It’s never too late to learn something new.
And that means, it’s never too late to learn the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. While both are all WordPress content management systems(CMS), they differ greatly in many ways.
But to know the difference between the two versions requires knowing this one fact about WordPress, the platform itself.
According to a w3Techs.com statistics, WordPress is the number one most popular and most widely used Content Management System(CMS) for websites, having a 59% market share and used by 29.2% of all websites that are created.
This one statistic alone goes to show how much WordPress is used to power websites across the world, such that even the most famous brand names in the world all use the WordPress platform.
Which WordPress Platform Can You Use?
It could surprise you to know that most people-and that goes for people that even have websites and blogs, get confused in knowing the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org .
This can be quite surprising because with other blogging platforms, there are no distinctions of any kind like the one that WordPress has. And so if you are thinking of creating a blog
using any of the two WordPress platforms, it is good to know what you are going for and what you will get. And this depends on the use you want to make of which every one you choose.
To do this will require you to know the 5 basic and fundamental differences between the two of them. This post will cover
- The definition for both
- The WordPress Logo Colors
- Hosting
- Customization
- Plugins
Definition
WordPress.com is a free WordPress blogging service that hosts blogs. As a free blogging service, any blog created with it, will carry the wordpress.com extension subdomain address.
This means that if you create a site, it will have a website address that looks like this
mywebsite.wordpress.com
As a new user, you are not required to do much getting started. Once you sign up to use the service, you can start with the free basic plan
but you also have the option to upgrade from the basic free plan to the various upgrade plans available. With a premium plan, the WordPress.com extension is removed and your site address becomes
mywebsite.com
Currently, there are 3 premium plans above the free basic plan which are
Personal
Premium
Business
If you are interested in moving from the basic free plan to any of the upgrade plans, you can check out pricing plans.
On the other hand, WordPress.org is a community of developers where people work on the WordPress open-source software. This means that the WordPress software is constantly being worked upon
to improve functionality and to keep it as a software that is easy to use but at the same time presents no problems to the final user.
Anyone wanting to create a site using WordPress.org is in actual fact using a software which they can download for free and install before they can use it.
There are two ways the software can be installed, but both require the user to have a hosting service that has a cPanel(Control panel).
The WordPress Logo Colors
Understanding the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org means recognizing the logo color for each. While both have the W letter inside a circle, the difference between them is the color.
The logo color for WordPress.com is blue
while that of WordPress.org is black
Hosting
Hosting services are necessary if your site or blog must be found on the web. With WordPress.com this is not a problem as, from the moment you create your site, it is already being hosted on the
WordPress.com hosting service. And this means you don’t have to worry about getting your own web host. It also means you don’t pay anything for having your site hosted.
With WordPress.org, you are all on your own. And that means you will need your own hosting provider, as this service is not provided for you by WordPress. Now there are tons of web hosting providers on the internet
that you can choose from. Just know that having a web host for your website will require you to pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee to keep your site up and running.
If you want to have an idea of services and prices hosting providers offer, see the WordPress list of recommended web hosts.
Customization
Every website comes
with tools that allow the site owner to customize the design of their site to their own personal taste. And this means arranging widget boxes, menus, etc. to your want or feel, no matter the design. If you are using the free basic WordPress.com plan,
then you have very little customization possibilities and above all, you are limited in your choice of themes, which currently is about 165 free themes. You can always choose to buy a premium theme
but even with that, you still get limited customization. Upgrade to any of the plan gives you more customization opportunities, but will also depend on the plan you choose.
With a self-hosted WordPress.org site, you have limitless customization. And that means however you choose to make your site look and feel, the sky is your limit as,
you are not limited in the number of themes you can use for your site. There are tons of themes to choose from.
Check out the WordPress theme directory
and choose from over 2,000 popular themes and over 5,000 new themes.
Don’t find what you are looking for or are not satisfied with what you see?
Design your own theme from scratch and upload it or search for a theme from around the web and upload it.
Plugins
Plugins are pieces of software built with specific functions which can be used to add more functionalities to websites. WordPress has thousands of plugins that add more functionality and also new features.
As with all things, even with plugins, free WordPress.com has limited plugins for WordPress.com sites as every site already comes with automatically built-in WordPress plugins.
The choice of having to use thousands of plugins is only possible by upgrading to a Business plan. Upgrading to a Premium plan supports an additional 2 plugins. Check out all plugins available for your WordPress.com site.
WordPress.org provides you with a plethora of plugins for your every need. And the Worpress.org directory has more than 50,000 usable plugins that you can install on your site. As with all things
it is necessary to install only those plugins that are compatible with the WordPress version that you have installed.
What you can do
Making life improving choices sometimes comes with pondered thinking. This is because the choices you make today after a few years may not fit your way of thinking, and you’d want to make changes.
This can also play out in your choice of the WordPress platform you wish to use now. But before you decide which one to use, you need to ask yourself some questions.
Here are some questions to help you in making your choice along with some helpful answers.
Q: Are you just starting out blogging?
A: If you are, you can simply use free WordPress.com with your site address having the wordpress.com extension.
Q:Have you already started and have more needs?
A: You may have more needs and want to go beyond free. Depending on your needs, you can choose an upgrade plan or more daringly go for self-hosted WordPress.
Q: Do you have a business which requires more services?
A: More services means more tools available that you can use to give your business a good online presence. In this case, a WordPress.com Business plan might just be what you need, or you can go for self-hosted WordPress.
Q: Do you simply need a webspace to vent your personal thought and feelings?
A: You want to keep everything simple. All you need is a personal webspace where you can tell your own stories without wanting to do more. The free WordPress.com plan is all you need.
Q: Are you out to make money with the WordPress site you intend to create?
A: With a free WordPress.com site this is highly unlikely and that means you must go for an upgrade plan or get a self-hosted WordPress.org site which offers more possibilities.
Final Words
Using the WordPress platform to create your new site or blog means using a content management system that is one of the best
and easiest to use. It is quite user-friendly and has more help information than any other CMS system available.
Above all, it is the most widely used platform for website/blog creation.
To your blogging success with WordPress. Comments welcomed.
