Two Kinds of WordPress and a lot of Confusion

So you’re ready for a new site and have heard a lot about WordPress. You Google it and find two different websites – wordpress.com and wordpress.org. What the heck? It is super confusing so I thought I’d use today’s blog post to clarify why there are two, how they are alike, and how they are different and which kind you probably want.

Let me start with the basics. WordPress is a publishing platform (also known as a content management system) for creating and publishing new content on the Internet. There are two different kinds of WordPress sites: fully-hosted and self-hosted.

wordpress.com

A website that is created and hosted on the WordPress servers. What does that mean? It’s an all-in-one solution for your website. You don’t have to buy a domain, set up web hosting, install software, or do any design. You sign up and you have a website, usually with a URL like mynewwebsite.wordpress.com, and all you have to do is pick a theme, add in your content, and you’re done. It comes ready with a ton of free available themes so you can choose how your site will look and it includes all your web hosting, security, and backups. There are also a widely available number of plugins for extending the functionality of your site. You can even use your own domain name if you want (for an added fee.)

There are many pros and cons to having a site hosted at WordPress. It’s super easy, and you don’t need any technical knowledge to do it. You don’t have to worry about securing your site, updating your software, backing up your site, or any server configurations. That’s all done for you. On the flip side, you can’t upload your own plugins or premium plugins, you can’t edit the code, and customization options are fairly limited.

A wordpress.com site is a good option for a DIYer without a lot of technical know-how who wants a new site without a lot of expense or hassle.

wordpress.org

A website that uses the WordPress software but is installed on your own web hosting account. That means you need your domain (such as sumydesigns.com) and a web hosting account. You then have to install the software on your web hosting account, add in any themes, plugins, and content you want and secure the site. If you want backups, you may have to configure that too if your web host doesn’t do that. Depending on your web host, you may have to make choices and configurations on your server. You will also be responsible for managing all your software updates, and those happen fairly frequently.

However, the benefits of self-hosting are great. Yes, it requires more work and more technical knowledge, but you can also use any plugin you want, including premium plugins. You can use any theme you want, including custom themes. You can change or edit the code at any time however you want. There are no limits to what you can do and how you can extend your website when you self-host it.

A few other notes

• You might think that since they are both WordPress, they are the same, but the entire user-interface for the platforms is very different and sometimes moving from wordpress.com to wordpress.org can be confusing.
• If you have a wordpress.com login, that won’t work on your self-hosted WordPress site. However, you can connect your self-hosted WordPress site to wordpress.com to use some of their features, like Jetpack, analytics, etc. (But they are still two different sites.)
• If you want to use Gravatar (a globally recognized avatar that follows you on the web), you have to sign up for a WordPress.com account, even if you have a self-hosted WordPress site.

So what kind of WordPress site should you have?

We only design and develop using self-hosted WordPress sites, so if you want a custom designed site, that’s how you want to go. Self-hosted WP sites are best for businesses and entrepreneurs, organizations, or anyone wanting special functionality. Understand that this will require more work, more maintenance and likely a professional web developer to support you.

Freelancers and bloggers just getting started with low budgets and low technical skills who want to do it themselves would do well with a wordpress.com site.

Need a new site? We can help you navigate this confusing web and get you set up with a great site you’ll love. Contact us for a quote today.