Review of the year: What we achieved in 2018 & our plans for 2019

What a “Yeah”! We’ll jump straight in with this pun and say: another exciting year has come to an end! 2018 was full of interesting challenges such as WordPress 5.0 and the Gutenberg editor, the GDPR and the first co-organisation of a WordCamp for 2019. To bring 2018 to a fitting close, we have our product developments and personal highlights from the past year as well as our plans for 2019.

Thank you for your great motivation

In the past year, you have once again provided us with a great deal of support in many different ways. Our entire team would like to say THANK YOU for your honest feedback, ideas, criticism, praise and the kindness we received in the form of pizza and drinks deliveries, parcels, postcards and letters!

Our WordPress speed test

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Raidboxes – The No. 1 WordPress hosting specialist

A lot has happened since the first prototype of the Raidboxes dashboard automatically created and delivered a WordPress installation for the first time in 2014 in a small coworking space in the centre of Münster with just three people (Marcel, Johannes and myself).

Raidboxes has established itselfas the WordPress hosting specialist in Germany, Austria and Switzerland withthe help of the HTGF financing round totalling half a million euros from 2016 !

More freedom for over 8,000 customers

With over 8,000 customers across Europe, we are proud to primarily provideinternet professionals such as agencies, freelancers, (influencer) blogs and WooCommerce shops with more freedom and supportin their daily work .

We are looking for you to join our growing team

Our team has grown to eleven people and office dog “Elea” todate and we are also planning to fill further positions in system administration, support and sales/consultancy in 2019.

WordPress 5.0 and the new Gutenberg editor

Anyone who works professionally with WordPress cannot ignore the discussions and the introduction of the WordPress Gutenberg editor. The comments range from sky-high praise for the new WordPress editor and its modular blocks to scathing feedback. Critics criticise, for example, the project management of the Gutenberg development team, the lack of user-friendliness and accessibility as well as the premature release as the standard editor in the still relatively new WordPress version 5.0 at the end of December 2018.

Raidboxes got to grips with Gutenberg at an early stage because, as a WordPress hosting specialist, we always provide the latest WordPress version and therefore also the new Gutenberg editor for all existing BOXES (websites) and newly created WordPress installations.

Automatic update to WordPress 5.0 planned for the end of February 2019

In the meantime, the comprehensive update of all our websites to the latest WordPress version 5.0.X is planned for February 2019, provided that all known plugin and theme manufacturers have finalised their Gutenberg compatibility.

When creating a new WordPress instance at Raidboxes, you as a user can now choose whether your BOX should run on the latest WP version with the classic editor or on the latest WordPress version 5.0.X.

E-book special: The Gutenberg editor e-book with lots of help

With the major update to WordPress 5.0 on 6 December 2018, the classic TinyMCE editor was replaced. To help you decide whether or not to use the Gutenberg editor, we have published an e-book (click here to download the Gutenberg e-book). In six chapters, we show you what the new editor means for WordPress and your business and how you can get to grips with it.

Help for WordPress 5.0 and the Gutenberg editor

We have published extensive help articles and articles in our WP Magazine to provide all customers and users with the best possible support during the transition. From fixing the current WP version in the Raidboxes dashboard to various methods of avoiding the Gutenberg editor, you’ll find the most important Gutenberg information in this article.

OUT OF THE BOX – The WordPress magazine

With our entry into the hosting market in Austria and Switzerland, we also laid the foundation for our German-language WordPress magazine “wp unboxed“, whose high-quality content is primarily aimed at professional WordPress users in the DACH countries.

With over 1,500 subscribers to our free WordPress news and more than 2,000 push notification subscribers , our magazine has now become an established source of information. Topics relating to WordPress, but also online marketing and web design as well as optimising your online business have a permanent place in OUT OF THE BOX.

The 10 most popular OUT OF THE BOX items in 2018

The ten most popular articles from our OOTB readers in 2018, in order:

The GDPR and our learnings from its implementation

The cross-departmental preparation and implementation of the GDPR until it came into force on 25 May 2018 was particularly challenging, but also instructive, for us. The cross-border General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR)introduced by the European Parliament had strict procedures in store to better protect your privacy on the Internet.

Interestingly, only a quarter (24 per cent) of companies in Germany have fully implemented the GDPR to date. A further 40 per cent have largely implemented the rules, while three in ten (30 per cent) have only partially implemented them. In total, more than 70,000 enquiries and complaints have been received by the data protection authority in Germany since May 2018 .

GDPR guide for WP agencies, freelancers and website operators

We have summarised our accumulated experience during the implementation of the GDPR, including the technical measures for you as a website operator, in an easy-to-understand e-book of over 30 pages, which you candownload here.

WordCamp sponsorship and co-organisation

Other highlights in 2018 were certainly the participation in WordCamps – whether as a sponsor, speaker or co-organiser. A personal highlight was definitely the WordCamp Retreat in Soltau, which brought a completely new WordCamp concept to life. You can find out why the WordCamp Retreat was so special in our recap.

In addition to the WordCamp Retreat, we were also represented as a silver sponsor at WordCamp Zaragozaat the beginning of the year. As a gold sponsor and with two workshops held by Matthias, our Senior Web Developer, we were then able to experience WordCamp Cologne 2018, which was organised in record time. As at the WordCamp Retreat, our Raidboxes slush machine was of course also there with not entirely “youth-free” mixed drinks 😉

Further WordCamps are also planned for 2019. One of these is the first WordCamp Osnabrück in March, which Johannes and Leefke from the Raidboxes team are helping to organise. We are looking forward to a WordCamp for all WordPress friends from the Münster, Osnabrück and Emsland regions as well as from all over Germany and the world.

In 2019, we would also like to deepen our mission “To give you more freedom” and our corporate vision of enabling limitless opportunities in a now regularly recurring workshop with the entire team. You can find a summary of our first workshops with initial assistance for your own implementation here.

Fun facts infographic of our year 2018

To give you a comprehensive overview of 2018 at Raidboxes, we have summarised the most important figures of the year for you in an infographic.

Our product features and improvements in 2018

By clicking on the feedback forum in the RB dashboard, every RB user can contribute their own feedback and/or suggestions for improving Raidboxes and discuss and vote on the ideas of other users.

We take the ideas and criticism of our users very seriously and regularly incorporate this information into product development. The features from 2018 were not excluded from this either, so here is a list of the features and improvements that we have implemented with the help of the RB community:

Tools for a better workflow

Free hosting for agencies and freelancers

We have launched our exclusive FREE-DEV programmefor all those who implement WordPress projects for customers. With this programme, you as a freelancer or agency can develop up to three parallel WordPress projects with us for 90 days free of charge. You can find more information and register here.

Free SSH environment with WP-CLI & Git

You can use Secure Shell (SSH) to establish a secure network connection with our servers. SSH uses unique encryption in the form of a key that you canstorewith us in the RB dashboard. You can then establish a secure connection to your WordPress websites with us and speed up the development of your WP projects.

WordPress templates for recurring use

In 2018, we integrated the template function into the Raidboxes dashboard. From your saved WordPress templates, you can then create as many additional WordPress pages as you like in a flash – and already preconfigured with all your favourite settings. You can find more information here.

Features for better working with WordPress

Reset WordPress with one click

You can now restore any of your BOXES to their original state with a single click. This deletes all plugins, themes and content from the file system and database and you can continue working with a completely empty BOX.

Change WordPress database prefix

For various reasons, the table prefix (Table_prefix) wp_, which is created by default during the WordPress installation, may need to be replaced or changed. Regardless of whether it is for the clarity of your database or for security reasons, this is now possible for each of your websites under “Settings”.

Add special entries in wp-config.php

It is now also possible to enter special entries in wp-config.php. Our write protection remains active and successfully prevents hackers and malware from using your wp-config.php for criminal activities.

Set PHP Max Execution Time

You can now set the PHP max_execution_time yourselfin the settings of your BOX(EN). You can set separate values for the frontend and the WP dashboard. The setting is available for all activated BOXES from the STARTER plan onwards.

Integrated cronjob management

You can now view all cron jobs in the settings of your BOX(EN) and, if necessary, delete them directly.

IP blocking – blacklisting and whitelisting

The ‘IP blocking’ setting implemented in 2018 allows you to create blacklists and whitelists. This allows you to control exactly which IP addresses should have access to your site and which should not.

Special GDPR measures

Change login audit log settings

Under the profile settings in the Raidboxes dashboard, you now have the option of setting whether your visits are saved with us, only saved in encrypted form or not saved at all. By default, we do not save your visits in accordance with the EU GDPR.

WordPress Gravatars removed from the RB dashboard

The Gravatar service we use, which displays your avatar and those of your colleagues in the RB dashboard, is no longer permitted under the GDPR, as data is sent to Gravatar without your consent. As a result, we have removed the service until a GDPR-compliant alternative is found and the administrators have been given the first letters of their first name and surname.

WP Session Eraser setting

The WP Session Eraser takes you one step further towards GDPR compliance and is unique to date! The background: WordPress stores session data from logged-in users until they explicitly log out. This can lead to this data being stored in the database even though there is no longer a purpose for processing it. With our WP Session Eraser, you decide at what interval this data is deleted.

Our planned projects in 2019

New planned positions in the RB team

We are also planning to fill further positions in system administration, support and sales/consulting in 2019. As soon as there are new job vacancies, you will also find further information in our overview of open vacancies.

Raidboxes sponsors the WordCamp Europe 2019 in Berlin

To the delight of us all, this year’s WordCamp Europe 2019will take place in the German capital Berlin. This not only makes it interesting because of the short journey, but we are also proud to be an official sponsor for the first time.

Raidboxes will have its own booththere , so we’re looking forward to meeting up with many friends and getting to know new WordPress fans from all over Europe. We look forward to seeing you at the RB Booth for a personal chat! Tickets can now be ordered here.

Planned product features in 2019

WordPress multisite

Afrequently requested product feature from the feedback forum is the use of WordPress multisites on our BOXES. Due to the necessary GDPR measures and the launch of WordPress 5.0, this feature will now be implemented in the first and second quarters of 2019 instead of 2018 as planned.

Create e-mail inboxes

Another request from the RB community in the feedback forum, in addition to the option to purchase domains (which we implemented in 2018), is the provision of email inboxes. Due to our specialisation in WordPress hosting, we struggled for a long time with our own implementation of email. But: email inboxes are a perfect example of involving the RB community in the ongoing process of desired features and improvements.

The first release of our email service, which we are implementingwith the help of our cooperation partner mailbox.org – a German email provider specialising in secure email communication –is already scheduled for February 2019.

Content Delivery Network (CDN)

In 2019, we will also finalise the development of the CDN integration that has already been started. Here, too, the actual roadmap has been postponed due to the necessary measures in the area of GDPR and WordPress 5.0. Unfortunately, there is currently no exact date for the release of this feature.

Detailed status overview of a BOX

In the first version of the status overview of a BOX, the utilisation of the CPU and RAM can be read out. Further information, such as detailed log files, will be added in subsequent versions. Again, the exact release date is not yet known.

Planned features without a fixed deadline

Optional password entry when deleting a BOX
Optional two-factor authentication of the RB account
Images are automatically compressed when uploaded
NGINX cache is more customisable in the professional settings
Raidboxes bulk plans can be booked more flexibly than before
Price discount when opting for annual billing
Space-saving list view can be selected in the RB dashboard

“Be free and wild and creative”

That was our recap of 2018 and the first outlook for the current year 2019. We are sure that 2019 will be at least as exciting as 2018 and are starting this year with the aim of supporting you so that you can pursue your passionin line with our slogan “Be free and wild and creative!”: your business!

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Torben Simon Meier

created on 10.01.19

changed on 04.03.25

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