When it comes to choosing a blogging platform, many people are drawn to WordPress.com because of the ease of use and built in features.
Others may want more flexibility with their blog’s design and functionality, so they turn to WordPress.org instead. If you’re looking for an article that will help you decide which is right for your needs, then this blog post will be perfect!
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) based on PHP and MySQL, which runs blogs or more complex websites. WordPress was released in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg.
WordPress is the most popular blogging system in use today, powering millions of websites and blogs.
It is also followed by many people who want to learn how to blog online.
WordPress was originally designed with the idea that bloggers without any technical knowledge would be able to create their own personal blogs or small collaborative websites from a browser interface using no more than basic coding for design tweaks.
So what is WordPress.com?
WordPress.com is a free service that gives you everything you need to create and run your blog or website, including:
- A domain name of your choice (Premium Option)
- An intuitive interface with easy customization options
- Publishing tools – no more coding needed
- Handy widgets like social share buttons and feeds so visitors can keep up with the latest from your site
- Hosting is included in their packages
- Free hosting is also available but you cannot use a custom domain. There are other limitations as well.
Pros of WordPress.com
- Pricing is very reasonable and affordable if you want to remove WordPress.com branding or use your own domain name etc.
- Has a Free option so you can test and see if you like it.
- You don’t have to deal with hosting or web design
- Maintenance is taken care of by Automattic.
- You don’t need any technical skills for setup
Cons of WordPress.com
- It’s a hosted service so you don’t have total control over your website
- If WordPress.com go out of business (unlikely), then all your content is at risk
- You cannot use a custom domain name unless you purchase something from them separately (which could get quite pricey)
- There is limited Theme Support and customization options.
- Only WordPress.com plugins are able to be used from their repository.
- If you want to monetise your blog, there are limitations.
- SEO optimization is limited
- You have to pay to install better analytics
And what is WordPress.org?
WordPress.org is a self-hosted version of WordPress.com, where you can create your own site and have full control over it (including ability to install plugins). The downside? You need to make an investment in web hosting and know some technical skills, or find someone who does.
If this sounds like too much work for you, then take a look at WordPress.com.
To get an idea of how we install WordPress – you can read this article.
Pros of WordPress.org
- A domain name of your choice
- Tons of free plugins that aren’t available on WordPress.com
- a Ton more Themes are available that aren’t available on WordPress.com
- You have full control over your site and can choose to install the WordPress.org software wherever you want.
- Gives you more creative freedom with designing your website
- No limitations with monetization.
- Unlimited SEO optimization
- Advanced analytics available with no extra cost
Cons of WordPress.org
- Requires some knowledge of web hosting and technical skills to set up
- You’re responsible for any attacks on your site
- Seperate hosting is required to run WordPress.org
Conclusion – should you choose WordPress.com or WordPress.org?
We would choose WordPress.org because of the number of plugins and themes available. With WordPress.com’s limited selection, it would be difficult to create an attractive site with all of the features that are necessary for running a successful company, organization or blog.
Think about what you want your website to do before choosing one platform over another!