It's never too late to learn something new. And beginners, confused between free WordPress and self-hosted WordPress, can learn the 5 key differences they must know before starting a blog or website.
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There is free WordPress which is, WordPress.com and Self-hosted WordPress-which is WordPress.org. But this for beginners, might sound so confusing.
And so often times, in trying to choose which one serves your interest the most, many will go ahead first, and choose free WordPress.That is until they realize that there is also self-hosted WordPress.
What's the difference between the two? Which of the two will serve your blogging needs, if you are just starting your journey in the blogging world?
Learn the difference in this post.
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First the facts
The first things to know about WordPress itself is that, the WordPress platform as a whole is a content management systems(CMS). This means that it can be used to create, edit, manage and publish content, in what can be described as a WYSIWYG(What you see is what you get) manner.
This way of creating content, allows the content creator the freedom to express their thoughts, ideas and stories through text, images and videos, without the need to become a programmer, or even learn coding.
This simplifies the work of the content creator who can then go about dishing out content after content, undisturbed. Using a platform like WordPress gives the content creator a dual option which is choosing between,
WordPress.com and WordPress.org, or Free and self-hosted WordPress.
The second and perhaps the most important thing to know about WordPress is that the statistics favor it, as the most widely used Content Management System.
In fact, according to a Kinsta statistics, WordPress is the number one most popular and most widely used Content Management System(CMS) for websites.
It powers 43.2% of all websites
It has a 60%market share in the CMS market
It power about 14.7% of the world's top websites
500+websites are built each day using WordPress.
These statistics are impressive,showing how important WordPress is, when it comes to web creation, and content management. As a beginning content creator or blogger, your first encounter with WordPress requires you to ask some important questions.
These are questions that will hep you understand and distinguish between the two versions of WordPress.Questions like,
How are they different?
What does each offer?
And which is right for me as a beginning blogger?
Let's find out!
But to do this will require knowing the 5 basic and fundamental differences between the two of them.
The Definition
The Logo colors
Hosting
Customization and
Plugins
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The Definition
Each WordPress platform comes with very distinct features that distinguishes it from the other because they serve different purposes.They operate differently, are set up differently. When it comes to management, they are managed differently.
It's why one is called Free WordPress while the other is called self-hosted WordPress. The only similarity is that WordPress.com uses the core WordPress.org core software.
WordPress.com
This is essentially the free version of WordPress and is operated much like other blogging platforms such as, Google Blogger, Wix or Weebly,etc. Essentially on these platforms, after registration you can create your blog with a few clicks, and then start adding content.
However the domain name of your site is a subdomain address, which means that the name of your blog will carry the site extension name of the blogging platform you opened an account.
When you create a site on WordPress.com, your site name which is the website address, will carry the WordPress.com extension. And so your website address will look like this,
mywebsite.wordpress.com
Once you sign up to use the WordPress.com platform,you immediately start with the free basic plan, with which you can start blogging. however, you can transition from the free basic plan and upgrade to a paid plan.
With a paid plan the WordPress.com extension is removed and your site address becomes, mywebsite.com Currently there are 5 upgrade plans above the free basic plan which are,
Personal
Premium
Business
Commerce
Enterprise
If you are interested in moving from the basic free plan to any of the upgrade plans you can check out pricing plans.
WordPress.org
WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress. It is an open-source software, which means that essentially it is free to use.
It is also a stand-alone application allowing anyone wanting to create a website to download it for free, and install before using it.
To install and use requires purchasing a hosting package from a hosting provider.
The Logo Colors
To distinguish WordPress.com from WordPress.org,you have to take a look at the two logos that represent them. Each logo has their distinguishing color and while they both have the W letter inside a circle, the difference between them is the color.
The logo for WordPress.com is circular with a blue background, with the letter W inside a ring, of which the ring and the letter W are in white colors.
The logo for WordPress.org is rectangular in shape.The background color is black, while the circular logo with the W inside the ring is beside the Word.Press.org name. Both of these are in white color.
Hosting
Hosting services are necessary if you want your site or blog to be found on the internet.They help store all your files such as text, images and photos on servers so they can be retrieved when visitors do a search.
WordPress.com
For WordPress.com, hosting is managed for you by the WordPress team with an efficient WordPress server infrastructure, which is why hosting is free. Since hosting is managed for you, this means that you don't have to worry about getting your own web hosting service, or be managing the back end office of your site by yourself.
This gives you enough time to focus solely on your blogging.
WordPress.org
When you opt to use self-hosted WordPress, you will be responsible for your seeing that your website is up and running and visible on the internet. To do this will require that you take on a hosting plan through a web hosting provider.
A hosting plan is a subscription service that you to take out and pay monthly or yearly through a hosting provider. Depending on the hosting provider you choose for your website needs, you may get certain advantages in terms of cost to help you get started.
If you want to have an idea of hosting providers and their offers, see
list of recommended hosting providers.
Customization
When you want to create a website, customization is essential in the building of the website. This is because it allows you to tailor the website, it's design and features, to your needs, look and feel.
It means that you can decide on the arrangement of the menus and other elements to your taste, or to reflect your niche or business needs.
WordPress.com
When using the free basic WordPress.com plan,you are only working with basic customization options that are available. And so your chances of making any great changes to your website's look and feel is highly limited.
Free themes are available for you to choose from. But even with that, customization is still limited unless you upgrade to a paid plan. With a paid plan you get more customization features.
Wordpress.org
Self-hosted WordPress is where you have limitless opportunities to make your WordPress website look and feel the way you want. Because once you take on self-hosting plan, you have limitless ways to customize your site.
And that means that you are not limited in the number of themes you can use for your site. Tons of premium themes are available to choose from. In fact, you can check out the Wordpress theme directory
It has over 2,000 popular themes and over 14,000 premium themes
Plugins
Plugins are kind of like add-on software that are built with specific functions. Their purpose is to add more functionalities to a website. With WordPress, you have tons of plugins available.
These can add specific functionalities to your WordPress website that you think might be necessary. But even in this both WordPress differ.
WordPress.com
If you opt to use WordPress.com, your choice of plugins is limited since every site already comes with automatically built-in WordPress plugins.
And so at the basic free plan level, you are already limited in the plugins that are available for you to use.
However, when you upgrade to a Business plan, you have thousands of plugins available for you to choose from.Every other upgrade plan gives you fewer plugins.
Check out all plugins available for your WordPress.com site.
WordPress.org
Self-hosted WordPress comes with a plethora of plugins that you can choose from to ad extra features to your site. In fact, the WordPress.org directory has more than 50,000 usable plugins that you can install on your site.
Plugins are either compatible or not compatible to a WordPress installation. This means that a particular plugin might not be compatible to the WordPress version that you have installed.
And so before you install any plugin, check to see if it compatible to the WordPress version that you are using.
Important considerations when choosing
Now that you've come this far and know what makes one version of WordPress different from the other, how do you choose which is right for you?
When you are confronted with options that give you an opportunity to choose, you can only opt for that which will be more advantageous to you, in terms of your
blogging needs,
budget
experience.
Let's look at both WordPress under the three above mentioned lenses.
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WordPress.com
Blogging need
If you are starting your blogging journey as a newbie, you can start by using WordPress.com, and here are a few reasons why.
-it's simple and free.
-it is easy to build your own personal web space.
-you do not have to worry about hosting
When your blogging needs are more personal, looks more like a hobby than a serious business, WordPress.com is what you need if you want to keep everything simple.
Are you comfortable using WordPress.com but have more needs? Upgrade to a paid plan. With a paid plan you have
-more tools available for your website, and
-you do not have to worry about hosting.
Once you upgrade, everything is pretty much the same except you have more advance features available to you.
Budget
Building a website can cost you money, and lots of money. However using WordPress.com, you do not,
-need a budget if you plan to keep using the free basic plan.
-pay for hosting or,
-buy an email service, a domain name,etc.
You can stick to what's available for the free basic plan and that means,
-use available free themes
-stick with the built-in plugin
-be comfortable using a sub-domain name for your site
Experience
WordPress.com, has been designed as a blogging platform to be accessible to everyone. It has been configured in sucha away that anyone can create a website and start adding content right away.
To use WordPress.com
-you do not need to be a seasoned and experienced blogger.
-It is accessible to all
-even with little to no knowledge of web design, you can create a simple web page and add content.
WordPress.org
Most people in life are comfortable handling things themselves because first they are curious to know how things work. Secondly because they want more control over everything.
With WordPress.org you have the possibility of being in the driver's seat when it comes to your website creation needs. So what are those needs?
Blogging needs
Are you an experienced blogger, a business owner, or a professional in your chosen field, wanting to have an online presence with full control? Then using the WordPress.org software is for you.
This is because with it comes an infinite array of tools and services to help you develop your website, and make it look more professional and functional. And all of this can be done by you, and under your own supervision and control.
Budget
Your use of self -hosted WordPress requires a budget because while using the software is free, you will need other services such as
-subscribe to a hosting plan through a hosting provider
-subscribe to a professional email service
-depending on your hosting provider, you may need to buy a SSL certificate if it is not provided.
-you may need to buy themes if necessary.
Experience
In using self-hosted WordPress some experience is necessary. Since you will be responsible for making your website available on the internet, you need to know exactly how to do that.
You will be your own boss navigating the back office or CPanel of your website.Everything to make the website up and running will be done by you such as,
-ensuring your subscription payment is up to date
-ensuring plugins are updated regularly
-ensuring that the WordPress installation you are using is the latest version.
-ensure the protection of your site against spam attacks through available plugins.
Final Words
In conclusion after getting this far, you should have a clear idea of the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.Which ever you choose, should serve your content creation needs and purposes.
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