happyplankton is a trusted internet marketing agency based in Invercargill, New Zealand. The firm is known for delivering innovative, data-driven solutions tailored to businesses of all sizes. They offer services like search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), website design, and social media marketing.
The team works closely with each business to understand its needs and create custom plans that bring real results, like more visitors, better sales, and higher profits. They also host and maintain the websites they build, making sure everything runs smoothly for their clients.
“I would recommend exploring the entire InstaWP ecosystem to understand how it fits into the broader WordPress landscape.“
– Matthew Hancock BDM, happyplankton
A Quick Look at happyplankton’s Journey with InstaWP Live
Matthew Hancock, the creative mind behind happyplankton, has been in the service industry since 2005. The last 4 years have been a massive upkeep for Matthew, stretching his resources as he hosts websites, domains, email, and more for clients.
Around the time we launched InstaWP Live, Matthew had an issue where a hosting provider gave him 72 hours to migrate all his client websites, causing a very stressful few days. Matthew has been using InstaWP for staging and template creation at that time.
For hosting, he needed:
- Rock-solid performance to pass Core Web Vitals.
- Simplified management of multiple sites.
- Affordable pricing without compromising on quality.
When Matthew heard about InstaWP Live’s promise of unmatched speed and advanced managed hosting features, he decided to give it a try. Little did he know, it would transform the way he managed his business.
By switching to InstaWP Live, Matthew experienced:
- 60% improvement in average load times across his 14 sites.
- Zero downtime during the transition.
- Simplified workflows, reducing his team’s operational workload by 30%.
- Higher client satisfaction, as websites now load faster and perform better.
This case study highlights Matthew’s experience with InstaWP Live in detail, focusing on the performance metrics of three of his sites hosted on our platform, and the game-changing benefits it has brought to his business.
WordPress Hosting Challenges Faced by Matthew Hancock
Most of happyplankton’s clients are small to medium-sized businesses looking for online exposure, especially since the pandemic started in 2019. These Clients just want something basic online and don’t care about the technical details, putting pressure on Matthew to provide a simple solution.
When it comes to hosting websites, performance and reliability are non-negotiable. Be it WordPress or any other technology, your clients expect lightning-fast load times and seamless navigation. And it’s obvious because people visiting their site want the same too.
Matthew has been using shared hosting for years, but it has limitations in terms of cost and reliability, leading him to explore VPS options. He started using a well-known VPS in late 2020 but encountered issues with reliability and cost-effectiveness, leading him to explore WordPress hosting.
The breaking point came when one of his hosting providers shut down abruptly, giving happyplankton just 72 hours to migrate 20-25 websites. “That was a harrowing few days—figuring out DNS issues, dealing with customer-facing concerns like, ‘Why is my website down?’ I couldn’t do it all manually anymore,” Matthew explains.
happyplankton clients’ sites were plagued by inconsistent performance, high bounce rates, and rising operational costs. Managing 14 websites across various hosting environments became a logistical nightmare, especially when attempting to scale or troubleshoot issues.
How happyplankton got to know about InstaWP Live?
Matthew discovered InstaWP around August 2023 and decided to give it a try, but he was initially unsure how the platform could benefit his business. When his VPS issues piled up, he revisited InstaWP Live.
“The onboarding process this time was a lot smoother—webinars, direct communication with the team, and solid support for migrating sites. The advantage of external DNS saved me so much time when pointing sites to new servers.,” Matthew recalls.
“I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first, but now I’m fully on board. The speed, the convenience, the hosting infrastructure, the tools—it’s all worth it. I’m looking forward to seeing how the agency plans develop because I’m here for the long term. InstaWP Live has become an essential part of my workflow, and I’m excited to keep supporting a platform that’s clearly built with its users in mind,” tells the happyplankton founder with full enthusiasm.
“So far, I haven’t had much of a problem with InstaWP. I really appreciate how I’m treated as a customer—they don’t dumb it down, and I can get answers directly from the people working on the platform. That’s been a game-changer for me.” – Matthew
Specific Use Cases happyplankton Relies on InstaWP For
1. Staging Sites & One-Click Deployment (with InstaWP Live)
Matthew found the staging sites feature particularly useful for testing and developing new client websites before they went live. He loved that InstaWP allowed him to easily deploy staging sites to InstaWP Live with just one click from the dashboard, reducing the manual effort involved in migrations.
“I currently have 14 sites hosted on InstaWP Live, and about half a dozen more in staging that will likely move to live once they’re finalized. This seamless workflow has cut down hours of manual effort. If I had to estimate, tasks that used to take me an entire week now take just a day or two, max” – Matthew.
2. Pre-Installed Plugins & Templates
As an avid user of Elementor, Matthew appreciated having pre-installed plugins and templates ready to go. This simple but powerful feature saved him time and effort, eliminating the need to install plugins from scratch on each project.
3. Team Collaboration
InstaWP Live’s ability to add team members to a plan without requiring separate accounts was a game-changer for Matthew. His team could access the dashboard immediately, streamlining collaboration and ensuring everyone was on the same page from day one.
4. Effortless WordPress Migration
One of the standout features that Matthew values about InstaWP is its seamless WordPress migration tool. Moving websites between hosting environments is often a complex, time-consuming task. However, with InstaWP’s intuitive migration tool, the process becomes incredibly simple.
5. Customer Service
InstaWP’s customer service is another area where Matthew saw exceptional value. InstaWP team listens to feedback and uses it to improve the platform continually, which has made a huge impact on happyplankton’s day-to-day operations.
“The customer service is Phenomenal. Whenever I have a query, there’s always someone on the other end ready to help. They genuinely listen to feedback and use it to improve the platform. That’s something I’ve noticed over time—it’s not just a hosting service; it’s a continually evolving ecosystem built specifically for WordPress sites.” – Matthew
Testing the Waters: Core Web Vitals & PageSpeed Insights Results
We were interested in figuring out if everything’s actually as good for Matthew as he said (wishing he’s right 
). So, our team began testing three of his client websites on InstaWP Live. The results? Nothing short of extraordinary.
Below, we’ll break down the performance metrics recorded using PageSpeed Insights:
Website One
With InstaWP Live, this website achieved perfect visual stability and load times under a second. The client saw an immediate reduction in cart abandonment rates.
- Performance Score: 99
- First Contentful Paint: 0.7 s
- Largest Contentful Paint: 0.8 s
- Total Blocking Time: 0 ms
- Cumulative Layout Shift: 0.019
- Speed Index: 1.0 s
Website Two
This corporate portfolio site went from being an average performer to passing all Core Web Vitals benchmarks with flying colors. Visual stability, smooth scrolling, and zero blocking time made it a hit.
- Performance Score: 98
- First Contentful Paint: 0.7 s
- Largest Contentful Paint: 1.0 s
- Total Blocking Time: 0 ms
- Cumulative Layout Shift: 0
- Speed Index: 1.2 s
Website Three
The site’s homepage, loaded with high-resolution images, now loads in under a second—a feat previously unimaginable. Even the most design-heavy elements display seamlessly, thanks to InstaWP Live’s edge caching and built-in CDN.
- Performance Score: 97
- First Contentful Paint: 0.8 s
- Largest Contentful Paint: 1.1 s
- Total Blocking Time: 0 ms
- Cumulative Layout Shift: 0
- Speed Index: 0.9 s
Key Features of InstaWP Live That Made the Difference
1. Blazing Fast Performance
InstaWP Live utilizes edge caching, a global CDN, and optimized server configurations to ensure that every site hosted with us achieves industry-leading speed metrics. Matthew’s experience confirmed that our infrastructure is not only built for performance but also for scalability.
2. Global Data Centers
With a network of data centers strategically placed around the world, InstaWP Live ensures minimal latency no matter where visitors are located.
“InstaWP Live’s hosting infrastructure helps me mitigate the need for Australian servers.”
– Matthew Hancock BDM, happyplankton
3. Cost-Effectiveness
For an agency managing 14 websites, the cost of hosting can quickly spiral out of control. InstaWP Live offers competitive pricing without cutting corners on features, making it the perfect solution for agencies looking to grow profitably.
4. Advanced Security
From DDoS protection to real-time failover mechanisms, InstaWP Live’s robust security protocols guarantee that websites remain online and safe from threats.
5. Seamless Staging to Production Transition
Matthew was already familiar with InstaWP’s staging capabilities. With InstaWP Live, transitioning sites from staging to production is a one-click operation, saving hours of manual work.
Results: A Game-Changer for Matthew’s Agency
“Let me tell you, InstaWP Live has been a complete game changer for me in managing my workflow. Earlier, managing staging sites and hosting was such a hassle. I had to manually migrate websites, configure DNS, and spend hours setting up everything. Now, I just log in to my dashboard, select the staging site, click a button to move it to live, choose the hosting plan, and the system handles the rest. All I need to do is update the DNS records, and voilà—it’s done!” – Matthew
Why Choose InstaWP Live?
InstaWP Live is a perfect managed hosting service for WordPress agency. It can be a great partner in your growth. Whether you’re managing a single website or an entire portfolio, our platform is designed to handle your needs with precision and care. Don’t settle for less when you can have the best.
Ready to experience the InstaWP Live difference? Start your journey today and take your websites to the next level.
Closing Thoughts
When Matthew, a WordPress agency owner managing 20+ client websites, decided to switch to InstaWP Live—our cutting-edge managed hosting service—he was on the hunt for a solution that delivered speed, dependability, and cost-effectiveness. What he found surpassed all expectations.
Matthew’s journey with InstaWP Live is a testament to the transformative power of trustworthy, high-performance hosting. If you’re ready to unlock your websites’ potential and leave slow load times behind, it’s time to make the switch. Let InstaWP Live be the engine that drives your success. Try it Today.