WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Difference?

Hi! Today we’re going to look at something that causes a lot of confusion for users: the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

But first, it helps to understand what is WordPress?

WordPress is just a software that you use to build your very own website or blog and publish it on the Internet. it is also called a content management system or CMS for you tech whizzes out there that like the lingo.

It was created back in 2003 and since then it has become one of the most popular website publishing programs in the world. in fact WordPress powers Over 30% of the Internet. that's a lot of freaking websites and guess what the best part is, it's free.

Why WordPress is an open source software? 

Meaning that there's thousands of software engineers out there that are working on it every day to make it better and better. So shout out to those silent Guardians watchful protectors those. This is a Batman quote.

the beauty of WordPress is that you are able to choose from eleven thousand different themes. which are just template layouts that determine the look and style of your website. you're able to tweak all of the text including fonts and font sizes. you can create buttons, you can upload your images and videos and much more. you can also choose from over 55,000 plugins and widgets to help optimize the functionality of your website.

so this is for people that want to maybe start a store or open up a gallery or whatever it is on their website. there's endless opportunity, oh and building your website with WordPress is all online.

so you can build your website from anywhere that you are as long as you have an internet connection.

how does WordPress work?

when the internet was still somewhat of a new thing the only way to make a website was to use code in HTML or PHP format and your web browser would just interpret this code into colors as well as text and spaces that would form your website. Well WordPress works exactly like this other then no coding. Basically it takes any change that you make on your website and up the code for you and then updates your website. so never touching coding.

if you're looking to make the first website you may or may not have noticed that there's a wordpress.com and a wordpress.org. so you might be wondering well which one should I choose.

The main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org

WordPress.org is the website where you can download the software for free. You then have to organize all the installation and web hosting yourself. WordPress.com is a paid service that completely takes care of installation and hosting for you.

Why Choose WordPress.org?

When you install and run WordPress yourself via WordPress.org, you have absolute control and flexibility over: The themes you want to install The exhaustive list of plugins to enhance your site The customization options. In fact, very few other website builders or content management systems come c
When you install and run WordPress yourself via WordPress.org, you have absolute control and flexibility over: The themes you want to install The exhaustive list of plugins to enhance your site The customization options. In fact, very few other website builders or content management systems come close to how flexible and scalable a WordPress.org website is. lose to how flexible and scalable a WordPress.org website is.

Advantage Of WordPress.org:

• you can download their free software.
•  you have access to thousands of plugins.
• you have the ability to monetize your website with ads.
• you have the option to create an online store.
• You can use a unique domain name.

Why Choose WordPress.com?

When your website is hosted on WordPress.com, the options are still great. But they can be limited depending on the price plan you choose. For instance, you’ll need an expensive Business plan to install external plugins and have access to all SEO options. Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes it’s better to have less choice, but an easier product to play with. Just ask any Apple device owner out there, versus Android or Windows users.

So with WordPress.com, the advantages have to do with:

Installation and setup: it only takes a few clicks to get started, Ease of maintenance and security: which is pretty much all done automatically for you,

And, most importantly, access to email and live support.

The disadvantage of using Wordpress.com:

• your website could be deleted at any time. if WordPress feels that you have violated their Terms of Service for any reason.
• you can't use ads to make money with your website.
• you can't upload any plugins, which help you optimize the functionality of your website.
• you can't upload a customizable theme. you only have their
• limited options.
• you do not own your domain name. so it will say something like your domain name dot wordpress.com.

Speaking of pricing, let’s see how much it costs to run WordPress by yourself via WordPress.org. Note that prices vary wildly so this is a rough estimate: Web hosting: between $5 - $40 per month Domain name: around $15 per year Then you should account for Premium themes, which can cost between $40 - $150, and paid plugins, also within the same price range.

With WordPress.com, here are the available plans: Free Personal: $5 a month, which lets you choose a domain name Premium: $8 per month to access the paid Premium themes. Business: $25 per month for live support and all plugins. Ecommerce: $45 per month to run an online store.

The key takes away is that with WordPress.org you will have to invest a bit more time to set everything up and keep it running. The big benefit is that it can turn out much cheaper than WordPress.com in the long run.

Conclusion 

However, if you’ll end up requiring a developer because of the missing support, WordPress.org can also become a money pit. I would recommend WordPress.com for smaller sites where the Personal or Premium plan will most likely be enough. But don’t forget to check out other website builders like Wix and Squarespace, too, as they are generally easier to use. And that’s it!