WordPress vs WordPress.com

Often times when first starting out it is difficult to tell the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

One main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is who is hosting your website.

With WordPress.org, you host your blog or website through a hosting company such as Flywheel. WordPress.org is full of free plugins, can be used with popular themes like Divi (What this site is built with), allows you to do anything you want, is much cheaper, and overall is the best option. The only downside is that it takes a tad bit more technical know-how but isn't that hard to pick up. By using a digital marketing agency like us, Tricities Media Group, you get the best of both worlds because we handle all the techy stuff and keep your site running smoothly while you get all the freedom you will ever need.

On the flip side, WordPress.com takes care of the hosting for you automatically. You don’t have to download software, pay for hosting, and don't have to do any maintenance work. If you are a DIY kind of person but you don't know a thing about server maintenance, and you only have a couple of bucks to spend per month, WordPress.com might be your best option.

Some Pros And Cons Of Both

Both have pros, and both have cons. It depends on your skill level if you choose a DIY route or budget and if you prefer to let the pros handle it for you.

If the word Web Server scares you, then you are probably best suited for Wordpress.com or working with a digital marketing agency. However, it may cost more…

A few cons of using WordPress.com include that your domain will be {sitename}.wordpress.com. You can, of course, pay extra to assign a custom domain or buy a new domain, but you will have to spend extra money. Another downside is customizability, Wordpress.com does not allow you to use custom themes on their lower-tier plans, custom plugins, or modify any code behind your site.

While Wordpres.com advertises that you can create a free site, your site won't look very good without paid upgrades. Premium upgrades include domain name registration (if you don’t want WordPress.com in your domain name), the ability to upload videos, and the option to use Wordpress.com's premium themes (still not custom 3rd party themes).

Using Wordpress.org on a host such as Flywheel is much cheaper and allows you to do virtually whatever you want. With this great freedom, you also have some responsibilities, which pretty much just consist of logging in and clicking the update button every few weeks. Using WordPress.org means you can use your own domain name, upload and install themes and plugins at will, edit the code behind your site, and have access to your site’s database and files.

With a host such as Flywheel, all the heavy lifting and legwork is done for you. Flywheel allows you to install WordPress on your domain with only a few clicks and makes sure it stays on the latest version. Learn More About Flywheel

This article does contain affiliate links. Affiliate links give us a small cut of the profit when you purchase a product after clicking one of our links. This is at no cost to you and helps us write more content. This post was originally posted on our other blog TheChurchFactory.com.