5 Difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org

When you want to start your own blog or website based on WordPress there is always one question you have to ask yourself: Is it better to go with WordPress.com or with WordPress.org? What are the differences and/or pros and cons of the one compared to the other. It can be a bit confusing, especially if you are new to the WordPress scene. Let us explain some differences to guide you to the best option for your website needs.

One major difference has to be mentioned before we start: free Vs paid. WordPress.com is a free service where you just have to create an account and start blogging. WordPress.com is hosted externally on a server while with WordPress.org you will have to contract a hosting company yourself. Although the WordPress.org software is FREE of charge, webhosting and a domain are not. This is already one of the biggest differences to start with.

Themes

One of the benefits of WordPress.org is the fact you will install all the software on your own/contracted server which will be linked to your domain. You own your stuff which will give you more flexibility and security. This is also important when you choose a theme. These can be free  or Premium themes which could be bought on Themeforest for instance. You can modify, customize and do anything with your theme to match the looks with your business or wishes.

On WordPress.com you are limited to free themes which exist in the WordPress theme catalog. These themes cannot be modified so you won’t be able to add codes and/or modify CSS for a different look. There are however some Premium themes available on WordPress.com but still the modification posibilities are nothing compared to the selfhosted WordPress.org.

Plugins

Besides themes, plugins are also a very important part of your WordPress installation. There are thousands of free plugins to be found in the WordPress.org catalog and these can easily be installed from within the theme’s dashboard and plugin section. There are also thousands of Premium plugins which can really add value to your own WordPress.org website, for instance on Codecanyon or WPMU.org.

On WordPress.com there are no third party plugins allowed which will make your website more basic and less flexible. Still, WordPress.com comes with a lot of built-in plugins but nothing compared to WordPress.org where you can upload any free, paid or custom plugins.

Costs

As mentioned before, the WordPress discussion also has to focus on free Vs paid. With a WordPress.org installation and website you will need to contract a webhosting company and have your own domain name. There are many companies who will offer you the best deals but there are always monthly and/or yearly fees to be paid. Although the WordPress core software is free of charge, Premium themes and plugins are not. You can always use free themes and plugins but be careful what you download and install, check codes and errors and make sure the theme developers know their business.

WordPress.com blogs are free of charge but again they come with their limitations. With your free account you have up to 3GB storage space for texts and images. If you want more storage space you can upgrade to 13GB for $100 per year including your own custom domain name and advanced customization but without Premium themes included. There is also an upgrade of $300 per year which includes unlimited space and 50+ Premium themes.

Maintenance

Your WordPress.org blog, personal or business website needs constant maintenace, meaning you have to upgrade themes, plugins and even WordPress core files when a new version is released. You also have to monitor your comments and check your spam regularly and of course make sure you are hack-free. You can do all of this yourself if you are familiar with WordPress but if you are not you will have to pay someone to do this for you. Themes and plugins are continuously upgraded and daily checks will be necessary.

With WordPress.com you don’t have to worry about anything. The WordPress staff takes care of all the maintenance including updates of themes, WP Core files, optimization etc.

Backups

Making regular backups of your WordPress.org based website is VERY important. Luckily most hosting providers schedule this on a daily basis and if something will go wrong or get lost, you can always contact them for your backup. Making your own backups is still very much recommended since updating themes, plugins and WP core files can easily mess up your site. There are various services who can take care of scheduled backups or you can use free or premium plugins and even do it manually by downloading all the website’s files to your dekstop.

With your WordPress.com website you will not need to worry about backups since the WordPress team will take care of this. Nothing will get lost or disconfigured.

So … which one will it be

As you can see there are pros and cons of using WordPress.org or WordPress.com and it is up to you to choose the right platform. WordPress.org gives you much more flexibility, customization and extension posibilities but there are also costs involved for domainname, webshosting, themes, plugins and maintenance.

With WordPress.com your site will become part of the WordPress.com community which is good for your appearence in the search engine results but WordPress.com sites give you less flexibility and customization posibilities and your website will look the same as others. For your personal blog this could be a good choice but you will probably make the switch from .com to .org in the future if you get familiar with WordPress and the powers of your own hosted website.

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