Hosting for WordPress
on AWS
Staq is powered by many AWS services. Centralize your AWS WordPress sites in one platform.
We freed up 70% of our engineers' time and cut AWS costs significantly. Since switching to Staq, client tickets from downtime or slow websites have basically disappeared. With performance, security, updates and infrastructure handled across 700+ sites, we finally have a platform we can trust — and sleep better because of it.Justin Kavanaugh CEO, Sites At Scale · USA · 700+ sites
The AWS services powering every Staq site.
How Staq and AWS work together
Staq provides managed hosting for WordPress solutions on the AWS network. In an easy-to-use interface, the Staq service brings together the necessary AWS services for WordPress along with other features outside of AWS to help better manage WordPress websites at scale. Below is the typical flow from creating a WordPress website on the environment through to deployment and then management.
How a WordPress site is created on Staq
Select an EC2 Instance Region
Select an AWS region. We currently support Sydney (Australia), Oregon (USA) and London (UK). A WordPress site is then installed on an EC2 Instance based on your selected region.
WP Install
A WordPress site is then installed on an EC2 Instance based in your selected region.
Database
Your database does not exist on the EC2 instance. We, instead, host the database within the same region using AWS RDS MariaDB service — giving you a managed, isolated, high-performance database layer separate from your web server.
EBS — Block Storage
All site data, WordPress files, and application data are stored on AWS Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes attached to your EC2 instance. EBS provides fast, durable, and consistent block-level storage — so your site data is always where it needs to be, performing at the speed agencies expect.
What happens after your site is live
Automated Backups via S3
Backups happen automatically, daily. All backups — including media, database, and WordPress files — are stored securely in AWS S3, completely separate from the EC2 instance. A server failure never touches your backup data. Restore with one click, or trigger a manual backup at any time.
Redis Object Cache
Redis Object Cache is built into the Staq platform and runs directly on the EC2 instance. It stores the results of expensive database queries in memory so WordPress doesn't have to re-run them on every request. The result: faster admin, faster front-end, and sites that stay responsive under load — especially WooCommerce stores with high query volumes.
NGINX Image Processing
Image compression, optimisation, and WebP conversion all happen natively on the NGINX layer of your EC2 instance. No third-party pipeline, no external service. Images are processed at the server level the moment they're uploaded — keeping your media fast and your stack lean.
Staq Cache
Staq Cache is a built-in full-page caching layer that works alongside Redis Object Cache and CloudFront. It serves cached pages directly from NGINX — bypassing PHP and the database entirely — so visitors get near-instant page loads. Cache is managed automatically, with one-click purging available from the dashboard.
Take your site live — fast
60 Second GoLive
Staq makes it super easy to take your WordPress site live. It handles everything from moving your site from development to production, changing URLs, removing search engine blockers to generating an SSL certificate. All you have to do is click GO LIVE in the Staq interface.
Staq DNS powered by Route53
It's optional, but if you wish to use AWS Route 53, you can manage all DNS entries within Staq.
Staq CDN powered by CloudFront
1-click deployment of Staq CDN (powered by AWS CloudFront) if you use Staq DNS (powered by AWS Route53). Alternatively, set your 2× CNAME records inside your DNS to push to CloudFront. The CDN offloads plugins, themes, images, videos, and all static files. Staq automatically changes all URLs within WordPress to serve from the CDN edge.
Push WordPress website to CloudFront
When Staq DNS and Staq Next-Gen CDN are active together, Staq creates an alias A record, pushes the entire WordPress site to CloudFront, and reroutes all traffic through the CDN edge — activating AWS Shield DDoS protection automatically. Your entire site is cached at the network edge for maximum speed and resilience.
Cloudflare Integration — Hybrid Setup
Prefer Cloudflare over CloudFront? No problem. Staq's CDN layer is versatile — you can integrate Cloudflare instead of, or alongside, AWS CloudFront for a hybrid hosting architecture. This lets agencies who already rely on Cloudflare for security rules, page rules, or zero-trust access continue using it, while running their WordPress sites on Staq's AWS-powered infrastructure underneath. The best of both networks.
Enterprise-grade security built in
Staq Firewall
The Staq Firewall is purpose-built for both EC2 instances and WordPress. It operates at the server level — not as a plugin — so it stops threats before they ever reach your WordPress installation. Protection covers malicious bots, AI scrapers, brute force attacks, malware injection attempts, and DDoS traffic. You get full visibility into who's blocked, why, and the ability to act immediately from the Staq dashboard.
AWS Shield
When you have Staq Next-Gen CDN enabled, it reroutes your DNS to A records that point to CloudFront. When traffic is routed to CloudFront, the website is automatically protected by AWS Shield — AWS's managed DDoS protection service — at no additional cost. This gives your sites an additional network-layer defence on top of the Staq Firewall.
Multi-Layer Protection
Security on Staq is layered by design: the Staq Firewall secures the EC2 instance and WordPress core, CloudFront + AWS Shield secures at the network edge, and automated plugin vulnerability alerts keep your stack clean. No security plugin required — protection is native to the platform.
A deeper engine — not just bigger servers
In March 2026, Staq completed a 1.5-year infrastructure re-engineering project — re-architecting how scripts execute across NGINX, PHP, and Redis Object Cache. No hardware upgrades. Same EC2 instances, same AWS resources. Every gain came from deep infrastructure engineering: system-level tuning, improved request scheduling, NGINX configuration, networking optimisations, and smarter worker orchestration.
Up to 35% faster PHP execution
PHP 8.2 execution on the new infrastructure is up to 35% faster than the previous platform — measured on a real WooCommerce site with 33 active plugins. Not a clean install. Not ideal conditions. Real-world WordPress, benchmarked honestly.
Up to 42% faster cached page delivery
Cached TTFB dropped from 5.3ms to 3.1ms under PHP 8.2 — a 42% improvement in the time it takes to serve a cached page. For sites serving high volumes of traffic through CloudFront, this means faster edge delivery and better Core Web Vitals scores for your clients.
60% more consistent — no more random slow loads
On the old infrastructure, identical requests could swing from 332ms to 961ms — a 2.9× variance. On the new infrastructure, the same requests stay between 265ms and 326ms — a 1.2× variance. Response time consistency improved by up to 60%. Your clients stop experiencing random slow page loads.
Tested on a real WooCommerce site with 33 active plugins. No CDN, no network effects — pure execution platform performance. All sites on Staq received this upgrade automatically. No action required.
High availability and custom architectures
For agencies and brands with demanding scale, uptime requirements, or unique infrastructure needs — Staq supports high availability configurations and fully custom AWS builds.
High Availability
If your agency or client demands near-zero downtime architecture, Staq can configure multi-availability-zone (multi-AZ) setups on AWS. Load balancing, automatic failover, and redundant infrastructure — built to keep mission-critical WordPress sites online during infrastructure events.
Custom AWS Builds
Need a bespoke infrastructure configuration? Staq's team can design and deploy custom AWS architectures tailored to your requirements — whether that's dedicated EC2 instance types, custom RDS configurations, specific AWS regions, or integrations with your existing AWS account and services.
Talk to the Team
High availability and custom builds are handled on a case-by-case basis. Book a call with the Staq team to discuss your infrastructure requirements — we'll scope what's right for your agency and the clients you serve.
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