Decode Digital
agency Success Story
How Decode Digital Simplified WordPress Hosting and Scaled Their Agency with Staq
The Challenge
Decode Digital is a boutique digital agency run by Ilana and her husband Adam. While the agency appears much larger from the outside, the reality is that the entire operation is managed by just the two of them.
Running an agency with a small team means every tool and system needs to save time, reduce complexity, and help scale operations without adding overhead.
Before moving to Staq, managing hosting was one of the biggest operational headaches.
Some of the main challenges included:
- Sites spread across multiple hosting providers
- Time wasted dealing with hosting tickets and infrastructure issues
- Managing plugin updates manually
- Security concerns and hacked sites
- High costs from servers and third-party tools
- Too many plugins and services required to keep sites running
Ilana explains:
“Managing a couple of hundred clients has always been difficult because they were on different hosts. I’ve had servers where if one site maxes out it takes the rest down. It’s been terrible.”
The complexity of hosting infrastructure was consuming time that should have been spent growing the business.
Discovering Staq
Ilana first tried Staq a couple of years ago with a single website.
What immediately stood out was how simple everything felt.
“I was really intrigued by how streamlined it was. There were no tricks to figure out to go live with a site. Everything was just really easy.”
Sites could be launched quickly with a simple workflow:
- One-click site creation
- Simple staging and go-live process
- Fast site cloning
- A very short learning curve
But the biggest difference was the ability to scale gradually without infrastructure investment.
“Being able to roll sites out one by one without buying servers was huge for us as an agency.”
Moving Everything to Staq
As Ilana continued using Staq, she began noticing new features being released that solved real agency problems.
“I realized it wasn’t just about starting new sites there — I needed to move everything over.”
Over time, Decode Digital migrated more and more websites onto Staq until it became their central hosting platform.
Key Features That Made the Difference
One-Click Staging and Go-Live
Launching sites quickly is critical when managing multiple projects simultaneously.
“The one-click staged go-live is really simple because sometimes I’m doing a few at once. It’s nice to know exactly where you’re at.”
Built-In SMTP
Reliable email delivery is essential for contact forms and eCommerce stores, yet it’s often overlooked.
“The built-in SMTP mailer is huge because websites exist to receive enquiries or orders. Having that built in is massive.”
Plugin Update Automation with Rollback
Before Staq, plugin updates were something Ilana constantly worried about.
“I used to wake up at night thinking I needed to review plugin updates.”
Now updates happen automatically with safety checks and rollback protection.
“Now it doesn’t even enter my head. I know it’s being handled and it rolls back if something goes wrong.”
This removed a constant background stress.
Security and Protection
Security had always been a major concern, especially as the sole developer in the agency.
“Security and not knowing what I don’t know has always been something that worried me.”
With Staq’s built-in security layers and Cloudflare integration, that concern largely disappeared.
Ilana recalls seeing the difference during a real attack:
“We had card testing happening on a site and it was shut down in about 20 transactions. On other hosts we’ve seen thousands go through.”
For the agency, this meant peace of mind.
“Knowing I can sleep comfortably at night without worrying about security is huge.”
Centralized Management
One of the biggest operational improvements came from managing everything in a single platform.
“Having one hosting platform has been amazing.”
With Staq, Ilana can now:
- Login to sites instantly
- Clone sites quickly
- Spin up development environments
- Manage hundreds of sites from one dashboard
“It’s the first thing I open every morning.”
Client Reporting
Decode Digital also benefits from Staq’s reporting tools.
“The client reporting is seamless. It looks really nice and I’ve got everything in one place.”
Human Support
Another major difference compared to other hosts was the support experience.
“With most hosting companies you feel like just a number.”
With Staq, the support experience felt more personal.
“It feels human. Like you’ve got access to people who really know what they’re doing.”
Reducing Tool Sprawl and Costs
Before Staq, Ilana relied on a large collection of plugins and third-party tools to cover different hosting gaps.
Today many of those tools are no longer needed.
“I reckon there’s probably 10 services I’ve dropped or am phasing out. Significant costs are just gone.”
The Result
Staq transformed hosting from a constant operational problem into something that simply runs in the background.
For Decode Digital, the biggest impact has been the ability to focus on building the agency instead of managing infrastructure.
“The workflow means I can actually focus on building the business.”
Why Decode Digital Recommends Staq
Ilana believes the biggest difference between Staq and other WordPress hosts is the focus on agencies.
“Other hosting companies try to serve hobbyists or beginners. Staq feels like an agency solution.”
And that makes all the difference.
“Staq just feels like an agency partner.”
