You want to have your own website for the purpose of running your own blog? There are various platforms to choose from, but WordPress is undoubtedly the most popular one. The next logical question is whether to use the services of WordPress.org or WordPress.com. The first option is certainly the better and preferred platform by most bloggers. Find out the reason why below.

wordpress.com or wordpress.org

As some may know, I started blogging using WordPress.com and I have stayed with them for a couple of months. The experience was fast, cool and easy. I didn’t have to worry about anything else than writing the content. I get themes, widgets, and hosting all for free! But, yes it does have lots of limitations.

Let’s click the fast forward. Now I am with the open source WordPress.org and it is really greater than the latter. I get to choose my plug-ins, lots of themes, put on ads, but the sad thing is – you also take charge in your web hosting, manage your security, and carry the load of your blog’s problems. Indeed, everything has their own strengths. Alright, let us dig in a little deeper now.

wordpress.org advantages over wordpress.com

WordPress.org and WordPress.com – The Difference

The first website offers the software which you need in order to set up your own website. You get everything you need – all the WordPress files, free themes and a wide range of plug-ins for making your pages more functional. You need to get your own domain name, which can be anything you want, and subscribe to a hosting service so that your website can go and stay live online.

If you go for WordPress.com, you will get all the software that this platform uses for creating a website plus hosting on the company’s servers. The hosting is absolutely free of charge. However, it comes with a set of restrictions. These affect the way in which you can create and use your website. Hence, these restrictions may interfere with your blog operations as well. The main culprit, is the inability to put your own ads.

*You can also see the comparison in the official WordPress website here.

WordPress.org Advantages

You Pick your Own Domain Name

  • If you go for the dot com, your website will appear as yourblogname.wordpress.com. However, you can get a unique domain name of .com/net/org  for a price of $10 (about Php450) per year. With WordPress.org, you can choose any domain name with any extension that you like. There are no restrictions whatsoever so you can buy any domain name extension you like according to your needs.

You Choose the Web Hosting

  • It is true that the WordPress.com service is reliable, but you can certainly find a better one. At the same time, good-quality hosting is more affordable than ever before and is expected to become even cheaper. However, please do take note that it costs you a monthly or yearly fee. You can also find a free web hosting service but be careful though. If you want a reliable free hosting, contact me so I can suggest you one.

You Select the Theme and Customize it

  • This is perhaps one of the main reasons why you should go for WordPress.org. You can pick any theme that you like while with the alternative service you are restricted to a set number of themes. You can customize any element of the theme so that you get a completely unique website. This is not possible with wp.com so there may be a range of sites that look exactly like yours.

Lot of plug-ins are Accessible

  • You simply have to get what you need. With plug-ins you can have great video content on your website and create all kinds of catalogues. You can make your search engine optimization more efficient. You can use social media marketing and email marketing more effectively. The alternative restricts your use of plug-ins. You get to select only from the ones made available to subscribers of the service.

You have complete control over your Website’s Content

  • With the alternative option the service provider retains the right to post ads on your website. This is not common, but sometimes they will do it. This may affect not only the looks of your website, but also your blog activities. There is no such thing with the wp.org option. You are in complete control.

Conclusion

You should certainly choose WordPress.org over WordPress.com if you want to manage your blog seriously, completely and independently. But don’t make harsh decisions because you might burn yourself too early with the costs and stress you’ll cover. If you don’t want a high maintenance blog, you can always try the Blogger platform (Blogspot) which is also free, easy to use and have lots of customizations.

Now that we’ve discussed the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org, you choose what’s best suited for you. For me, WordPress.org is clearly the winner among the two,

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