WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
which is the best?
If or when you choose to use WordPress as the platform for your blog or website, you have two different options,WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
Which is best for you, WordPress.com or WordPress.org ?
The choice you make will depend on a few things, your technical abilities, what your long-term goals for your blog are. How much time you have to setting it all up.
If you are not sure which to use, this blog post will help to clarify the differences and decide which route may be best for you.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a managed, shared hosting platform that uses WordPress, in other words, you don’t need your own website, everything is hosted on wordpress.com for you, and it’s free, they handle all of the updates, backups, and security for their users.
Unlike WordPress itself, WordPress.com is a company with employees, who employ people to develop, maintain, and support the WordPress.com platform. It is great for a beginner and it allows you to focus more on content and less on things like hosting, domain names and databases.
The downside to this is that you cannot install plugins and themes which are not already included as part of the platform (because it is a shared platform as WordPress.com are hosting all the websites, this could introduce security risks) and you have fewer options with what you can do to customise your blog.
Your URL (your domain name or website address, e.g. google.com) is also restricted, as it will always include the “wordpress.com” part at the end, for example, www.MyAwsomeBlog.wordpress.com
If your blog or website is going to be a professional or business website, this can look a bit amateurish and unprofessional. That being said, there are premium upgrades, which you can pay for on a yearly basis, which allow you to use a domain name you own or register with WordPress.com, there are also other perks.
If you are planning a professional blog, but want to use .com, you should really consider the premium upgrade. You can check out the options here https://wordpress.com/#plans
WordPress.org
One of the easiest ways we of explaining the differences with WordPress.com and WordPress.org is this: imagine that WordPress.com is like renting your home or propery from a landlord. The security, maintenance and repairs or the building are all taken care of for you, but you can’t just do as you please, you can’t knock down walls and add patio doors if you want to improve your home.
But using WordPress.org, in this scenario, is like buying your own house, as you have your own domain name and install WordPress on your own web hosting.
You can change whatever you like (within reason) to improve your house (website), you can build a conservatory, rent out a spare room, paint the walls purple. However, if the boiler breaks down, or the roof starts to leak, it’s up to you to fix it or hire somebody to do it.
If you self-host WordPress on your own domain, you can install all the plugins or themes you like, but if one of them breaks your site, you have to fix your own website, but don’t let this put you off, luckily, WordPress.org has an amazing support forum with loads of knowledgeable and helpful volunteers. Also if you go down this route, you should be backing up your site regularly anyway, so you can roll back your site to when it was all working great.
WordPness.org is seen by many as the “professional” option. It always looks better if a business or professional has their own domain name.
What installing WordPress from WordPness.org does give you is complete freedom. Installing WordPress on your own site also gives you the opportunity to learn some skills which can come in very handy, especially if you are planning to blog or make a living online as a career.
At the end of the day its all personal preference if you go with WordPress.com or WordPress.org
I personally like the freedom of WordPress.org, so for me WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, WordPress.org wins.
A quick recap, and some key features.
WordPress.com:
Ease of Use – Really easy for a complete beginner to get set up and running, with no knowledge of website hosting, servers, file transfer protocol (FTP) and a domains is not needed.
Free to Use – WordPress.com is always free to use, unless you want to upgrade to a premium package WordPress offers. Who doesn’t like free?
Automatic Updates – Unlike with the self-hosted version you install on your own domain, WordPress.com is automatically updated when a new version comes along.
SEO Optimised – All of the themes available for your WordPress.com blog and websites are SEO optimised, making getting found on the search engines much simpler.
Secure and Safe – There is much less risk of your blog or site being compromised by malicious files when using WordPress.com as WordPress host all the sites themselves.
WordPress.org:
More Themes – If you are using the self-hosted version of WordPress, you have thousands, of themes to choose from, both free and premium.
Powerful Plugins – Plugins can make your site do almost anything you like, there is probably a plugin available for anything you want to do, from adding a lead capture form to creating an online store or selling services.
Domain Choice – If you are installing WordPress on your own hosting, you can use any domain name you wish that is available, or install it on any that you own.
File Editing – This is a bit more advanced, but if you know how or wish to, you can actually edit the HTML, CSS and PHP files which make up your Word Press theme.
Well that’s it, I hope this helped you with the question WordPress.com vs WordPress.org and I wish you all the best with whichever version you choose to go with, they are both amazing tools for a website.
To your success,
Colin