RS Mediaworks
Robert Schuurink
RS Mediaworks ยท Customer since 2023
At RS Mediaworks, we've been building websites for our clients since 2017. We've since grown into a full-service advertising agency, but web design and development are still a big part of what we do. We managed more than 90 WordPress sites on a DirectAdmin environment. It worked, but we wanted to move faster and spend less time on hosting administration.
We started discussing Core in late April. In May we made a plan together, and in early June we moved more than 90 sites in two weeks. Cyberfusion handled most of the work. After the move, one measured website went from a response time of around five seconds to 200 milliseconds.
- Sites moved
- 90+
- Response time
- 5 s → 200 ms
From web design to a full-service agency
I started RS Mediaworks in 2017 because I loved web design. Since then we've grown into a full-service advertising agency. We help clients with their websites, but also with other marketing and communication work.
Websites still matter a great deal to us. You can spend a lot of time on design and content, but visitors notice immediately when a site is slow. And when something breaks, our clients call us. I want us to be able to act quickly.
Our sites initially ran on our own server at TransIP. We then moved to Cyberfusion, who managed a DirectAdmin environment. Core was our next step. So this wasn't our first migration together.
Moving more than 90 sites in two weeks
We began talking to Cyberfusion about Core at the end of April. We wanted to make the move, but we had more than 90 sites to think about. So in May we drew up a migration plan together. We started in early June, and two weeks later the sites were on Core.
Cyberfusion took care of most of the migration. That meant we had to set aside relatively little time ourselves, which helped because our clients and ongoing projects didn't stop.
From about 5 seconds to 200 milliseconds
The first thing that stood out after the move was the speed. On one of the measured sites, response time fell from roughly five seconds to 200 milliseconds.
For us, that's more than an impressive number. We want to deliver websites that work well long after a project launches. Visitors benefit directly when pages respond quickly. It also makes development and maintenance more pleasant for our own team.
Core is set up with the applications we're hosting in mind. For our WordPress projects that includes:
- An optimised PHP configuration that makes websites fast and keeps them fast
- Redis in one click
- Automatic database optimisation for WordPress
rsmediaworks.nl
businessclubtopspinners.nl
Less time spent on hosting admin
We build websites for clients. Hosting is part of that, but I don't want my team spending a lot of time on server administration.
With DirectAdmin, a lot of things went through a traditional hosting control panel. Core automates more of the work and lets our developers handle many things themselves. It cuts down the number of steps in day-to-day tasks.
For example, we can create staging environments, make and restore backups ourselves, and log directly into WordPress. When you manage dozens of sites, those small time savings add up.
From one DirectAdmin login to central access management
We used to manage the hosting through one DirectAdmin login. On Core, we can give everyone an individual account and manage access by team or project. That's an important improvement for us:
- Personal accounts: nobody has to share a password any more.
- Central access management: decide from one place who gets access to which projects.
- Teams and permissions: access can be set according to what someone actually works on.
- Two-factor authentication: can be made mandatory for every team member.
- Simpler to manage people: when someone leaves, their access can be revoked without changing shared passwords.
This is especially useful when people join or leave the team. We don't need to share a password, and we have more control over who can access what.
Health checks: automatic insight into security
Another feature I like is the health checks. Core checks whether important security settings are configured correctly. For example:
- Whether the firewall is configured correctly.
- Whether databases are stored encrypted.
- Whether SSH access is key-only.
- Whether two-factor authentication is switched on.
- Whether modern internet standards are applied correctly.
That means we don't need to run through all those checks ourselves each time. We can see what needs attention and explain to clients more clearly how their hosting is secured.
Two migrations, one trusted hosting partner
This was our second migration with Cyberfusion. We had already moved from our own server to DirectAdmin. Both times, we had help from engineers who knew what they were doing. That saved us a lot of investigation on our side.
I also appreciate how quickly our questions get answered. If we run into something, we can speak directly with the engineers. We don't have to go through layer after layer before someone can look at the technical issue with us.
How the move went
The conversation about Core
At the end of April we talked to Cyberfusion about moving from DirectAdmin to Core.
A migration plan, together
Together we planned which sites would move when and what it would take.
More than 90 sites live on Core
Within two weeks we had more than 90 sites on Core. The old DirectAdmin accounts remained available until the last DNS changes were done.
More room for the work clients pay for
The move to Core has helped us in several ways. Our sites respond faster, we spend less time on day-to-day hosting administration, and moving more than 90 sites took surprisingly little work on our part.
We also have more control over who can access client projects, and the health checks make it easier to see how security is configured. That matters when you work for so many different clients.
Ultimately, I want our team to spend its time building and improving websites. It's good to know the hosting is taken care of, and to know who to call if we need help. That leaves us with more time for our clients.
