{"id":7906,"date":"2023-01-01T11:17:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T19:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ryrob.com\/?p=7906"},"modified":"2024-02-26T11:59:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T19:59:43","slug":"what-is-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ryrob.com\/what-is-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"What is WordPress? The Difference Between WordPress.org and WordPress.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, you’re here to answer the question… what is WordPress?<\/strong> So here we go:<\/p>\n

What is WordPress?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

WordPress is a simple blogging platform started in 2003 to help publishers, bloggers, and businesses quickly build, publish, and maintain websites without having to hire a technical team to do it, but WordPress has since transformed into much more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most people who are interested in starting a blog<\/a>\u00a0will hear the name WordPress pretty early on in their research. And during that research phase, the next natural question is often, what\u2019s the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to answer both of those questions here today, but first, we need to give you more context about what WordPress has become in recent years.<\/p>\n

What is WordPress? The Difference Between WordPress.org and WordPress.com<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
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WordPress is now used by millions of people. It\u2019s estimated that there are currently 19.5 Million websites using WordPress<\/a>\u00a0around the world\u2014and it powers more than 34% of all websites on the Internet.<\/p>\n

Not only that, but some of the biggest brands in the world use WordPress to power their websites and blogs, including companies like TechCrunch, The Walt Disney Company, Mercedes-Benz, The White House, Etsy, and many more… including mine that you’re reading from right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s particularly great about WordPress is how diverse of a publishing platform it is. You can use WordPress to make almost any kind of website, ranging from an eCommerce store, to a blog, portfolio, membership site, business page, social network, online forum, and more. The possibilities are truly endless.<\/p>\n

Now, if you\u2019ve started researching WordPress, then you may be confused by the fact that there are actually two<\/em>\u00a0versions of WordPress.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s WordPress.com and WordPress.org, both of which go back quite far in the history of blogging<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But… why are there two names and what\u2019s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Here’s a hyperlinked table of contents if you’d like to jump straight down to the section you’re looking for.<\/p>\n

What’s the Difference Between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Short Answer: What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. The Long Version: More differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Cost differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Is it cheaper to go with WordPress.org or WordPress.com?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. What is a WordPress theme?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. What is a WordPress plugin?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. Ease of use between WordPress.org and WordPress.com<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  8. Is WordPress.org or WordPress.com better?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Disclosure:<\/strong> Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I\u2019ll earn a commission. Know that I only recommend tools, products, and services I\u2019ve personally used and stand behind. When you sign up for hosting with one of my affiliate links, the company compensates me, which helps me run this blog and keep all of my in-depth content free of charge for readers.<\/p>\n

    <\/a>What\u2019s the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    WordPress.org<\/a> is a free CMS that powers blogs and websites (like mine). WordPress.com<\/a> is a hosting service that uses WordPress software to create a blog or website.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This guide will show you the meaningful differences between the two.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019ll also help you understand what WordPress is<\/strong>\u00a0and how to pick which option is\u00a0best for you<\/em>\u00a0and your blogging goals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Before diving into more details and specifics though, let’s look at the bare-bones difference between Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com.<\/p>\n

    \"Difference<\/p>\n

    WordPress.org is a content management system (CMS) that\u2019s open-source<\/a> and self-hosted. It\u2019s totally free and it can be installed on your own web host.<\/p>\n

    WordPress.org was created before WordPress.com and is often the version people are referencing when they recommend using WordPress. It\u2019s also often referred to as self-hosted WordPress when reading through guides about how to start a blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    WordPress.org offers a very high level of customization, thousands of WordPress themes<\/a> to make your blog-building process easier, and access to over 59,000 plugins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \"Difference<\/a><\/p>\n

    WordPress.com is essentially a website builder that also <\/em>provides the hosting service for you (for a monthly fee).<\/p>\n

    One benefit of using WordPress.com is that you won\u2019t need to use a different third-party web hosting company<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n

    However, a drawback is that while WordPress.com uses the same software as WordPress.org, it doesn\u2019t provide the same level of customization (more on that later).<\/p>\n

    There is a limited free version of WordPress.com<\/a> but the paid plans offer more features and flexibility than the free version.<\/p>\n

    Now that we’ve done a brief overview, let\u2019s dive deeper into the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.<\/p>\n

    <\/a>The long version: What’s the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \"What's<\/p>\n

    To get a clear idea about the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com, it\u2019s helpful to compare multiple aspects of the two.<\/p>\n

    While there are similarities between the two platforms, there are some pretty significant differences as well. Here\u2019s a point-by-point guide explaining key similarities and differences between the two options.<\/p>\n

    In this section, we’ll start by covering the cost to run a blog on each platform, the WordPress themes<\/a> & WordPress plugins<\/a> available to install, ease of use, and customization capabilities.<\/p>\n

    <\/a>What’s the cost to run a WordPress.org blog vs using WordPress.com?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    There\u2019s a long-standing debate about which platform is cheaper to run overall.<\/p>\n

    Not everyone agrees, so I\u2019ll break down the typical costs you should expect to see with both (depending on which features you want to activate).<\/p>\n

    The cost to set up a WordPress.org blog<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    At first glance, WordPress.org seems like the obvious choice financially.<\/p>\n

    The software is free to the public, and WordPress requires no upfront money to get started. You can run a fairly sophisticated website without paying any fees to WordPress.<\/p>\n

    However, as I mentioned before, with WordPress.org, you\u2019ll need to pay for a hosting service. You\u2019ll also have to find a name for your blog<\/a> and pay for the domain name where your website will live.<\/p>\n

    I personally use and recommend Bluehost<\/a>, one of the longest-standing players in the WordPress web hosting space for getting your domain name and hosting set up.<\/p>\n

    \"WordPress<\/a><\/p>\n

    As I mentioned, Bluehost<\/a> is one of the most established companies in the WordPress hosting industry and offers plans for as little as $3.95\/mo (billed annually). Their hosting plans also come with a free domain name for the first year.<\/p>\n

    Another nice feature about Bluehost is that it works really<\/em> well with WordPress. They have a 1-Click install option that makes spinning up your blog easy and straightforward.<\/p>\n

    \"Why<\/p>\n

    If you end up going with Bluehost<\/a>, the plan I recommend is their Choice Plus<\/strong> plan, because it comes with a Domain Privacy feature. This keeps your personal information as a website owner private and withholds it from being publicly visible online. You can choose any of the options, though, and just add domain privacy in the checkout process for about $1\/mo.<\/p>\n

    Bottom line, self-hosting your WordPress blog with a company like Bluehost is the most affordable option.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    The cost to host your own blog<\/a> is quite minimal compared to any other popular website builders\u2014around $65\/year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s quite a bit cheaper than using WordPress.com<\/a>\u2019s paid plans (which unlock the kinds of features you’d want if you’re hoping to grow a blog<\/a> as a business).<\/p>\n

    When you use WordPress.org, there are a lot of free themes and WordPress plugins<\/a> that new bloggers can hit the ground running with. Free themes and plugins are still a very viable way to build a good-looking website on a budget.<\/p>\n

    If you want to have more control over your blog though, you may ultimately opt to buy a premium plugin or theme (like the OptimizePress<\/a> or Elementor<\/a> themes that power my blog).<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    We\u2019ll discuss plugins (most of which are free) more soon, but there are times when a paid plugin is worth your money.<\/p>\n

    You may also choose to pay for a more fully-featured WordPress theme if you\u2019re unable to find a free option that suits your needs.<\/p>\n

    A self-hosted blog<\/a> on WordPress allows you to be as simple or as complex as you’d like with your site.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re not an experienced web developer, but you have a specific look in mind, you can still always find a professional on a freelance site<\/a> to customize your blog on a budget.<\/p>\n

    The cost to set up a free WordPress.com blog<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    WordPress.com<\/a> does offer a free (pretty limited) version if you want to get started without any money down.<\/p>\n

    With a free WordPress.com blog, you’ll also be limited to a website name like…\u00a0 yourcoolblog.wordpress.com<\/em> which lives on the WordPress domain.<\/p>\n

    And while they do share<\/a>, \u201cEvery single week, thousands of people start their journey with a free<\/em> WordPress website,\u201d that statement doesn’t explain exactly how their free website plans are limited in scope and features.<\/p>\n

    With the free version, you\u2019ll receive 3GB of storage, dozens of free responsive themes, and some basic plugin features from Jetpack. If you need support during the process of starting your blog<\/a>, you’ll need to rely on public forums to ask for help\u2014as email & live chat support comes only with paid plans.<\/p>\n

    If you choose their free plan, you won’t have control over your own website\u2019s advertising options either.<\/p>\n

    WordPress.com will put their own banner advertisements on your website and collect any earnings from them.<\/p>\n

    As I mentioned already, your domain name will only be able to have the WordPress extension tied to it if you’re on their free plan.<\/p>\n

    For example, my blog here is ryrob.com<\/a>. My domain name is<\/a> simple, easy to remembe<\/a>r<\/a>, and free from third-party advertising or branding. I truly own my platform.<\/p>\n

    \"WordPress<\/p>\n

    If I were using the free version of WordPress.com to create my blog, my domain name would look like…\u00a0 ryrob.wordpress.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s not as professional-looking and is hardly memorable to the readers who come to my blog.<\/p>\n

    So that\u2019s what you get with the free version of WordPress.com. Now, we\u2019ll get into what you get with each of their paid web hosting plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    The cost to set up a paid WordPress.com blog<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    \"How<\/a><\/p>\n

    WordPress.com<\/a> has five levels of paid versions to choose from, with each step up offering a few more features.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s break down each one to show what you\u2019re getting:<\/p>\n

    Starter Plan (WordPress.com Hosting)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    The Starter plan costs $9 a month. Here\u2019s a basic rundown of what you’ll get with it:<\/p>\n