DEV: Holy Hosting, Batman!

Welcome to a very special edition of DEV, where we bubble over with uncontained glee about the newest evolution of our hosting…

✨✨✨✨ UNLIMITED! ✨✨✨✨

(We had to order an extra shipment of sparkle emojis to prepare for this. You’re welcome.)

Forgive our nerdish fervor, but this is kinda a BIG DEAL.

If you’ve been busy touching grass and you’ve missed our recent posts and announcements, strap in.

In addition to the usual tips, goofball tidbits and funny vids, you’re about to get the TL;DR on why this changes everything… and has already inspired our member Rod to invoke the name of the Dark Knight:

In today’s edition:

• Why this ain’t no shared hosting… it’s a totally different beast.
• So how many sites can you REALLY fit on a $15 server? We did the math.
• What our co-founder James is using Unlimited for… and why.

But First: Unlimited… Who IS She?

She’s mysterious. She’s powerful. She contains ✨multitudes.✨

Unlimited is a new way to run oodles of managed WordPress sites, without paying managed hosting pricing per site.

You get your own little slice of the internet, where you control how resources are allocated. Your server. Your rules.

Every site still comes with ALL the WPMU DEV hosting, plugins, bells AND whistles… yet works out to only around 20 cents per site per month. 🤯

Plus, it plays very nicely with the tools you already know and love. Spin up WordPress installs, manage them from your Hub, keep backups flowing, and generally feel like the efficient web wizard your clients know you are.

Game changer, indeed!

Yes, of COURSE there are bigger plans! All the way up to Eta MU with 32 GB RAM, 8 HF-vCPU and 455 GB NVME SSD! The sky’s the limit, babay!

👉 Read the official announcement post.
👉 Oogle Unlimited plans in all their glory.

Wait… How Many Sites Can You Actually Fit?

When we say “oodles” of sites… how many IS that exactly?

Our co-founder James did the math… and it’s kinda outrageous.

(BTW… that featured image? That’s just what happens when James is left unsupervised.😅)

And what sort of sites is James putting on his Unlimited package? Which ones are staying on Dedicated?

👉 Find out here:
Unlimited or Dedicated Hosting? I co-founded WPMU DEV and here’s what I’m genuinely using them for.

After all, each site costs less than the change in your couch cushions… so why hold back?

Why This Goes WAY Beyond Shared Hosting

Limits? Where we’re going, we don’t need limits.

Unlimited transforms hosting like Doc Brown upgraded that DeLorean… and now it casually bends the laws of space-time. (No awkward dates with your teenage mom required.)

So what’s actually different between Unlimited and your stuck-in-the-past shared hosting?

Spoiler: It comes down to 3 things:

1. You get your own little internet bubble

Unlike traditional shared hosting, the only one using your resources is you.

You can run one massive site, 50 small ones, or a chaotic mix of client projects, side hustles, and that snarky little Stargate SG-1 fan blog you’ve been ranting on since 2003.

No noisy neighbors. No getting taken down by someone else’s viral moment. It’s allllll yours!

2. We took the hosting experience you know and love… and made it work at Unlimited scale

We know you feel right at home in The Hub. It’s giving “everything is right here and I don’t need 17 tabs open to look like a genius” vibes.

Switching to Unlimited is like upgrading from a tidy workshop… to a full factory.

But all your tools are still exactly where you left them.

And since it all runs on the same high-frequency infrastructure that WPMU DEV has spoiled you with for years (hello speedy CPUs and NVME SSDs), everything still feels responsive and lightning-fast.

3. 🎶 We’re never gonna lock you down… 🎶

Plans are monthly. And not the “we already charged you, good luck” kind.

We’re talking pro-rata to the day.

None of those 24, 36, or bazillion-month contracts, or a 12-month “discount” that turns into a financial jump scare next year.

Just spin things up when you need them. Scale them while you’re using them. Shut ‘em down when you’re done.

Use a $15 server for just one day? Cool. Cancel it and you get about $14.50 back.

Finally, hosting that understands your workflow… instead of holding it hostage.

Read more here:
👉 Unlimited vs. Shared Hosting: The Breakdown.

Mind Bloggling Facts & Stats

• Austin Ginder is becoming somewhat of a superhero, foiling the plans of yet another villain hiding sneaky backdoors in plugins. (Source)
• 174 PRs merged. 8 first-time contributors. Gutenberg 23.0 has been BUSY. (Source)
• Speaking of Gutenberg, adoption has climbed to over 60% compared to just 37% in 2020. (Source)

Blogs & Resources You Shouldn’t Miss

Draw Attention is a very cool plugin that lets you turn images into clickable, interactive magic.

Oooh, a Guild! I haven’t joined one of those since my WoW days!

Sometimes, the biggest threat to your site… is you.

The WP Minute on hidden revenue: like a treasure hunt, but the treasure is your own underpriced services.

A completely calm and rational take on why WordPress sometimes makes us scream internally.

The next generation of WordPress devs has entered the chat.

🎶 I feel it in my fingers…🎶 Will AI make us lose the “muscle-memory” of manual coding?

Coffee Break Distractions

Someone fed ChatGPT a symphony of farts and it reviewed it like an album: “It has a cool, Lo-Fi, late night, slightly eerie vibe…”

When the code totally works… as long as you DON’T TOUCH IT.

“What the fork just happened, guys?”

If you haven’t seen Floor 796, it’s a gloriously nerdy rabbit hole you’ll lose three hours to.

The real hero of HeroPress: Topher DeRosia has officially shared 300 stories with his inspiring project.

Never underestimate your users’ ability to discover entirely new, never-before-seen ways to use your site incorrectly.

This dude refused to take two trips carrying beach chairs… and became a biblically accurate angel. 👁️🪽

And finally…

What happened to the rest of those sparkle emojis we ordered?

Love this mix of nerdery and nonsense? Forward it to your favorite WordPress weirdo. 💗