The difference between WordPress.com to WordPress.org

In this post I will explain the difference between opening a blog or website in WοrdPress.com to an self-hosted WordPress.org installation on a standalone server. I will explain the differences and the difference in terms of costs, benefits and disadvantages of each platform and how to choose what fits the requirements. Let’s start by comparison.

• WordPress.com is a commercial site that allows opening a blog or site based on WordPress (WordPress). Basic opening of a blog or a site system is free but limited and requires an additional fee for every domain name, such as adding plugins and themes.
• WordPress.org is an independent platform designed for a blog or content management system and operates about 25% of websites today. If you choose to use an independent platform there is a need to purchase a domain and hosting. The system is open source, so you have full control of all files. There are many WordPress plugins, themes and it receive frequent updates so it always remains flexible and secure.

Comparison between WordPress.com to WordPress.org

In this section I will compare and examine the two services in several parameters

Costs

• WordPress.com allows opening a blog or a free basic website and in easy way but it’s not enough for a business website or a professional blog. The free themes they provide are very limited and same about the plugins that not exist like the independent platform and requires an additional charge. Storage is also limited. Another detail, the service includes advertising, you need to pay to remove them.
• WordPress.org initial cost is the domain and hosting. The limit of stoarge space depends on the hosting plan you will choose. There are a large variety of themes and plugins. No need to pay for removing advertisements.

Flexibility

• WordPress.com is limited to the changes you can make to a blog or website. There is no option to add e-commerce functionality, just if you pay an additional fee of $ 299 per year. Themes and plugins are limited. There is no option to custom theme or plugin and to remove the advertisement you required to pay. No FTP access to the site. Unable to implent the analytics code.
• WordPress.org system is very flexible and allows any changes. Wide variety of themes and plugins. Full control of all system files. Do not depend on any service, you can move the site to another hosting whenever you want.

Operation

• With WordPress.com you doesn’t need to worry about the operational level. The system is updated alone.
• WordPress.org is your responsibility to take care of updating the system. At first you will need to install and configure of the database and server settings. There is a need to update plugins and themes from time to time. It’s required to backup the files and database for any case.

Summary

In summary, if you are interested in a personal website, a professional blog or a commercial website, you should chose on self-hosted WordPress.org that allow you great flexibility in terms of design, plugins, files management and database. Although the operation of such website requires constant updates, this would be the right choice in terms of costs for most websites. This is my personal recommendation.