Never Use Cloudways

BadClouds
5 min readNov 13, 2023

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In an era where digital presence is paramount, choosing an exemplary hosting service is critical for businesses and individuals. However, the consequences can be devastating when automated systems override human judgment and compassion. This article delves into a troubling experience with CloudWays, a prominent hosting provider, illustrating the potential pitfalls of overreliance on automated processes.

Imagine you’ve stored goods worth millions in a warehouse. Due to a minor technical error, the payment for the last month bounced back (even though you’ve been paying for years), and the warehouse sent you a letter that you still need to receive and then just burned all your merchandise.
Crazy, right?

So, listen to a case that happened to me with CloudWays.

How a $30 oversight can unravel years of hard work is astounding. My wife’s website, a labor of love and intellect, has been erased by CloudWays due to a missed payment notification that unjustly landed in the spam folder: no secondary checks, no phone call, no actual human intervention.

The website, meticulously crafted with hundreds of hours of thought and content development, was worth more than its $10,000 development price.
We’re talking about a treasure trove of courses, customer lists, and user engagements — each with a value in the thousands and all lost.

It’s unfathomable that a company as vast as CloudWays would dispose of a website’s backup as if it were mere trash, not even preserving it for a standard grace period. It’s a disgrace that their customer service can only respond with icy detachment: “There’s nothing to be done.
Read the regulations,” as if their duty is absolved by pointing to the fine print.

From now on, I suggest that anyone considering or currently using their servers think twice. A slight mishap could lead to your website being discarded like waste, the cost of which will dwarf any savings offered. This is not just a failure; it’s a warning.

A Devastating Loss: The Case of an Overlooked Invoice

The incident involves a long-time CloudWays user who suffered a significant loss due to an overlooked payment. Despite being a loyal client for over a decade, their website, valued at over $10,000, was unceremoniously deleted following a missed invoice of just $25. The oversight occurred because the notification was mistakenly sent to the spam folder, an easy and standard error in email communications.

The Impact: More Than Just Data Loss

The deletion of the website is about more than losing a digital space. It represented hundreds of hours of meticulous work, including content development, courses, customer lists, and user engagements. Each of these elements had substantial value in monetary terms and the effort invested. The abrupt erasure of such a significant asset highlights a severe lack of empathy and understanding on the part of CloudWays.

Customer Service: A Cold Response to a Warm Plea

Adding insult to injury, CloudWays’ customer service response was reportedly detached and unhelpful. The advice to “read the regulations” came off as a cold dismissal of a genuine plea for assistance. This response underscores a worrying trend where customer service in some tech companies is reduced to mere regulation quoting, devoid of human understanding or flexibility.

A Warning to Current and Prospective Users

This experience is a stark warning to current and prospective CloudWays users. It suggests that a minor mishap, such as a missed payment, can lead to disproportionate consequences. The incident raises questions about the company’s data preservation policies and customer service approach.

Conclusion: A Call for Human-Centered Service in the Digital Age

The story of this unfortunate experience with CloudWays is a reminder of the need for human-centered approaches in digital services. While automation and regulations are essential for operational efficiency, they should uphold the importance of empathy, flexibility, and understanding in customer service. Users are encouraged to weigh these factors heavily when choosing a hosting service, as the cost of selecting a provider that lacks these qualities can be much higher than any monetary savings.

An Overview of the Service: A Disregard for Customer Information

When choosing a hosting provider, it’s crucial to consider the technical aspects and pricing and the company’s attitude towards its clients and their data. Regrettably, experiences with Cloudways demonstrate that the service can exhibit a careless attitude towards the vital information of its users. The deletion of valuable client data due to a minor payment delay, without prior notification or an attempt to contact the client, speaks volumes about a profound lack of respect for the time and effort of its users. This approach raises doubts about the reliability of Cloudways as a provider and undermines trust in the company as a whole. It’s essential to realize that storing data on a server isn’t just renting space; it’s placing trust in a company, a trust that should not be broken due to automated processes and bureaucratic indifference.

Numerous Negative Reviews Surrounding Cloudways

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