Guides

Guides from the engineers who run the platform

Practical guides on WordPress, hosting, online shops and AI website builders, written by the team that builds G7Cloud.

Abstract diagram contrasting a flat generated design with a layered working application

Best AI Website Builders in 2026

Wix ADI, Framer AI, 10Web, Durable and G7Cloud compared: what each AI actually builds, what you own at the end, and which one fits your project.

G7Cloud Engineering·18 Jun 2026·8 min read

Abstract stack of translucent blue glass panels receding into shadow, suggesting compounding layers.

Performance9 min

Why WordPress Speed Should Not Rely on Plugins

Caching and optimisation plugins run PHP before they help. Here is why WordPress speed should not rely on plugins, and what your hosting should do instead.

G7Cloud Engineering · 28 Mar 2025

Three abstract performance gauges resting in the green, on a soft blue gradient.

Performance10 min

Core Web Vitals for WordPress: The 2026 Guide

A plain guide to Core Web Vitals for WordPress: what LCP, INP and CLS mean, the current thresholds, how to measure them, and the exact fixes for each one.

G7Cloud Engineering · 15 Mar 2025

Abstract emerald concentric shield rings deflecting streaks of light before they reach a central glow.

Security9 min

How to Secure a WordPress Site Beyond Plugins

A security plugin only acts once a threat has reached PHP. Lasting protection comes in layers: a firewall in front, least access, updates, backups, isolation.

G7Cloud Engineering · 10 Mar 2025

Two glass boxes: one crowded with jostling shapes, one holding a single shape with space around it.

Hosting8 min

Managed vs Shared WordPress Hosting: The Difference

Shared hosting is cheaper on paper. Managed hosting isolates your site and takes on the hard jobs. Here is the difference, and which one your site needs.

G7Cloud Engineering · 28 Feb 2025

Abstract teal bars stepping downward beneath a falling curve, representing conversions dropping as load time rises.

Business8 min

How Website Speed Affects Conversions and Sales

Slower pages lose sales in a measured, repeatable way. Here is the research, a simple way to turn speed into a revenue figure, and where hosting fits in.

G7Cloud Engineering · 15 Feb 2025

Abstract layered violet panels in depth, one brighter panel pulled forward, suggesting versioned backup copies kept in separate places.

WordPress10 min

WordPress Backup Strategy: How Often to Back Up

How often should you back up a WordPress site? Daily for most, hourly for shops. Here is the frequency, the 3-2-1 rule, and how to test a restore.

G7Cloud Engineering · 1 Feb 2025

Abstract diagram of dynamic cart traffic separating from cached page traffic

Performance11 min

How to Speed Up WooCommerce: A Complete Guide

WooCommerce is slow because carts and checkout cannot be cached. How to fix it: page caching rules, object caching, database clean-up and enough PHP workers.

G7Cloud Engineering · 20 Jan 2025

Abstract illustration of a shield deflecting a converging storm of arrows away from a calm central core.

Security9 min

DDoS Protection for WordPress: A Plain Guide

How DDoS attacks work, why a WordPress plugin cannot stop one, and how filtering traffic in front of your site keeps it online. A calm, practical guide.

G7Cloud Engineering · 10 Jan 2025

Abstract violet illustration of five hosting towers with one warmly lit and the others marked with meter lines.

Hosting9 min

Best WordPress Hosting UK: A Buyer's Guide (2026)

How to choose UK WordPress hosting on billing, isolation and backups that restore, and how Kinsta, WP Engine, SiteGround and Cloudways charge you for it.

G7Cloud Engineering · 5 Jun 2026

Two coloured ribbons diverging from a shared origin, representing two ecommerce paths.

Ecommerce11 min

WooCommerce vs Shopify (UK, 2026): Cost & Ownership

WooCommerce vs Shopify for a UK shop: the full monthly costs, how transaction fees grow with sales, who owns what, and a third option worth knowing about.

G7Cloud Engineering · 25 Jun 2026

Linux7 min

Linux Package Managers: apt and dnf for Beginners

A beginner's guide to apt and dnf: installing, searching, removing and holding packages, what a repository is, and the equivalent command on each distribution.

G7Cloud Engineering · 30 May 2024

Linux7 min

How to Check CPU, Memory and Disk Usage on Linux

The commands that show what a Linux server is really doing: load average, free memory, disk space and I/O wait, and how to read each one correctly.

G7Cloud Engineering · 8 Aug 2024

Linux6 min

How to Add a User to a Group on Linux

Add a user to a Linux group with usermod without wiping their existing groups. Covers primary and secondary groups, and why changes need a fresh login.

G7Cloud Engineering · 21 Jun 2024

Linux8 min

How to Clear the Chrome DNS Cache

Clear Chrome's internal DNS and socket cache, flush your operating system resolver, and check what the public internet actually sees after a DNS change.

G7Cloud Engineering · 14 Feb 2024

Linux7 min

How to Extract .gz and .tar.gz Files on Linux

The difference between .gz and .tar.gz, the commands to extract each one, how to keep the original, and how to unpack a huge archive without filling the disk.

G7Cloud Engineering · 18 Jul 2024

Linux6 min

How to List Users on Linux

List every user account on a Linux server, separate people from system accounts, and see who is logged in now or has logged in recently, with exact commands.

G7Cloud Engineering · 27 Mar 2024

Hosting10 min

How to Read a Hosting SLA: Uptime and Recovery

What uptime percentages, support response times and recovery targets commit a host to, which exclusions matter, and what to ask before you sign up.

G7Cloud Engineering · 14 May 2025

Linux7 min

How to Reboot a Linux Server Safely: Every Command

The commands that reboot a Linux server, how to schedule and cancel one, and the pre-flight checks that stop a routine restart turning into an outage.

G7Cloud Engineering · 12 Sept 2024

Performance7 min

How to Tune PHP-FPM for Performance

Size PHP-FPM pools from real memory figures, choose between dynamic and ondemand, and fix the 502 errors that come from max_children being set too low.

G7Cloud Engineering · 6 Dec 2024

Linux8 min

How to Run a Speed Test from the Linux Terminal

Measure download speed, upload speed and latency on a headless Linux server using curl, speedtest-cli and iperf3, with the exact commands and how to read them.

G7Cloud Engineering · 31 Aug 2024

Linux9 min

Linux File Permissions for Web Servers and WordPress

The correct file and folder permissions for a Linux web server, why 777 breaks security, and the commands to reset a WordPress install without breaking it.

G7Cloud Engineering · 4 Nov 2024

Linux7 min

Linux Users, Groups and Permissions Explained

How Linux users, groups and file permissions fit together: UIDs, primary and secondary groups, chmod and chown, umask and the special permission bits.

G7Cloud Engineering · 19 Oct 2024

Performance8 min

Offloading WordPress Media to External Storage

When moving WordPress media to object storage helps, when it hurts, how to move it without breaking image URLs, and how to keep a UK site's images fast.

G7Cloud Engineering · 22 Apr 2025

WordPress7 min

PHP Versions for WordPress: Which One to Run

Which PHP version WordPress should run on, how to check the one you are using, and how to upgrade without breaking the site when a plugin will not cooperate.

G7Cloud Engineering · 11 Feb 2025

Performance6 min

How to Safely Trim a Large WordPress Database

Find what is filling a WordPress or WooCommerce database, delete the parts that are safe to remove, and leave orders, customers and logins untouched.

G7Cloud Engineering · 8 Mar 2025

Linux6 min

How to Safely Update and Patch a Linux Server

Apply security patches to a Linux server without breaking the sites on it: what to check first, how to separate security from feature updates, and rollback.

G7Cloud Engineering · 25 Sept 2024

Linux7 min

SCP Command Examples: Copy Files Over SSH

Practical scp examples for copying files and folders between Linux servers over SSH, with the flags that matter and when rsync is the better tool for the job.

G7Cloud Engineering · 15 Apr 2024

Performance7 min

Nginx Reverse Proxy Cache: A Complete Setup Guide

Set up an Nginx reverse proxy cache from scratch: proxy_cache_path, cache keys, bypass rules for logged-in users, serving stale pages and purging the cache.

G7Cloud Engineering · 2 Oct 2024

WordPress7 min

Fix High CPU and Memory Usage on WordPress

Find what is really using CPU and memory on a WordPress site (bots, slow queries, heavy plugins or a missing cache) before you pay for a bigger server.

G7Cloud Engineering · 16 Jan 2025

Linux7 min

Linux System Logs and Where to Find Them

Where every Linux log lives, how to read journalctl and the files in /var/log, and how to find the entry that explains an outage instead of endless noise.

G7Cloud Engineering · 3 Jul 2024

Linux7 min

nload: Monitor Live Network Traffic on Linux

Install nload and read live inbound and outbound bandwidth on a Linux server, plus when iftop, nethogs or vnstat answer the question nload cannot.

G7Cloud Engineering · 9 May 2024

WordPress6 min

WordPress Cron: Fix Missed Tasks and WooCommerce

Why WP-Cron misses scheduled tasks, how that breaks WooCommerce emails and stock sync, and how to move to a server cron job that runs on time, every time.

G7Cloud Engineering · 20 Nov 2024

Performance7 min

WordPress Object Caching with Redis and Memcached

What object caching does for WordPress, when it helps and when it will not, how to choose between Redis and Memcached, and how to prove it is working.

G7Cloud Engineering · 19 Dec 2024

Fixed prices in GBP · the same at renewal

Hosting from £12 a month. Or start free.

Pick a plan for your site, shop or app, hosted in the UK at a fixed monthly price. Or try the AI Website Builder on the Free plan.

Moving a site, or something unusual? Talk to an engineer

No card needed on the Free plan

30-day money-back on paid plans

Hosted in the UK