DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORDPRESS.COM AND WORDPRESS.ORG
Well to get it straight, they are 2 different platforms and not related.
Okay let’s start with:
WHAT IS WORDPRESS?
WordPress is a CMS (Content management system) which is a blogging platform.
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform and you will find 1 WordPress-powered website out of 4.
Other blogging platforms are Blogger, Tumblr, Squarespace, Medium and the list goes on.
With WordPress, you can build any type of website.
- E-commerce
- Blogs
- Forums
- Social Network
- Membership Sites
- Photography Sites
So when you hear about WordPress conferences, or people speaking about their online business with a WordPress-powered site then they are likely speaking about wordpress.org which is a self-hosted site.
By self-hosted site, it means you need to have a hosting service (GoDaddy, SiteGround, Hostgator, Bluehost…) to build a website on WordPress.
With a self-hosted site, you also need to purchase a domain name before you start.
Don’t get confused, check here if you are just starting out.
- 6 steps to Start a blog
- How to build a WordPress website with Siteground hosting in just 10 minutes.
On the other hand, WordPress.com is also a blogging platform but with much more limitations of using ad monetization and adding other earning revenues.
In short, it is difficult to be a professional blogger with a wordpress.com website as there are limitations to monetizing.
Do not confuse yourself and think you can anytime shift from one to another.
Yes, you can shift but it is the same as shifting from any other blogging platform to another one.
WordPress.com is a hosting service created by the Co-Founder of WordPress and I just wish it would have been given some other name, other than only changing its TLD to avoid the confusion.
IS WORDPRESS FREE?
Well, yes WordPress is free.
Am speaking of both WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
Like I said before, for wordpress.org you need to buy a domain name and hosting and WordPress.com is free but to use it professionally there are Pricing plans.
Let’s get into the details now.
BENEFITS OF WORDPRESS.COM
- It is much easier to use as the site will be maintained by wordpress.com.
- You do not need to care about back-ups, updates, or any optimization as WordPress staff will take care of that.
- Once you have 25000 monthly viewers then you can apply for AdWords as the ad monetization method.
- WordPress.com sites are free up to 3 GB of storage (You cannot have any custom URL here and WordPress will be showing their ads to recur the price)
CONS
- You are not allowed to sell ad space or get partnered with ad companies like Mediavine or Ad-thrive. The only way of earning will be through AdWords Ads.
- You are not allowed to install any WordPress Plugins whether free or paid.
- You cannot customize any themes or upload any new ones outside of the WordPress themes already installed.
- You cannot do much with SEO and bring your site to search engines (Yahoo, Google…) search results as you actually cannot install any plugins like Yoast SEO and others that are too helpful for SEO Purposes.
- For the limits of monetization, you cannot build an online store or any membership site.
- If you want to use your blog or website professionally then wordpress.com pricing plans are way higher than a wordpress.org self-hosted site.
If you upgrade to premium or Business then you are allowed to install third-party plugins like Google Analytics or SEO Plugins with a Price of $60-$70/year or more.
Check here for the full wordpress.com pricing list.
FEATURES OF DIFFERENT UPGRADES OF PLANS
BLOGGER:
- Custom. blog domain name
- Removal of WordPress.com Advertising
- 6 GB storage space
- Access to email support
- Ability to upload audio files
- Price: $2.19 monthly, billed annually
PERSONAL
- BLOGGER features
- Live chat support
- Price: $3.65 monthly, billed annually
PREMIUM
- PERSONAL Features
- 13 GB storage
- Advanced design tools
- Premium themes access
- Ability to monetize with ads (Adwords)
- Can upload audio and video files
- Price: $5.10monthly, billed annually
BUSINESS
- PREMIUM features
- Use of Google Analytics
- Unlimited Storage
- Ability to use 3rd party themes and plugins and monetization methods such as Google Adsense.
- SEO Tools
- Price: $11.67 monthly, billed annually
E-COMMERCE
- BUSINESS Features
- Premium storefront child theme
- Premium WooCommerce extensions
- Integration with top shipping carriers
- Ability to accept payments in 60+ countries
- Price: $ 21 monthly, billed annually
As I said earlier you need to buy a hosting plan to build your website and a domain name.
You can get a hosting plan as low as $3.95 from Siteground which will give you amazing tech support and the ability to customize your themes and plugins.
And if you do not know how to start with a website with Siteground then here’s the complete Siteground tutorial.
Get a domain name from GoDaddy.com it is cheaper there 🙂
BENEFITS OF WORDPRESS.ORG
I think I can make a list here that will go on and on.
- You can install any plugins or any paid 3rd party plugins for your SEO, analytics, or any kind of optimization.
- Have literally thousands of free themes and also can upload any paid themes when required.
- Can do full customizations of themes.
- You can install the Google Analytics plugin and connect them to check your real-time data and powerful analytics.
Check: Complete the tutorial to start using Google Analytics effectively from Day 1.
- You can build any kind of store as E-commerce or any Membership sites.
- You can easily partner with high-paid ad companies or sell your own ad space.
CONS
- You have to maintain your site.
- You have to keep your site optimized for SEO, backups, and speed optimized for better SEO results.
Check 11 Ways to actually speed up your WordPress site for better SEO.
If you need a lil’ bit of a roadmap to start a blog and then get visibility in search engines with basic SEO and how to start using social media for your online business then you must check how to start a blog from scratch.
MY TAKE:
Start your site with wordpress.org. You will feel the liberty to make your blog your way. Go for Siteground hosting for amazing customer support and choose the grow big plan as you will never know when you start building more than 1 site.
