In moving provider there are some things you will lose in addition to the obvious changes in responsibility for hosting:
- You will lose access to SMILE support (and the associated SLA) for advice or help with your website. These channels include:
- Live Chat
- Email Ticketed Service Desk
- SMS
- Telephone support
- Your website will no longer be maintained by SMILE
- Your WordPress instance will not be updated by SMILE.
- Your Theme will not be updated for compatibility with WordPress updates.
- Plugins will not be updated by SMILE.
- Security issues will not be resolved by SMILE – you will be responsible for your site security.
- Future deployments maybe trickier, and less automated.
- SMILE will have limited capacity to optimise performance of your site, as the infrastructure will be out of our control.
- You should consider your site’s Plugins
- Any premium plugin licences will need to be sought by the new provider.
- You will not receive updates to SMILE plugins.
- You will need to source a new email provider so that your emails will send as a verified sender. As a HappyPress subscriber you benefit from underlying services such as AWS SES.
- You will not benefit from HappyPress enhancements added via MU Plugins
- You will lose discounts on other SMILE Services, like 5% off Evolve costs
Customers that self-host often make up for these losses by adding hours onto an associated Evolve plan.