After almost 27 years using Rackspace as our email provider, they have suddenly announced that they are increasing our email pricing by an astronomical 706%, with only a month and a half’s notice. There have been reasonable price increases over the years as expected, but nothing like this.

As it turns out, we are not alone. Rackspace has also raised prices for many of its other customers as well.

Unfortunately, due to this significant price increase, we are now separating our email pricing from our hosting pricing to cover the increased costs of keeping our operations running. Your hosting pricing will not change, but if you are using any email, it will be charged separately at the new rate.

Starting on March 1st, 2026, we will be charging $3/month per existing Rackspace mailbox being used. We are also working with another email provider, PolarisMail, that will reduce the price to $1.50/month per mailbox if you choose to migrate to that service (we will help with the migration).

To save costs, you may want to consider reducing the number of mailboxes you use or switching to another service, such as Gmail.

Here’s a breakdown of the new charges for email:

• 1 mailbox = $3.00/month
  • $1.50/month if you migrate to the new email system

• 2 mailboxes = $6.00/month
  • $3.00/month if you migrate to the new email system

• 3 mailboxes = $9.00/month
  • $4.50/month if you migrate to the new email system

• 4 mailboxes = $12.00/month
  • $6.00/month if you migrate to the new email system

• 5 mailboxes = $15.00/month
  • $7.50/month if you migrate to the new email system

Additional mailboxes are $3.00/month each or $1.50/month if you migrate to the new system.

Thank you for your business over the years. We really appreciate it and we wish we were not faced with such an abrupt, unexpected change in pricing that we have to pass along.

If you have any questions, including about migrating to our new lower-priced email service, please submit a support ticket.

Starting immediately, here’s how your new visit limit will look:

This means more visitors can see your content, images, videos, and everything that makes your website uniquely yours, all while continuing to enjoy the same great features of our Managed WordPress hosting service.

What’s Next?

If you’re already a customer, your view increase has been applied automatically; no action is required.

If you’re considering Managed WordPress hosting, now is a great time to start. You get enhanced value with view increases across every plan, expert WordPress support, and a secure, high-performance hosting environment.

Learn more about our plans or sign up here: https://laughingsquid.us/managed-wordpress-hosting/

Questions or Need Help Migrating?

Reach out anytime to our support team, and we’ll be happy to assist with moving your site or answering any questions: https://laughingsquid.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Thank you for trusting Laughing Squid with your hosting needs. We look forward to helping your website thrive with even more space and all the great Managed WordPress hosting features you expect.

P.S. – A Quick Note for Our Legacy Cloud Sites Customers:
We’ve recently released the replacement for Legacy Cloud Sites, called Cloud Hosting. It is a feature-rich hosting platform with a free auto-renewing SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt. It’s here to keep your site running for the long term, all for the same price as your existing Cloud Sites plan. See the details here: https://laughingsquid.us/cloud-hosting/

— The Laughing Squid Hosting Team

For customers who prefer more control and flexibility than our Cloud Sites offering provides, Cloud Hosting represents a significant leap forward in performance, reliability, and freedom from the constraints that have held back Cloud Sites.

The Problem with Feature Freezes

As many of you are aware, Cloud Sites has been in a feature freeze, meaning that no new PHP versions, MariaDB updates, or other feature enhancements are currently planned by Liquid Web. While we continue to support existing Cloud Sites customers, we recognize that many of our customers need hosting that evolves with modern web standards and growing business requirements.

What Makes Cloud Hosting Different?

Lightning-Fast NVMe Storage

Our Legacy Cloud Sites hosting relies on older spinning hard drive technology, but Cloud Hosting harnesses the power of NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) storage, delivering up to 6x faster performance than standard SSDs. Your databases load faster, files transfer quicker, and your websites respond better to visitor requests.

What this means for you: Page load times drop, better search rankings, and happier visitors who don’t bounce due to slow performance.

Always Current Software Stack

No more feature freezes! Cloud Hosting provides:

• Latest PHP versions (8.x and beyond as they’re released)
• Updated MariaDB with performance improvements and security patches
• Modern server software that stays current with web standards
• Automatic security updates to keep your sites protected

Free Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates

Every Cloud Hosting plan includes an automatic SSL certificate through Let’s Encrypt. Your sites get:

• Industry-standard encryption trusted by all major browsers
• Automatic installation and renewal – no manual intervention required
• Certificates for all your hosted domains and subdomains

Enterprise-Level Security

• An isolated server environment protects you from other users’ vulnerabilities
• Built-in DDoS protection shields against attacks
• Hardware-based firewalls provide multiple layers of security

Cloud Hosting Plans and Pricing

We offer multiple Cloud Hosting plans to match your specific needs:

CH1 – 60GB Bandwidth – 3GB Disk Space

CH2 – 70GB Bandwidth – 4GB Disk Space

CH3 – 80GB Bandwidth – 5GB Disk Space

Forwarding – 50 GB Bandwidth – 0GB Disk Space

All plans include: Free SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and DirectAdmin control panel.

Migration Made Simple

Worried about the complexity of moving from Cloud Sites to Cloud Hosting? Don’t be. We provide:

• Free migration assistance from our technical team
• Zero-downtime data transfer for most configurations
• Rollback options if you need to make adjustments

Why Choose Cloud Hosting Over Other Options?

vs. Cloud Sites

• Latest software vs. often outdated versions
• Free included SSL vs. purchase
• Fully featured control panel vs. minimal control panel

vs. Unmanaged VPS

• Optimized configurations vs. manual setup
• Security hardening included vs. self-managed
• Free migration assistance vs. complex self-transfers

vs. Premium Hosting Providers

• Competitive pricing without sacrificing quality
• Personal service vs. corporate anonymity
• Transparent pricing vs. hidden fees

The Laughing Squid Difference

When you choose Cloud Hosting through Laughing Squid, you’re not just getting superior hosting technology – you’re getting:

• 27+ years of hosting experience and expertise
• Personal relationships with customers, not ticket numbers
• Transparent communication about service changes and updates
• Fair pricing without surprise fees or aggressive upselling
• Technical knowledge from people who genuinely care about your success

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I keep my current domain and email setup?

A: Absolutely! We can host your website, email, and DNS, or any combination of the three.

Q: What if I need help managing the server?

A: Cloud Hosting is fully managed. We handle server maintenance, security updates, monitoring, and optimization so you can focus on your website.

Q: How long does migration take?

A: Most migrations complete within 24 hours, often much faster for standard configurations.

Q: What control panel do I get?

A: Instead of the proprietary Cloud Sites control panel, you get a standard DirectAdmin control panel included at no extra cost.

Q: Is there a setup fee?

A: No setup fees. Ever. What you see is what you pay.

Ready to Make the Move?

Cloud Hosting represents the future of reliable, high-performance hosting without the limitations of previous offerings.

Have questions? Ready to experience the difference?

• Contact support: https://laughingsquid.us/support/
• Fill out our order form: https://laughingsquid.us/order

Don’t let feature freezes freeze your potential. Upgrade to Cloud Hosting today and experience hosting that grows with your ambitions.

– Laughing Squid Hosting Team

Starting immediately, here’s how your new storage levels will look:

This means more room for your content, images, videos, and everything that makes your website uniquely yours, all while continuing to enjoy the same great features of our Managed WordPress hosting service.

What’s Next?

If you’re already a customer, your storage increase has been applied automatically; no action is required.

If you’re considering Managed WordPress hosting, now is a great time to start. You get enhanced value with storage increases across every plan, expert WordPress support, and a secure, high-performance hosting environment.

Learn more about our plans or sign up here: https://laughingsquid.us/managed-wordpress-hosting/

Questions or Need Help Migrating?

Reach out anytime to our support team, and we’ll be happy to assist with moving your site or answering any questions: https://laughingsquid.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Thank you for trusting Laughing Squid with your hosting needs. We look forward to helping your website thrive with even more space and all the great Managed WordPress hosting features you expect.

P.S. – A Quick Note for Our Cloud Sites Customers:
You’re absolutely still on our radar! We’ve got some exciting news in the works just for you, and we can’t wait to share the details. Stay tuned — something bigger, faster, and better is coming your way soon!

— The Laughing Squid Hosting Team

We have launched Cloud Hosting, a powerful new hosting option to replace Cloud Sites and address the “feature freeze” issue.

Cloud Sites “Feature Freeze”

As trusted partners for your web hosting needs, we want to inform our valued customers about an important update from Liquid Web regarding the Cloud Sites service. Effective immediately, Cloud Sites has entered a “feature freeze”. This blog post explains what this means for your hosting services, why Liquid Web made this decision, and your options moving forward.

What Does a “Feature Freeze” Mean for You?

A “feature freeze” means that while Liquid Web will continue to support the Cloud Sites platform in its current state and promptly resolve any outages or issues, there are no plans to further develop or update the service. This includes no new PHP or MariaDB versions or feature enhancements. The service will remain operational and stable, but will not receive any further developmental updates.

Your websites will continue to function normally, security patches will still be applied, and the Liquid Web support team remains committed to resolving any technical issues that may arise. This is not a total service discontinuation but rather a shift in Liquid Web’s development focus.

Your Options Moving Forward

We understand that changes like this require clear pathways forward. We’re committed to ensuring you have excellent options for your hosting needs:

Option 1: Our Managed WordPress Hosting with Pressable

For WordPress sites, we can migrate you to our Managed WordPress hosting solution in partnership with Pressable. This service offers:

• Impressive performance metrics with excellent speed and reliability.
• A free auto-renewing SSL certificate through Let’s Encrypt.
• Edge Caching and CDN for enhanced global performance.
• Auto-scaling to handle traffic spikes without manual intervention.
• WordPress-specific security features through a free Jetpack Security plan.

You can learn more plan details here: https://laughingsquid.us/managed-wordpress-hosting/

If you would like to move to Managed WordPress, please fill out the migration form for existing Cloud Sites customers available here: https://laughingsquid.us/managed-wordpress-migration/

Pressable has demonstrated excellent uptime and response times, and its superior WordPress-specific features make it an excellent choice for WordPress site owners.

Option 2: Cloud Sites Replacement for Non-WordPress Users

We recognize that not all Cloud Sites customers are running WordPress sites, or you may prefer an alternative to Managed WordPress hosting. We are actively working on developing a comprehensive Cloud Sites replacement for:

• Non-WordPress websites
• WordPress users who prefer alternatives to the Managed WordPress approach.
• Sites requiring support for other development environments like Drupal, Joomla, and custom PHP applications.

We will announce more details about this option in the near future. We aim to ensure a seamless transition path for all Cloud Sites customers, regardless of your technology stack or preferences.

Our Commitment During This Transition

The Laughing Squid team, in partnership with Liquid Web, remains committed to supporting you through this transition. While Cloud Sites won’t receive new features, you can count on continued reliability, security, and support for your existing implementation.

Next Steps

1. For WordPress users: Explore our Managed WordPress hosting through Pressable and begin planning your migration.
2. For non-WordPress users: Stay tuned for our upcoming announcement on the replacement option for Cloud Sites.
3. All users: Rest assured that your current Cloud Sites implementation will continue to function normally with full support

We understand that changes like this can be challenging, but we’re confident that these alternative solutions will provide your websites with even better performance, reliability, and features in the future.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team. We’re here to help make this transition as smooth as possible.

$10/month
10,000 monthly visits (bandwidth is included)
2 GB storage

This plan does not come with any mailboxes.

If you are not currently hosted on Managed WordPress and want to migrate your site, just fill out the appropriate form to start the process (there is no charge for migration).

MWP 1
15,000 monthly visits increased to 20,000

MWP 2
25,000 monthly visits increased to 30,000

MWP 3
35,000 monthly visits increased to 40,000

If you are not currently hosted on Managed WordPress and want to migrate your site, just fill out the appropriate form to start the process (there is no charge for migration).

Managed WordPress
MWP 1 – $13/month
MWP 2 – $17/month
MWP 3 – $21/month

Cloud Sites
Simple Squid – $6/month
Micro Squid – $8/month
Mega Squid – $10/month

The pricing change is effective immediately for new domains and the pricing change for existing domains will be implemented on February 1st, 2023.

This pricing adjustment is being implemented due to increased business costs, including those related to some of our vendors.

We really appreciate your business. If you have any questions about your hosting plan, please contact support.

Prior to June 8th, you should review your spam and trash folder cleanup settings. If they are higher than the new limits (spam: 14 days, trash: 30 days) then the mailbox owner will need to review the mail in those folders and move anything worth keeping into another folder. You can view the spam and trash limits for each mailbox by logging into https://admin.emailsrvr.com and navigating to mailboxes > manage > settings.

Please reach out to our support team if you have any questions about these changes.

If your site has custom PHP code, including custom themes or plugins, you may need to modify your code to keep them compatible with the version upgrade. If you want to test this PHP update on any sites in your account, you can order a clone site to test the update and ensure everything is working well.

Our upstream provider Pressable has some more information about the automatic upgrade.