My Difficult Experience with Cloudways – Why I Returned to Cafe24 | Hosting Review
Hi everyone ๐ข
Today, I want to share a bit of a frustrating story. Itโs about something I went through while switching blog hosting… To be honest, I’m a bit nervous because it’s my first time writing a post like this. I usually share positive stories, things I’ve learned, or good experiences, but today I feel like I need to tell a different story.
However, I’m gathering the courage to write this in case anyone else might make the same mistake. And to give you the conclusion first… it’s a happy ending after all โบ๏ธ
The Temptation of Premium Hosting
You’ve probably seen a lot of ads for overseas hosting, right? Cloudways, Kinsta, SiteGround… just hearing the names makes them sound professional, fast, and stable.
I felt the same way. I was lured in by words like “Global Standard,” “Best Performance,” and “Premium Managed Hosting,” so I chose Cloudways. Cafe24 felt… very Korean and a bit dated? (Looking back, that was a huge misconception.)
๐ฐ Price: $12 per month (approx. 15,000 KRW)
๐ญ Thought: “It’s premium, so of course it costs that much.”
Inconvenience from the Start
As soon as I logged into Cloudways, my first thought was, “Wait, isn’t this for developers?”
The dashboard is complicated. I didn’t know what to click, and to change a single setting, I had to dig through English guide documents. SSH? CLI? The barrier to entry was just too high for an ordinary blogger who doesn’t know what those are.
I just brushed it off, thinking, “Well, at least the performance is good.”
But even the performance… wasn’t as good as I expected.
The Shocking Speed Test
Cloudways + Cloudflare
70 points
Mobile
75 points
PC
Cafe24 Alone
96 points
Mobile
98 points
PC
“This is it for premium hosting…?”
Of course, those aren’t bad scores. But for a service that boasts “best performance,” it was disappointing.
๐ก Key Points
Korea is an IT powerhouse.
- #1 in the world for internet speed
- World-class server infrastructure
- Cafe24 + CDN = The ultimate global combination
Physical servers in Korea (top-tier infrastructure) + Global coverage with Cloudflare CDN = The perfect combination
The 8-Hour Nightmare
8-hour server downtime
โ ERROR 503: Service Unavailable
โฐ 2026.02.28 17:00 ~ 01:00 (8 hours)
February 28th, 5:00 PM. My blog suddenly went down. I couldn’t access it. Only an error page appeared.
Panicked, I contacted Cloudways support. I saw they had a chat consultation, so I connected right away.
Me: “I think the server is down. Please help.”
Agent: “We are checking. Please wait a moment.”
โฑ๏ธ 10 minutes later…
Agent: “I’ve created a ticket for the engineering team. It will be resolved soon.”
โฑ๏ธ 30 minutes later…
Me: “It’s still not working.”
Agent: “We are checking. Please wait a little longer.”
โฑ๏ธ 1 hour later…
Me: “When will this be fixed?”
Agent: “We are doing our best.”
โฑ๏ธ 2 hours later…
Me: “Is there a specific solution?”
Agent: “The engineering team is working on it.”
Once it passed three hours, I started getting angry. They just kept repeating the same lines, and I had no idea what they were actually doing.
So, I tried using the chatbot. Ironically, the chatbot was more helpful. It gave me specific solutions like “Try restarting the server” or “Check this setting.”
๐ What Was Lost
- One recently written post
- Precious comments on the ‘Mureca Refund’ post
- Visitors during those 8 hours
- Trust in the blog
The server was finally restored at 1:00 AM. The blog was down for almost 8 hours.
It really… broke my heart.
The Reality of Their Customer Support
As I kept talking to them, I got the feeling that these people… weren’t actually Cloudways employees.
โ Support Agents
- Slow responses
- No problem-solving ability
- Strictly by the manual
- Felt like freelancers
โ Chatbot
- Instant responses
- Specific solutions
- Clear guidance
- Actually helpful
They have this “ticket system” where the support person doesn’t solve it directly but sends a ticket somewhere else. It seems like a system where someone (maybe an engineer?) sees it and handles it, but…
The problem is there is zero feedback in the meantime.
I didn’t know what they were doing, how long it would take, or if it could even be fixed. Just an endless loop of “We are checking.”
The Journey to Request a Refund
I decided “this isn’t it” and requested a refund.
Me: “I would like a refund.”
Agent: “I’ll send you a link to the refund guidelines.”
[Link] ๐
They just sent the link and that was it.
No “I’ll help you with that” or “What was the issue?” Just a link and done.
I filled out the refund request, submitted it… and waited.
โณ
20 minutes…
30 minutes…
“We are reviewing your refund request.”
I was so heated at this point that I turned on some ASMR ๐ I felt like I was going to lose it otherwise.
So, Where Did I Go?
I came back to Cafe24.
At first, I worried, “Am I just going backward?” But… it was a complete plot twist.
๐ Cafe24 Speed Test Results
Mobile
96
/ 100 points
PC
98
/ 100 points
A near-perfect score! ๐
Wait, almost 100?
When I used Cloudways + Cloudflare, it was in the 70s, but with Cafe24 alone, it hit nearly 100.
I couldn’t believe it, so I tested again and again… and the scores stayed consistent.
Turns Out Korean IT Was the Best All Along
I found out later that even overseas users use Cafe24.
People who know that “Korean hosting + CDN = fast anywhere in the world” specifically seek out Cafe24. It’s just that most people don’t know about it.
๐ฐ๐ท Strengths of Korean IT
- Internet Speed: #1 in the world ๐ฅ
- Server Infrastructure: World-class ๐ช
- Cafe24 + CDN: The ultimate global combination ๐
Services like Kinsta, Cloudways, and SiteGround… honestly feel like a victory for marketing.
Actual performance is much better with Korean hosting, but people pay a premium for the “global brand” image.
Who Would I Recommend Them To?
To be fair, Cloudways isn’t bad for everyone.
โ๏ธ Recommended for Cloudways
- People with development knowledge
- Sites targeting a global audience
- When you want to tinker with plugins
- Server specialists
๐ฐ๐ท Recommended for Cafe24
- When Korean visitors are the main target
- When speed is critical
- When you prefer automatic settings
- When you need Korean-language support
I was definitely the latter.
Advantages of Cafe24
Great things about Cafe24 I realized after coming back:
1๏ธโฃ Korean Language Support
It’s obvious, but I don’t have to look for guides in English. If I don’t know something, I can just ask the help center and get an answer immediately.
2๏ธโฃ Fast Speed
Since the servers are in Korea, it’s naturally fast for Korean visitors. Physical distance matters. Add a CDN to this, and global performance is great too!
3๏ธโฃ Intuitive Interface
It’s not complicated like Cloudways. You can see where everything is right away.
4๏ธโฃ Stability
Things like an 8-hour downtime… never happened once while using Cafe24.
5๏ธโฃ Price
The price is a bit higher, but it’s much more convenient to use than Cloudways.
Calming My Mind
๐ง
I’m listening to ASMR even as I write this, haha.
Honestly, I was very angry. The blog was down for 8 hours, posts were lost, comments were gone… losing those memories was the most upsetting part.
But this is also an experience. And I learned a lot thanks to it:
๐ Lessons Learned
- Don’t be misled by marketing – Don’t be fooled by words like “Global” or “Premium.”
- Testing is important – You don’t know until you try it yourself.
- Korean services are great – In fact, they can be the best in the world.
- Backups are essential – Data can be lost at any time.
Advice for You
If you are currently debating which hosting to choose:
๐ก Hosting Selection Guide
1. Think about where your target visitors are first.
- If many are in Korea โ Korean hosting
- If many are overseas โ Korean hosting + CDN or consider overseas hosting
2. Assess your technical level.
- If you don’t know much about development โ An intuitive place like Cafe24
- If you’re good at development โ A place like Cloudways is also OK
3. Be sure to test it yourself.
- Check the refund policy
- Try it out first
- Run speed tests
- Then decide
4. Use reviews only as a reference.
- Just because it didn’t fit me doesn’t mean it won’t fit you.
- Conversely, just because it was good for someone else doesn’t mean it will be good for you.
Conclusion: Back to Cafe24, and I’m Happy
There’s no place like home โบ๏ธ
โจ Final Results
Speed
2xโ
Stability
100%
Satisfaction
โญโญโญโญโญ
Cafe24 is truly the best ๐
In the end, I returned to Cafe24, and I’m very satisfied with it now โบ๏ธ
The experience at Cloudways… was a bad memory, but thanks to it, I was able to make a better choice.
Key Message
Just because something is from overseas doesn’t mean it’s automatically better. Korean IT is world-class. We just didn’t realize it.
I hope you make a wise choice too!
And if anyone is using Cloudways and having a good experience, please share in the comments. It just wasn’t the right fit for me, but it might be the perfect service for someone else ๐
Thank you!
– Best, Seojun
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