WordPress.com Vs WordPress.org: A Decisive Guide
Today, blogging has changed its way from being leisure time hobby to a profitable venture and is rapidly growing popularity among people worldwide. Now, the confusion arise which platform to choose in order to start blogging WordPress.com or WordPress.org, which is the most frequently asked question. Before moving ahead with the major differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, it is very important to know what exactly WordPress is. It is widely preferred open source blogging tool that is freely available and a content management system powered by PHP and SQL that runs on a web hosting service.
The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is much similar to having an email account with email service providers like Yahoo, Gmail, etc. Or working on email program downloaded on your computer like Outlook and others. We develop blog on WordPress.com server like we store and manage mail through Gmail and others and the web-address of blog is name.wordpress.com. Whereas, in WordPress.org we build blog or website with self-hosted WordPress installation. It is similar to purchasing a software at online store and installing it to the computer.
Choosing the best one out of the two is not a real concern, but there is a need to have clear picture of WordPress.com and WordPress.org, so that one may opt for the WordPress that the best meets its requirements. Both are used for blogging purpose and the similarities between the two ends here only. So, now we are going to discuss the differences between them.
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Primary difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org based on their location
WordPress.com is a commercial website that allows individuals to host their sites, but with some limitations or you may pay for upgrades. It comforts you from all the hassles of setting up and maintain your own server.
On the other hand, WordPress.org is a self-hosted server powering millions of websites around the web. Moreover, this open-source software is the center of WordPress community.
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Monetary based freedoms and limitations
WordPress.com provides already organized and maintained software to its users and they don’t have to do anything with the code. So, if you want any kind of upgrade, you need to pay some amount. The limitations associated to it are listed below:
– Here, one is limited to the WordPress.com themes and cannot use custom plug-ins.
– Storage space is also limited and if you want to add videos or remove any content or any kind of upgrade, you need to trade some freedom.
– Limited control of content and do not provide FTP access to your files due to security reasons.
With WordPress.org, one has the full freedom to do whatever he/she wants. Here are some of the opportunities that it provides:
– Users are free to add free or commercial plug-ins.
– Benefits to add and delete files with FTP.
– Flexibility to adjust WordPress and server setting to improve performance.
– Complete control over your content without ads.
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Technical discrepancies focusing Maintenance and Development
No doubt, full responsibility always comes with full control. If you have a self-hosted WordPress website, then you need to take care of the regular maintenance and updates for the security of your website from vulnerabilities like hacking. Moreover, if you are not very technically savvy or not much comfortable with FTP, you may need to hire someone to do it for you and that may end up spilling over into your cost’s consideration.
With WordPress.com, you don’t need to stay up-to-date with WordPress software, as it is taken care of for you by the support and development team of WordPress.com. This is the best option for those who are not interested in spending time and effort to maintain the site.
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Analysis of Cost Comparison
Depending on the requirements of users, WordPress.com can be more or less expensive. It provides numerous themes and if you are satisfied with the provided themes without any modifications, then it can be least expensive option for you. But, if you are interested in full-featured website providing unlimited storage, no advertising, etc., then WordPress.org is the most affordable option. WordPress.org is a self-hosting site and requires hosting and domain. Hosting costs you $7 per month and domain are around $10 per year. Once the site is hosted, one can add any number of custom themes and plug-ins.
Thus, WordPress.com is the right choice, if you are new to this technology and want to stay safe without any inconvenience. Otherwise, WordPress is the best option for those who want flexibility to add extra functionality to their site.
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Author-bio
Jennifer Adam is a talented web developer at PSDtoWordPressExpert, which is a renowned WordPress web development company offering state-of-the-art WordPress solutions. She likes to share her creative ideas to solve different WordPress-based issues and webs development.
