Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, announced its WordPress.com Enterprise service Thursday as an option for customers who have outgrown the capabilities of WordPress.com's services but don't need the extra features and expense of WordPress VIP.
It used to be easy to tell the difference between self-hosted WordPress accounts and WordPress.com. WordPress.com was the free, hosted option that offered users a fast, easy way to blog but limited what plugins or design changes a user could make to her site.
Over the years, Automattic has added additional WordPress.com upgrades, letting users remove advertisements from their sites, upload and embed video and better customize the look and feel of the site. At the same time, WordPress has offered its WordPress VIP service for publishers and large content creators. WordPress VIP starts at $3,750 a month -- not including setup fees -- and is used by clients such as The New York Observer and CNN.
At $500 a month, WordPress.com Enterprise is a middle option for customers that need a managed WordPress host but don't need the full weight of WordPress VIP. WordPress.com Enterprise users get unlimited traffic, bandwidth and storage and WordPress.com's VideoPress service is included.
As with WordPress VIP, WordPress.com Enterprise customers get access to a subset of approved WordPress plugins and access to custom and premium designs. WordPress.com Enterprise users can't make PHP customizations but they are allowed to make changes to the structure of the site using JavaScript.
Can WordPress.com Play in the Managed Hosting Space?
The managed hosting space is white-hot. In addition to traditional hosts such as Rackspace and MediaTemple, a number of WordPress-specific managed hosts have started to emerge. In the last 18 months alone, we've seen WPEngine, Page.ly and Synthesis enter the space.
The challenge Automattic will have with WordPress.com Enterprise is that $500 a month is more expensive than most managed hosts -- even with the level of support Automattic says its offering.
I asked Raanan Bar-Cohen, Automattic's VP of media services why a customer should choose WordPress.com Enterprise versus some of the options that can cost several hundred dollars a month less.
He told me,
"With WordPress.com Enterprise you get the best of all worlds and the ability to launch immediately. Enterprise customers receive all the built-in features of WordPress.com, all the premium features of WordPress.com (meaning all paid upgrades and unlimited premium themes), as well as all the amazing built-in features of WordPress.com VIP‚ such as integration with Chartbeat, Flipboard, one-click activation of workflow plugins and more."
That's not really an answer -- especially as many other managed hosts also have close integration with other plugins and services. Still, it's clear Automattic feels that its product is good enough to be worth the extra cost.
Beyond just other WordPress managed hosts, WordPress.com Enterprise also has competition on the low end. Companies such as Squarespace and Tumblr are increasingly used by big brands and companies to create less intricate sites.
Looking at some of the clients hosted on WordPress.com Enterprise, I couldn't help but wonder how many of them would be just fine using Squarespace, which is 1/30th the price -- or even Tumblr.
An Automattic Evolution
Over the last few years, we've watched Automattic evolve from a free, hosted version of WordPress.com into a more focused software-as-a-service platform company. Last month, the company introduced a specific vertical for restaurants to host their sites and, on the high end, it continues to offer VIP support and secure site backups.
This makes a lot of sense because when it comes to the free hosted website space, WordPress.com is trailing Tumblr in the hearts and minds of the public. WordPress -- either self-hosted or .com -- powers more than 17% of the web, however, WordPress.com has fallen far behind Tumblr in terms of number of blogs and pageviews.
It will be interesting to see if the company can make a transition into the mid-level managed hosting space with WordPress.com Enterprise.
Would you consider using WordPress.com Enterprise for your brand or business? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of WordPress
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