If you want to start a WordPress website or a blog, you have two platforms to start. WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Most beginners get confused between these two platforms that lead them in choosing the wrong platform according to their needs. In this article, we will do a comparison between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org and tell you which one is suitable for you.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
We often come across a question from the users: Which platform is better? WordpRess.com vs WordPress.org. So this guide will highlight some key differences between these two platforms so that you can choose between them according to your needs.
The basic differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org start from the variations between hosted and self-hosted websites, so choosing between them mostly depends on the level of control a user needs over the configuration and management of their website.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com provides all the tools for a hosted WordPress site. It allows users a WordPress platform for making a website live and running with no coding expertise required, and WordPress.com takes care of all the open-ended administration of the site. At its most simplistic level, all users need to do is sign up for a free account, pick a theme, and start publishing.
Pros
The free WordPress.com program is a great option for hobby bloggers and those starting a blog for their personal needs. Here are some of the benefits of using WordPress.com:
- It’s free for up to 3GB of space. After that, you will have to purchase a paid plan for more space. (Personal plan $48 /year gives you 6GB, Premium plan $96/year gives you 13GB storage or Business plan for $300/year for 200 GB storage).
- You don’t have to take care of updates, management, or backups. WordPress.com will take care of this itself.
Cons
WordPress.com does allow you to set up a website completely for free, but there are some cons to this as well:
- You can only set your website under a subdomain
- You cannot remove WordPress.com’s own ads and brand from your site
- You get limited disk space of 3GB
- You can’t monetize your blog or website
- You can’t install plugins or any themes that aren’t available on the platform by default
WordPress.org
WordPress.org commonly recognized as “the real WordPress”, is the famous website platform that is empowering almost 30% of the digital internet world. It is open-source and 100% free for anyone to use. All you need is a domain name and web hosting. This is the reason it is also related to self-hosted WordPress. WordPress.org is the home of the WordPress software files, a number of templates in the PHP programming language that can be modified by any user.
Pros
WordPress.org allows you full control of your website. You are free to do anything with your site as you want and customize it as much as you need. Here are some of the benefits:
- You are the owner of your website and all of its data. Your site will not be turned down because someone determines that it is against their terms of services.
- You can add free, paid, and custom WordPress plugins/apps to your website.
- You can add any free or premium WordPress themes that you need. You can also build entirely custom designs or change anything that you want.
- You can earn money from your blog by running your own ads without sharing revenue with anyone.
- You can use powerful tools like Google Analytics for custom analytics and tracking.
Cons
There are very some minor drawbacks of using the self-hosted WordPress.org website as well.
- Like all websites, you will need to buy web hosting. This is where your website files are stored on the internet and you have to pay for it.
- You are responsible for updates. Thankfully, it’s not such a complicated job and needs any coding knowledge.
- You are responsible for backups. Luckily, there are a number of WordPress backup plugins that allow you to set up automatic backups.
By keeping in mind these basic differences, you can make your decision to choose a platform that is best fitting to your needs.
