The Outcome – Simplicity and Savings
Discover the cost savings, security improvements, and scalability benefits after migrating from WordPress to AWS.
Published on Jan 29, 2025
Table of Contents
Introduction
Migrating my website to AWS was not just a technical shift—it was a complete transformation in cost efficiency, security, scalability, and mental clarity.
This transition has allowed me to consolidate services, eliminate unnecessary expenses, and position my business for future growth without added complexity. Here’s a breakdown of the impact.
Cost Comparison Before and After Migration
One of the most significant benefits of migrating to AWS was the dramatic reduction in costs. My previous WordPress setup required multiple vendors, recurring plugin fees, and VPS hosting that I wasn’t fully utilizing. Here’s how the numbers compare:
Costs with WordPress
- VPS Hosting: $5 per month for a VPS, which was underutilized and felt like a waste.
- Semplice Theme: A one-time cost of $168 for the WordPress theme.
- Yoast SEO Premium: An annual subscription costing $104.94.
Costs with AWS
- Hosting on AWS: With AWS’s pay-as-you-go model and free tier, my current hosting cost is less than $1 per month.
- 11ty and TailwindCSS: These free tools replaced the need for paid WordPress themes.
- Built-in SEO Features: Full access to my website’s code allows me to implement SEO optimizations without needing a paid plugin like Yoast.
Impact of Cost Savings
Moving to AWS has resulted in substantial savings while giving me more flexibility. I no longer pay for services I don’t fully use, and I have complete control over my website’s functionality.
Security and Performance Improvements
AWS has significantly improved both the security and performance of my website, especially when it comes to global accessibility and resilience against cyber threats.
Faster Global Loading Speeds
Since moving to Portugal, I’ve noticed a clear improvement in my website’s loading times compared to my visit last year. This is due to AWS CloudFront’s global content delivery network (CDN), which caches my website across multiple AWS edge locations worldwide. Unlike my previous VPS setup, which relied on a single server, CloudFront ensures fast loading speeds for users no matter where they are.
Free SSL Certificates Without Unnecessary Renewals
When I was using Cloudflare, I kept receiving unnecessary email notifications about SSL certificate renewals, adding noise to my workflow. With AWS Certificate Manager, my SSL certificates are automatically handled for free, eliminating the hassle of manual renewals.
Built-in DDoS Protection with AWS Shield
One of the biggest security improvements is AWS Shield’s built-in protection against DDoS attacks. With my previous VPS hosting, I had no protection—an attack could have easily taken my website offline. Now, any potential DDoS attack would have to take down AWS’s global infrastructure, making my site significantly more secure.
Improved Infrastructure: From a Single VPS to AWS Cloud Services
In my old setup, I relied on a single VPS to handle all website traffic, making scalability difficult. Now, with CloudFront for content delivery and Route 53 for DNS management, my website benefits from enterprise-grade infrastructure that is both highly available and fault-tolerant.
AWS has not only made my site faster and more secure but also eliminated manual security tasks that I used to manage with my old hosting provider.
Accessibility to Analytics and Payment Integrations
Moving to AWS has given me full control over analytics tracking and payment processing, eliminating the need for bulky WordPress plugins.
Advanced Analytics Without Extra Costs
In WordPress, access to custom event tracking required premium plugins. Now, with full control over my website’s code, I can easily implement Google Analytics custom events, tracking interactions such as:
- Scroll depth on key pages
- Clicks on service offerings
- Interactions with external links
Additionally, I can fully utilize structured data (schema markup) and OpenGraph metadata for better SEO ranking and optimized social media previews—all without paying for Yoast or other plugins.
Lightweight Payment Processing with AWS Lambda
With WordPress, setting up an eCommerce feature meant installing resource-heavy plugins that often slowed down the site. I prefer a leaner, more optimized approach.
- Instead of relying on WordPress-based eCommerce plugins, I let AWS Lambda handle Stripe payments, keeping my website pages lightweight.
- With WordPress, I would have needed a dedicated server to handle API requests. AWS Lambda eliminates that need, allowing me to process payments on demand, only when needed.
By leveraging AWS Lambda and API Gateway, I’ve removed unnecessary complexity while improving performance, cost efficiency, and scalability.
Scalability for Future Growth Without Added Complexity
One of the biggest advantages of migrating to AWS is the ability to scale my business effortlessly, without unnecessary technical barriers.
Easy Subdomain Management Under One Vendor
In the past, setting up subdomains on my VPS was complicated and not intuitive. Additionally, I had to rely on multiple vendors—one for my website domain and another for API requests. This fragmented approach made management difficult.
With AWS, everything is under one provider, making subdomain management seamless. I can create new subdomains effortlessly, such as:
- Website:
www.devscreativestudio.com(CloudFront) - API:
api.devscreativestudio.com(API Gateway) - Future Chat Feature:
chat.devscreativestudio.com(Potential WebSocket Service)
Having this level of control under **one vendor** is a relief and removes the complexity of working with multiple service providers.
AWS Makes Cloud-Based Growth Manageable
AWS offers a vast ecosystem of services, making it easy to integrate new features as my business grows. Whether I need:
- Real-time messaging
- AI-powered chatbots
- Additional API functionalities
AWS provides the tools to implement these features without requiring me to manage dedicated servers.
With CloudFront, Route 53, API Gateway, and Lambda handling the foundation of my web presence, I can confidently scale my business without worrying about performance limitations or increased complexity.
Final Thoughts: Simplicity, Savings, and Peace of Mind
Migrating to AWS has not only reduced my expenses but also simplified my website management, giving me full control over my infrastructure. By moving away from WordPress and Kamatera VPS hosting, I no longer feel weighed down by unnecessary costs, bloated plugins, or fragmented services.
Beyond the financial savings, this migration has given me mental clarity. The more I have to juggle, the heavier I feel—and AWS has helped lighten that load. Now, I can focus on growing my business in a streamlined, scalable way, knowing that my website, API, and future services are all under one unified platform.
With AWS, I no longer have to maintain a server, worry about plugin costs, or deal with performance limitations. Instead, I have a cost-effective, highly scalable, and secure solution that grows with my business—allowing me to concentrate on what truly matters.