Empowering Web Management: A Solo Entrepreneur’s Journey from ManageWP to WP Umbrella
Founded in 2021, UK-based CottamWeb specializes in delivering empathetic, personalized website management services for solopreneurs. With over 40 websites created and 55 currently under management, the company stands out for its unique, holistic approach—pairing technical expertise with mentorship tailored to each client’s needs.
Company Card
- Agency website: Cottam Web
- Year of creation: 2020
- Location: Isle of Man
- Number of employee: 1
- Number of websites made: 40
- Number of websites managed: 55
What’s your role in the company?
I’m Mike Cottam, and I created CottamWeb. I am the business owner and as a one-person-business, I wear all of the hats, from accounting to marketing, as well as being there to service my clients.
Why did you start using WP Umbrella? What support challenges were you trying to overcome?
I was a long-time user of ManageWP (as that was the only solution I could find when I started managing websites back in 2016). But I became disillusioned by MWP and started looking for an alternative service provider that would enable me to manage multiple websites across a varied range of website hosts.
As soon as I started using WP Umbrella, I knew I had found the tool for my website management needs. It works seamlessly with all web hosts and provides me with the reassurance and peace of mind that if I hit any issues, their support team is there to help.
What are the benefits of having WP Umbrella as your WordPress management tool?
The benefits of having WP Umbrella as my WordPress management tool are primarily the exceptional customer support that I receive, the comprehensive suite of management and monitoring tools and also the ease of use when it comes to setting up new clients.
Why did you leave ManageWP for WP Umbrella? Has WP Umbrella allowed you to leave other tools (like backup plugin, monitoring solutions, etc).
Being part of a larger entity, the level of customer support offered by ManageWP became an issue, especially when encountering glitches with their software that impacted the security and stability of my clients websites.
WP Umbrella provides a stable, secure platform from where I can confidently manage all of my clients websites, irrespective of their tech stack or web hosting environment.
How was your experience with the migration service of WP Umbrella? How easy was it to transition from ManageWP to WP Umbrella?
The WP Umbrella migration service was brilliant, and enabled me to quickly switch from ManageWP to them without any impact on my business activities or the service I provide to my clients.
How does WP Umbrella fit into the rest of your WordPress stack? What tools or plugins do you also use?
My own website is built on Rockbase, though my clients sites primarily use Kadence. My go-to WordPress plugins are SlimSEO, SMTO2Go, Kadence Blocks and Kadence Blocks Pro. Within my business, I also use Trello, MS Office365, FreeAgent and FireFlies for note-taking.
What do you think is the biggest benefit of WP Umbrella?
The biggest benefit of using WP Umbrella is peace of mind in knowing that the platform is stable, secure and ever-evolving.
Are there any opportunities you’re excited to unlock with WP Umbrella in the future?
I’m looking forward to seeing the custom reports evolve, especially around time-tracking.
What advice would you give to others considering using WP Umbrella?
Give it a go. The clear pricing structure of WP Umbrella will enable you to step the migration of your sites over to them, so you can use WP Umbrella alongside your existing management tool.