Kinsta is among the most popular managed WordPress hosting providers. Kinsta offers fully managed WordPress hosting services to their customers and is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses. Although Kinsta does not operate their own servers, they use Google’s cloud platform instead for hosting WordPress sites.
In this guide, we will show you how to host your website on Kinsta. But that’s not all. We will also show you an easy alternative. So don’t fail to read to the end.
How to Set Up Your Website on Kinsta
Registering and Choosing a Kinsta Plan
There are 3 groups of Kinsta hosting plans with different sub-plans and price ranges. You can access all Kinsta hosting plans from the Pricing page.
For a fresh WordPress site, you should buy the $35 ($350/year) Kinsta single-site hosting plan. You can choose to pay monthly or annually.
You are to fill out the form that follows with the appropriate information and click the Continue button.
Adding a New Site to Your Kinsta Dashboard
Now that you have successfully created an account with Kinsta, it’s time to add a new site to your Kinsta account.
Log into your Kinsta account, and from the WordPress card, select Create a Site. Alternatively, you can select WordPress sites > Add Site at the left sidebar. Then click on Create new site.
You will be provided with three choices:
- Install WordPress: This option automatically installs and sets up a WordPress site for you.
- Empty Environment: This option provides all the essential resources of a WordPress hosting server, including the server itself, but without a WordPress site’s automatic installation or setup.
- Clone an Existing Environment: This option lets you create an exact copy of an existing WordPress site, whether it’s in a live or staging environment.
We will create a fresh WordPress site for this guide, so we will choose the first option.
Installing WordPress and Configuring Basic Settings
After selecting the Install WordPress option, you will be taken to a page to fill out a form with all the details required to set up your WordPress site.
Some of the information you need to provide includes:
- Site Name (as to be shown in your Kinsta dashboard)
- Data center location
- Site Title
- WordPress Admin Username
- WordPress Admin password
- WordPress Admin email
- Site Language
- Optional Installs: Multi-site, WooCommerce, Yoast SEO
When you’re done, click ADD and allow the process to complete.
Migrating Your Site to Kinsta
There are various ways by which you can migrate your site to Kinsta. Here are a few commonly used methods:
Migrating Your Site to Kinsta with WordPress Migration Plugins
You can use backup and migration plugins like Duplicator, UpdraftPlus, Backup Buddy, etc for migrating a WordPress site from an old hosting provider to Kinsta. You can also use the Migrate Guru WordPress plugin by Kinsta for site migration.
Backup plugins will allow you to download a copy of your site database and files. You can then upload these files to your account in the new hosting provider.
Now, here’s the migration process to Kinsta:
- Backup your site using a backup plugin and download the database and compressed site file.
- Create a new site from your Kinsta dashboard. Select the empty environment option instead, i.e., Do not install WordPress.
- Upload your site files to the new site and configure the wp-config.php file to the new hosting WordPress database name, username, and password.
Alternatively, some backup plugins like UpdraftPlus allow you to back up your site to a remote storage or cloud like Google Drive and restore the site from the backup in the remote storage, eliminating the need to save your site files and database locally.
You can take advantage of this feature by creating a fresh WordPress site in Kinsta, installing and activating UpdraftPlus on the new site, and restoring the backup from Google Drive. The backup will override the fresh WordPress site with all the data and files from the old hosting.
Requesting Free Migration with Kinsta Support
Kinsta offers free migration assistance to its customers. From your Kinsta dashboard, go to WordPress Sites > Add Site > Request migration.
You will be able to choose one of two migration options offered by Kinsta’s team:
- Request a migration from another host
- Request a migration from a backup
Please select the option and complete the process, providing the correct details. Kinsta’s team will then handle the migration for you.
Smooth Migration to Kinsta using InstaWP’s WordPress Migration Tool
You can also use third-party online migration tools like InstaWP to migrate your site to Kinsta. Migration with InstaWP is easy, free, and remote, eliminating the need to download any files.
To use InstaWP to migrate your site to Kinsta, follow the quick steps highlighted below:
Install and activate InstaWP Connect on the live site you want to migrate. Then, go to Tools > InstaWP and connect the live site to InstaWP.
Return to your live site and confirm that it has been connected to InstaWP. Then click on Create Staging Site.
From the type of staging, select Full Staging since we are doing a full-site migration.
From the following step, you might want to select to create the staging site with only active plugins and themes. This will reduce the staging site size and speed up the staging process.
For the Exclude step, you can choose to exclude files and tables in the database that may not be important or necessary for your site. If there are none, then you can skip this step.
Finally, confirm your settings and click the Create Staging button.
Once your staging site has been created, take the staging site for a spin to ensure everything was properly copied and that the staging site is free of errors.
You can then proceed to migrate that staging site to Kinsta. Here’s how:
Return to Kinsta and create a new site. Select the Install WordPress option. Copy the temporary URL for the newly created WordPress site.
Then, log into your InstaWP dashboard and go to Staging.
Click on the rocket icon next to the staging site and select Go Live.
A prompt telling you that the site is already connected to a live site will come up. Click on Disconnect.
Click on the rocket icon (Go Live) again. This time, you will see a prompt asking you which type of migration you want to perform.
Select the Migrate via URL option.
Enter the temporary URL for the new WordPress site on Kinsta and click on the Connect Website button.
You will be taken to the site and asked to authorize access to the new site.
After authorizing and connecting InstaWP, click the Begin migration button, and the staging site will be seamlessly migrated to the new WordPress site.
Post-Migration Verification and Adjustments
Before pointing your domain name to Kinsta, visit the temporary URL for the WordPress site to ensure that the migration was done properly.
Compare the live site on the old hosting with the temporary site on Kinsta to verify that the migration went smoothly.
Check your thumbnails and image resolution, most recent posts and uploads, check pages, check the look and feel of your theme, etc, and make adjustments on the new site where necessary.
When you are finished and verified, all that needs to be done is to update your domain name nameservers to Kinsta and link the domain to the site on Kinsta.
Challenges of Hosting with Kinsta
Kinsta is undoubtedly one of the best managed WordPress hosting providers. However, they have some shortcomings, including:
- Cost: Kinsta’s managed WordPress hosting plans are quite expensive compared to other hosting providers. Their last plan costs $35/month. Their expensive pricing can be a barrier for personal projects and small businesses.
- Learning Curve: Although Kinsta’s dashboard is user-friendly, it is different from that of other hosting providers. It takes a bit of time to get used to the navigation, features, and tools available to customers.
- Backup Limitations: Kinsta offers automatic site backups. However, the number of backups and retention time is limited and tied to the type of plan. This can be a setback for users needing extended backup options.
- No Email Hosting: Kinsta does not provide email hosting in any tier of their hosting plans. This means you will have to set up email services separately, which can incur additional costs.
- No WordPress WAF: Kinsta offers robust security. However, they lack a WordPress-optimized Web Application Firewall (WAF).
WordPress WAF protects WordPress sites from SQL injection, cross-site scripting, cross-site forgery, and other threats by filtering and monitoring HTTP requests, blocking malicious traffic, and preventing unauthorized data from leaving the site.
Kinsta Vs. InstaWP Live Managed WordPress Hosting
InstaWP Live is a managed WordPress hosting solution. It’s one of the best, fastest, and most reliable, and it’s also and a perfect Kinsta hosting alternative.
Here’s a summarized comparison between Kinsta VS InstaWP, managed WordPress hosting:
1. Speed and Performance
Kinsta: Kinsta’s speed and performance are excellent due to the use of Google’s cloud premium tier infrastructure, CDN, and edge caching.
InstaWP: InstaWP also offers very impressive speed and performance due to the use of Automattic’s Cloud platform, built-in CDN, and edge caching.
2. Security
Kinsta: Kinsta security comprises Cloudflare integrations such as Enterprise-level firewall DDoS protection coupled with SSL and HTTP/3 isolated container technology. But as already pointed out, Kinsta lacks WordPress WAF.
InstaWP: InstaWP security comprises DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall (WAF), SFTP/SSH access control, and SSL.
3. Support and Customer Rating
Kinsta: Kinsta provides 24/7/365 support via live chat. They have a 4.6/5 star rating on Trustpilot.
InstaWP: InstaWP also provides 24/7 support via live chat. However, InstaWP has a 4.7/5 star rating on Trustpilot.
4. WordPress Site Development Environment
Kinsta: Kinsta provides a free development tool called DevKinsta for local site development. DevKinsta allows you to build a WordPress site from the ground up for free on your local device and then push it to live with your preferred Kinsta hosting plan.
InstaWP: InstaWP provides a free remote WordPress staging or sandbox environment that allows you to create a WordPress site within seconds and build it from the ground up. After development, you can easily push the site to live with any InstaWP Live hosting plan.
5. Site Migration
Kinsta: Migrating a site from another host to Kinsta is quite complex. You have to use a third-party WordPress migration plugin, as Kinsta doesn’t have its own migration tool.
InstaWP: Migrating a site from another host to InstaWP is very basic. You simply connect the site to InstaWP and create a staging account using the InstaWP Connect plugin. Then, you can use the Go Live rocket icon to push the site to InstaWP Live by selecting your preferred hosting plan.
Both Kinsta and InstaWP provide free migration support.
5. Pricing and Resources
Kinsta: Kinsta plans are quite expensive, starting at $35/month ($350 yearly) for 10GB storage space and 25,000 visits.
InstaWP: InstaWP plans are more affordable and considerate, starting at just $18/month for 40GB and 400,0000 visits. This price gets slashed to $9/month when you host up to 10 sites.
Added Benefits of hosting with InstaWP Live
Access to the InstaWP Platform
InstaWP is not just a managed WordPress hosting provider. InstaWP is a tool for instant WordPress sandbox creation, staging site creation for testing changes and troubleshooting errors, WordPress site migration, WordPress product testing and demos, multiple site management, and a collaboration hub for team members.
InstaWP also offers WaaS (Website-as-a-Service), which allows developers and agencies to sell WordPress sites with hosting as a service to their customers in return for recurring payments.
These features are included in the InstaWP platform and give you more control and extended capabilities than any other hosting provider can offer.
Leveraging InstaWP for Pre-Migration Staging
As already demonstrated, you can use InstaWP to create a staging site before migration. This staging site can serve as a transition medium or a backup before migrating your site from one hosting to another.
Using InstaWP for Testing and Optimization Post-Migration
After migration, you may have to test and optimize your site on the new hosting server. To mitigate risks, you can easily create a staging site post-migration. There, you can carry out performance checks and optimization, SEO checks, and make updates, theme changes, or plugin installation.
Final Thoughts on Hosting with Kinsta
This guide is sufficient to help you migrate your WordPress site from one hosting provider to Kinsta. Although Kinsta is one of the best-managed WordPress hosting providers, InstaWP is undoubtedly a better Kinsta hosting alternative because it offers more for less and outshines Kinsta in more ways than one.
FAQs
1. What are the steps to host my WordPress site on Kinsta?
Start by creating a Kinsta account, then proceed to add a site, select a plan, choose to install WordPress, and supply the WordPress site details.
2. Can I migrate my website to Kinsta easily?
Yes. You can use free WordPress migration plugins like Duplicator, Migrate Guru, UpdraftPlus, etc. You can also use staging platforms like InstaWP or contact Kinsta for their free migration service.
3. What features make InstaWP different from other hosting providers?
InstaWP has its own WordPress plugin to connect sites for seamless WordPress staging and site migration. InstaWP provides a free remote site development sandbox, can serve as a centralized site management platform, and supports the WaaS business model.
4. Does Kinsta provide one-click staging for testing changes and troubleshooting errors?
Yes. Kinsta allows you to create a staging site to test changes and updates and to troubleshoot and resolve errors.
5. Can I integrate Kinsta with tools like InstaWP to simplify my workflow?
Yes. InstaWP is a very versatile tool. You can use It to facilitate and hasten the migration process to and from Kinsta by creating migration-ready temporary staging sites.