The Major Differences Between WordPress.org and WordPress.com

Any blogger or a business owner planning for a new website may encounter a common confusion of choosing the right WordPress extension. Generally, bloggers are torn between WordPress.com and WordPress.org . Both of them provide amazing blogging platforms with a few striking differences.

It is really important for bloggers and business owners to be aware of these differences. Also, it is ideal to examine the differences carefully to determine best suitable extension for your website. Here are few of the differences that can help you in choosing the ideal WordPress extension for your website.

WordPress.com and WordPress.org

WordPress.com is a commercial, free of cost, content and business hosting platform with certain sets of limitations. Although it allows you to host your site for free, you may need to upgrade for fulfilling specific requirements by paying a certain amount. WordPress.com updates your site regularly and protects it from spamming without much hassle. It lets you select a sub-domain which is free. A typical, free WordPress site with sub-domain that may read like ‘yourwebsitename.wordpress.com’

On the other hand, WordPress.org allows you to have your own replica of the blogging software for free. You are free to modify and redistribute as it is has a General Public License (GPL). You have the liberty to download it and utilize the same for creating your own website. However, one needs to pick up a hosting company that can host your website, manage as well as monitor the back-end on your behalf.

WordPress.org gives you a complete control over your website, allowing you to get help from end users through community forums. It also gives you a domain where you can elf-host your website. In that case, your web address looks like ‘yourbloggingwebsite.org’

Cost differentiation

If you are fine with having a basic domain name and using free themes without modification options then free version of WordPress.com might work just fine for you. In case if you are looking for a custom domain name with unrestricted images and videos storage options and minus all the unnecessary advertisements, then WordPress.org offers a better option.

Installing WordPress from WordPress.org is the most inexpensive option if you are considering the cost as a decisive factor.

Design Choices

There are way too many themes in WordPress.com for you. Quite a few are paid ones while there plenty of them available at free of cost as well. The problem with free themes is that they can not be customized. Free themes do not let you control colors, design, and layout. Hence, you are bound to accept the theme as is.

Upgrading to a premium plan can get you more customizing options. This premium plan can let you incorporate custom color schemes and allows you to add any font style you like on Google, giving independence to redesign template structural. While its counterpart WordPress.org is

While its counterpart WordPress.org is flooded with themes and modification options allowing users to customize the website. It is possible to customize further by upgrading it to a premium plan which has plenty of options from Envato Market.

It also offers a good number of plugins that you can install to extend your blogging website in a more interactive manner. Plugins allow you to integrate extra functionalities without any hassles. It is because plugins let you give the personal touch to your websites like adding attractive buttons, sliders, and various social media widgets.

Functionalities

WordPress.org gives the advantage to create a large pool of e-mail addresses to associate with your website without any additional cost. However, WordPress.com does not provide this option of integrating your e-mail sign up to develop the mail list.

If managing email database is one of your major requirements, then WordPress.org is ideal for you.

Control over your website

WordPress.com doesn’t allow you to own your content completely as it has high control over what you publish as a free user. WordPress.com holds all the rights to delete the website without prior warning if in case you fail to stick to their terms of service. It also displays third-party advertisements on your website regularly unless you upgrade your plan.

In WordPress.org, you are the one who owns your content and they cannot shut down your blogging website without any valid reason. Moreover, it also allows you to use affiliate links in order to market products excessively. You can monetize your account by using advertisement networks and by allowing end users to purchase your products.

As a professional blogger or a business owner, you might consider moving ahead with WordPress.org due to its excessive advantages and unlimited customization options. However, WordPress.org demands a great sense of responsibility from users as it requires them to buy a domain name and even search the hosting servers on their own.

About Shahid Mansuri

Shahid co-founded Peerbits, one of the leading mobile app development companies, in 2011. His visionary leadership and flamboyant management style have yield fruitful results for the company. He believes in sharing his strong knowledge base with leaned concentration on entrepreneurship and business. Being an avid nature lover, he likes to flaunt his pajamas on the beach during the vacations.

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