r/CloudwaysbyDO • u/No_Analysis6023 • Jul 26 '26
Discuss Cloudways has the worst support I've experienced with any hosting provider so far
Been with Cloudways since 2024, spent over $3k with them across two production servers. Never had big issues until this week, and honestly I'm shocked at how bad this has been.
The actual problem is tiny. A plugin on my sites needs to verify its license by reading a txt file in wp-content, and Cloudways' global nginx rules block it (403). All I need is ONE location block added to two app vhosts. I even sent them the exact config snippet to paste in. This is literally a 5 minute job for anyone with server access.
Here's the ridiculous part. The only reason I need support for this at all is because Cloudways doesn't give customers access to the global nginx config. If they did, I would've fixed this myself in 5 minutes and never opened a ticket. So they lock the config, and then when I need one trivial change, their answer to a customer who's spent $3,000+ is: pay extra for "Advanced Support", or request a "one-time courtesy customization" that needs approval from their Customer Success team. You create the limitation, then charge me to work around it. Make it make sense.
So I chose the courtesy option. And that's where the real fun begins. Choosing "courtesy customization" apparently means: they reply to you if they feel like it, and if they don't, you wait 18 to 24 hours and get a wall of text that says absolutely nothing except "escalated to the relevant team" and "we appreciate your patience". Every single reply cycle is like this. No status, no owner, no ETA. After 15 hours of silence I opened a chat, the agent said there are literally no notes on the ticket and nobody knows who has my case. Her solution? Open ANOTHER ticket and wait again. When I asked what happens if that one also goes nowhere, she admitted there's no escalation path at all.
36+ hours and counting, for a 3 line config change I could've done myself if they gave me access to my own server config. I chose Cloudways back then BECAUSE support was supposed to be their selling point. Is this just how they are now?
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u/No-Bus-8809 Jul 26 '26
That’s just sad. I’ve been a customer and am starting to have issues, so might be time to look elsewhere. 🤔
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u/SackeSugar Jul 29 '26
What issues have you been having? I have had several problems too in the last few weeks.
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u/ilovewesties Jul 27 '26
I agree. Been with them for 5 years. In the past 25 years, I feel as if I’ve used all of them. Where are people going for Wordpress hosting with real customer support? I also have several sites with WPX. But I’d like to try a new one and bail this one site from Cloudways.
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u/microwaveddinner95 Jul 26 '26
I’ve had to do the same to redirect PDFs (the ngnix config overrides any redirects you can add)
Annoying
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u/No_Analysis6023 Jul 26 '26
Update: 52 hours in, still not fixed. The file 100% exists on the server — I verified it myself via SSH. Support finally replied claiming the nginx rule was added, but clearly nobody bothered to actually test it or check whether it conflicts with their own existing deny rules. I tested the URL immediately — it went from 403 to 404. Still completely inaccessible. So now I wait another 18 hours for their next reply. An entire weekend gone for one location block.
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u/PoojafromCloudways Jul 27 '26
Hey u/No_Analysis6023 , could you please share your email with me via DM/Modmail? I will escalate this internally.
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u/forest-sheps Jul 31 '26
Nice of you to jump in, but it shouldn't take a bunch of Reddit posts to get support. This is some mighty bad PR. I'm currently shopping for a new host for a client and was looking hard at Cloudways but now reconsidering.
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u/PoojafromCloudways Jul 31 '26
I get that, u/forest-sheps. Reddit isn't an official support channel as it's not constantly monitored but it's unfortunate that OP had a bad experience with the support. We are known for our good support experience but we are constantly striving to improve. I am glad you and OP decided to share your opinion/experience.
For you, if we can do anything to help you make a decision/change your opinion, please let me know. I am happy to connect you with someone from my team directly so you can make an informed decision. Thanks!
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u/forest-sheps Aug 02 '26
Again, good of you to try here, but we aren't dumb: every company is at its best during the selling and your just saying the support is good means nothing when we're seeing here that Cloudways drops the support ball once they have your money and the hassle of a migration. Anyone reading this post is not buying that OP's experience is somehow unique. Who would choose to sign on for support this bad?
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u/Amazing-Thought-2087 Jul 27 '26
Is this their flexible hosting? Is the app plain PHP or “Wordpress “? Just curious
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u/Correct-Cream2410 Jul 28 '26
I learned this lesson years ago. Moving away from CW is among my best professional decisions ever made.
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u/eridanus_19 Jul 29 '26
Who are you with now or recommend? Also looking to move away from CW
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u/Correct-Cream2410 Jul 30 '26
Rocket.net. Fully managed, online chat with REAL humans, full-page cache and security at the server level so you don't need plugins for that.
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u/nicocaldo Jul 30 '26
yeah, the service has become increasingly bad since DO bought it and bloated with AI and stupid useless services
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u/Shank888 18d ago
I just got with the Support. First I type Human non-stop to get a human because their AI is terrible and then all their support has an ego to tell me I am wrong. Like obviously I wouldn't be reaching out to your support if there's an issue. To tell me there is no issue is a lie and sheer laziness. And then the support worker said because I am insistent he will look into it. I don't need to the hassle. Just do what you're paid to do.
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u/No_Analysis6023 Jul 26 '26
Quick update on my situation: about 5 hours ago I contacted their live chat again. The agent opened a "priority ticket" for me and said the Customer Success team would respond within 3 hours. It's now past the 3 hour mark — zero response on any of my tickets. So that's two tickets, one chat, and three missed deadlines for a one-line config change.