WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
Matthew Gabriel
Last Update 6 months ago
The first decision you’ll need to make is whether you’d like to go with WordPress.org or WordPress.com – and that will depend not only on your personal preference but also what type of site you are hoping to create.
A. WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a fully managed & hosted blogging service. It’s actually run using a WordPress multisite installation (more on that later) and includes different plugins & themes for you to use. For someone just starting out, WordPress.com does offer a free blogging tier, so it’s great for someone that just wants to write and doesn’t need much customization. There are a few paid tiers of service that will unlock additional storage space (useful if you are posting a lot of content), as well as other premium services. You can read more about this on their pricing page.
There are some restrictions with WordPress.com. For example, on their free plan, you cannot use third party plugins & themes that you have purchased from other developers. You can only use what WordPress.com provides for you. You also can’t use your website to sell goods or services and unless you pay for one of the monthly plans, there will be WordPress.com advertising and branding on your site.
B. WordPress.org
This is where the real fun begins! With WordPress.org, you are responsible for purchasing your own domain name and providing your own hosting services. You’ll then install the (free) WordPress software on your server (more on that in a bit!). With this option, you can do pretty much anything you can imagine. You’ll be able to use premium plugins & themes (like those included with your WPMU DEV membership ;) ), and you can customize your site to your heart’s content.
Going this route, you could create your own eCommerce store, fashion blog, gaming community, or even a photographer’s or artist’s portfolio. You could also set up your own multisite network, and create a small community like WordPress.com. It all depends on the amount of work you’d like to put into it, and how much server space you’d like to pay for.
Pricing for hosting services will vary, though, as does the level of support that your hosting provider can provide – but no worries. We’ll walk you through the options available to you in the next section.