In this post, we are going to discuss the primary differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org which is better known as just WordPress.
By the end of this article, you will be able to make an educated decision about which one is best for you.
First, let’s discuss WordPress.com and its advantages.
Advantages Of WordPress.com
Easy To Set Up And Maintain
The first one is the fact that that WordPress.com is very easy to set up and maintain.
In fact, you can be up and running with WordPress.com within just a few minutes.
Multiples Servers
They place your site on multiple servers.
This helps protect your website in the event that anything bad happens to any of one of the servers.
WordPress Hosted
Speaking of servers, hosting for WordPress.com websites is handled entirely by them.
Blogs Are Free
Finally and possibly most importantly, websites and blogs are entirely free on their site as long as you are ok with a domain structure of domain.wordpress.com.
For example, you might choose baking.wordpress.com or ABCwidgets.wordpress.com.
Disadvantages Of WordPress.com
Now, let’s discuss the disadvantages of using WordPress.com.
Expensive Domain Registration
First of all, if you wish to use your own domain instead of using the domain.wordpress.com structure, you will need to register that domain with them.
If you do that, you will pay about $20 per year instead of the amount that most domain registration companies charge which is currently about $10.
You have already registered the domain with another domain registration company, you will need to map that domain to WordPress.com for a cost of $12 per year, that is in addition to the $12 or so that you are paying the domain registration company.
Therefore, you may end up paying $24 or more a year for your domain which is by most standards pretty expensive.
No Plugins
WordPress.com does not allow you to install your own plugins.
Plugins are like applications or apps for a smart phone.
They allow you to add functionality to your website without the need to write any code.
This might include adding a contact form, security programs, advertising software and membership software, social media connection buttons and more.
While WordPress.com does have several popular plugins built in, you will still be severely limited.
Limited Themes
Another thing that you can not do with WordPress.com is to add custom or third party themes.
Themes are the framework that makes up the look of your website.
Every WordPress website be it WebHostMan.com or BBC.com has a theme.
With WordPress.com, you have access to a limited number of themes and you do not have the ability to upload or create your own.
By current numbers, regardless of the WordPress.com theme that you choose, you will be sharing it with over 200,000 other websites.
In other words, your site will not be very unique with WordPress.com.
No Ads
Many people put up websites or blogs with the intention of making money, unfortunately, they do not allow you to place advertisements on your WordPress.com website.
However, they can and probably will add advertising to your website but they will not share any advertising revenue with you, so you will have no control over the nature and frequency of the ads that appear and you will not make money off of them.
If monetizing your website is even a slight possibility, WordPress.com is not the right platform for you.
In summary, while WordPress.com is free, it offers very little control over your blog.
Now, let’s take a look at WordPress.org or better known as just WordPress.
Advantages Of WordPress.org
1000s Of Plugins
First of all, they offer thousands of plugins, as we discussed plugins add extra functionality to your website or blog without the need to do any coding or programming.
This is one of the primary strengths of the WordPress platform and one of the top reasons for choosing WordPress over WordPress.com.
1000s Of Free Themes
Next, let’s discuss themes.
There are thousands of both free and premium themes that are available to use with WordPress or you can create your own.
Premium themes can run anywhere from about $10 to $80 but to have a fantastic looking website with extensive customization options available right out of the box, it is well worth the cost.
Own Domain/Brand
With WordPress you truly own your brand, there are no options for a domain.wordpress.com type of a structure.
You must have your own domain and really if you are serious about your website or blog, this is the only way to go.
You Control Ads
Whether or not advertisements appear on your site is entirely up to you with WordPress.
Not only do you get to decide the nature and look of the advertisements, you also receive all of the profit that is generated by those advertisements.
Unlimited Storage (Usually)
With them, your site can generally be as large as you want.
Technically any size limitations are imposed by your hosting company but most of those now offer a lot of storage.
With WordPress.com you are limited to only 3 gigabytes, which is way too little.
Nearly Complete Control
What does all this mean?
It means that with WordPress you have nearly complete control over every aspect of your website.
Now, let’s cover the downsides of their site.
Disadvantages Of WordPress.org
Need To Get Hosting
First of all, you do need your own hosting account.
These generally run about $5 to $10 per month.
Here on this website, we recommend you some of the sites that you can use and some of them will give you a huge discount if you are just starting out.
Setup Is Slightly More Involved
Setting up WordPress is more involved than setting up the free version of it but most hosting companies have made installing it as simple as clicking a one button.
You Control Spam/Backups
Finally, with WordPress, you are responsible for controlling spam on your own website as well as making sure it is regularly backed up.
Fortunately, with WordPress’ vast repository of plugins, these tasks can easily be set up and automated for no money.
In summary, WordPress.com is quite to set up and for the most part, free but it is very limited and your site is not going to look unique if you are going to use them.
It may be a great choice for you if you want to create a hobby or a small website that you have no intention of promoting or monetizing.
WordPress, on the other hand, provides you with tons of amazing templates and complete control over your own website and it is the only real choice if you want to make some money with it and if you want to build an online business today.