switch over with little-to-no downtime, rollback ready if anything looks wrong.
- The uploads directory and the database have to move together — a database-only migration leaves every image on the site broken.
- Hard-coded absolute URLs in post content or serialized theme options need a search-and-replace pass during the move, not just a DNS switch.
- Plugins that phone home to a license server sometimes need re-activation once the domain changes hosts.
- WordPress's own mail function normally calls the operating system's mail command, and that command has nothing to send through here. It needs pointing at an authenticated relay instead — see Email for the path and a plugin-free way to wire it.
The loop, on WordPress
A WordPress site rarely needs a rebuild — it needs the steady trickle of theme tweaks, new pages, and plugin updates that used to sit in someone’s inbox.
- 01Build
CustomLabs
Bring a WordPress install you already run, or have CustomLabs build or theme the first version.
- 02Iterate
CodeHerder
Brief a theme change, a new page template, or a WP-CLI-driven redirect map in plain language — an agent opens a pull request against the real theme code.
- 03Run
CustomHosted
PHP-FPM and the database on a dedicated instance, backed up nightly with the uploads directory, patched on a schedule.
- Brief
- Briefed: add a WP-CLI-driven redirect map for a set of retired blog URLs, and swap the homepage hero image for a seasonal campaign.
- Pull request
- CodeHerder’s agent wrote the redirect rules and the theme change against the real repo, opening a pull request the same afternoon.
- Shipped
- Reviewed, merged, and live before the campaign started — no developer retainer invoiced for two small changes.
The plugin tax, and who actually pays it
Shared WordPress hosting hides a real cost behind a low sticker price — this is where it goes on a dedicated instance instead.
Every plugin a WordPress site runs adds its own database queries, its own admin-ajax calls, and sometimes its own cron job — none of that is visible in a plugin's changelog, but all of it shows up in PHP-FPM's memory usage and MySQL's query log. Shared hosting papers over this by oversubscribing a box across hundreds of sites and hoping most of them stay idle; a dedicated instance doesn't oversubscribe anything, so a heavy plugin set is a sizing conversation we have honestly, not a mystery slowdown you discover during a traffic spike.
That's also why the "typical starting plan" for WordPress on the register above is Dedicated M and not the smaller S tier — a real install with a page builder, an SEO plugin, a caching layer, and a form plugin is already running four to six extra processes' worth of PHP before your own content loads. A genuinely bare brochure site with two or three plugins can often run on Dedicated S; we'll tell you that on the quote rather than default you to a bigger tier out of caution.
The upside of moving off shared hosting isn't just headroom — it's that a slow plugin becomes a profiling problem we can actually diagnose on an instance that's yours alone, instead of a support ticket to a host who can't see past the noisy neighbor next to you.
A starting configuration
A production WordPress site: a dedicated instance, and the iteration add-on for ongoing theme and content work.
- Base plan
- Dedicated M
- Iteration — CodeHerder loop
- +$25/mo
- Estimated total
- $84/mo
WordPress questions
The questions this stack raises on its own. General hosting questions live on the homepage.
01Do you manage WordPress core and plugin updates?
Security patching is included on every dedicated tier. Plugin and core version bumps that could break the site are briefed and shipped through the loop, reviewed before they go live, rather than auto-applied blind.
02Can you move a site with a lot of plugins?
Yes — the database, uploads, and active plugin set move as one unit. Anything unusually complex gets looked at before we quote the move, not after.
03Do we get wp-admin access?
Yes, wp-admin is yours as normal — the "no console" part refers to a hosting dashboard, not to WordPress itself.
04Can CodeHerder edit theme PHP and templates?
Yes — briefs can target theme files, custom blocks, or WP-CLI commands, and the agent opens a pull request against the real theme repository.
05What about WooCommerce or membership plugins?
They run the same way — a heavier plugin set usually means sizing up from Dedicated M, which we’ll flag on the quote rather than let the site struggle.
Keep exploring
- Dedicated compute
A fixed-price instance sized to the workload, with a static IP and full control.
- Databases
Managed database tiers, backed up nightly alongside the rest of your stack.
- For: no dev team
The original developer moved on? The loop stands in for the hire that never happened.
- Email
Why WordPress's own mail function needs pointing at a relay here, and the records that go with it.
Ready to start?
Tell us what you're running — one fixed monthly rate, within a business day.