We are all aware of how effective WordPress is at enabling us to easily create the website we want without the need for coding expertise. Do you, however, understand the distinctions between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?
WordPress provides choices for you, whether you need a site to manage your e-commerce business, want to create a blog, or need a landing page to gather leads. You may have come across the WordPress.com and WordPress.org websites if you’re thinking about using WordPress to develop your website.
WordPress.com and WordPress.org are the two domains new users can choose from to launch a WordPress site. Even though both of them provide well-known WordPress site-building and content management systems, there are some distinctions between them. In this post, we’ll compare WordPress.com vs WordPress.org in-depth so you can decide which is ideal for your requirements.
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WordPress.com Vs WordPress.org: A Quick Glance
What is WordPress, you may be asking yourself? One of the most popular website creation tools worldwide is WordPress. Because it is free and open source, any member of the WordPress community can alter and distribute it. Anyone may get the core WordPress software package from WordPress.org, or they can have it installed as a component of a hosting plan from a web hosting company.
While WordPress.com is a hosting service offered by Automattic that enables users to develop and maintain websites or blogs without the requirement for self-hosting, WordPress CMS is powered by open-source software accessible via WordPress.org. While WordPress.org allows total control over website modification, WordPress.com offers a simpler experience with less control over the codebase.
The choice between WordPress.com and WordPress.org primarily hinges on the degree of control a user wants over the design and maintenance of their site, since the distinctions between hosted and self-hosted websites result in differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
What are The Differences between WordPress.com Vs WordPress.org?
Here are some points that you may consider for the differences between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org:
Pricing
Users of WordPress.com have access to a subscription-based business model. Depending on the plan you choose, it offers various pricing levels with extra features that vary from $0 to $160 per month (paid annually).
These options, as opposed to the open-source variant, each come with an SSL certificate, web hosting, and domain name (excluded from the free plan).
As WordPress.org is an open-source platform, as was previously said, downloading and installing it is totally free. Also, upgrade your WordPress.org website without worrying about paying any monthly or yearly costs.
Although the platform is free, you will still need to pay for hosting, a domain name, and an SSL certificate. A domain name typically costs $7.99 annually, and a hosting package costs $1.99 monthly.
Ease to Use for Everyone
WordPress.org and WordPress.com both require a certain amount of technical expertise. This is especially true with the first platform, which enables customers to personalize their website by delving deeper into the underlying code. You might entirely build a brand-new website from the ground up to meet your main company goals if you have coding knowledge or can work with a developer.
The process of establishing a website with WordPress.com is far more simplified as compared to the open-source version. It is a fully functional hosting service that offers people everything they need to get started using the internet. A website may be readily set up and created in a matter of minutes.
WordPress Themes: Endless Options for Every Style
First impressions are more significant than ever in the world we live in. You should thus take your time to make your internet presence look beautiful. Choosing the appropriate theme for your WordPress site is one of the first things you may do.
WordPress.org, this WordPress version, offers a huge selection of both paid and free themes that are fully responsive and cross-platform compatible. More than 10,000+ themes are available in the WordPress.org marketplace right now, giving users a wide range of choices.
WordPress.com Themes, While there are just a few hundred themes available on WordPress.com, there are thousands more designs available on WordPress.org.
Also, the plan you select on WordPress.com will affect how many theme choices you’ll have direct access to. You may choose from more than 150 free themes if you choose the free or personal subscription. The same free themes and more than 200 paid themes will be available to you if you subscribe to the Premium, Business, or eCommerce plans, though.
The Endless Functionality: WordPress Plugins
The variety of plugin possibilities on WordPress.com is totally dependent on the payment plan you are on, much like themes.
Users of the Free, Personal, or Premium plans will only have access to the standard built-in features. You must upgrade to the Business or eCommerce plan in order to add plugins and expand the functionality of your store. These plans provide you access to more than 50,000 WordPress plugins.
And it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to argue that WordPress.org has the most comprehensive marketplace for plugins among website builders. Its marketplace offers a wide selection of more than 59,500 free and paid plugins that you can use to improve and increase the functionality of your website.
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com Customizability Options
For organizations and individuals that desire total control over the appearance and operation of their website, WordPress.org is the go-to platform. You have several possibilities for modifying plugins, extensions, and themes so that your website may be made to precisely meet your own requirements. WordPress.org has you covered whether you want to add e-commerce capabilities, build a magnificent portfolio, or simply want a customized look and feel for your business.
It’s crucial to remember that considerable customized power also comes with significant responsibility. It’s essential to keep your plugins and themes updated to guarantee the best functionality and security for your WordPress website. Although some technical knowledge may be needed, the outcomes are worthwhile.
Conversely, WordPress.com is a great option for people looking for a simple setup procedure and a user-friendly interface. But, depending on your membership level, there may not be as many customization choices available to you as there are with WordPress.org. Despite this, WordPress.com is still a fantastic choice for anyone who only needs a basic website without any frills.
SEO Functionality
Both WordPress.com and WordPress.org offer strong SEO tools, the most well-known of which you may be familiar with being Yoast SEO. By utilizing the fantastic SEO features of this plugin, you may greatly enhance your store.
WordPress.org might be a better choice, nonetheless, if your market is crowded. Due to its open-source nature, users have full control over SEO, enabling them to manually alter various aspects of SEO performance that are not possible with a hosted solution.
When the Question is about Security And Backup
All current standards and security criteria are followed in the development of WordPress.org software. WordPress itself is really pretty secure when deployed properly. It’s definitely difficult for a hacker to get inside.
However, maintaining the website is your responsibility. You must ensure that the data for your store is appropriately backed up and stay on top of software changes.
You will have to manually update your store, which will take a lot of your time and work. Also, there’s a potential that the upgrade procedure can slow down how quickly your site loads.
On the other hand, WordPress.com will handle all maintenance and security-related responsibilities in the meantime for its users.
Updates, plugin compatibility, or reading release notes are not issues for you. The self-hosted WordPress version will take care of managing and upgrading all security patches and the most recent versions for your store, considerably reducing downtime and ensuring that your sites stay up to date.
Come to Help And Support
The WordPress.org version is a free and open-source website builder that you must install and customize on your own, following the published instructions. In exchange, clients may not always receive specialized assistance when using the product, which might help you keep costs down.
Nonetheless, there is a sizable user community on WordPress.org to assist users if they encounter any issues. You may get guidance and pointers from programmers and other seasoned users here. In addition, WordPress.org offers its users a wealth of online documentation.
On the other hand, you cannot get specialized help if you use the free edition of WordPress.com. But don’t worry, there are many tools at your disposal to assist you! You may perform a search on the discussion boards, look at user-created FAQs, or read the online documentation.
You can upgrade to the Personal or Premium plans if you discover that you require more specialized assistance. With email and live chat support included with these services, you may contact a WordPress specialist anytime you need assistance.
Consider subscribing to the Business Plan or above if you truly require access to help at all hours of the day or night. You may obtain assistance whenever you need it thanks to these plans’ access to priority live chat support that is available around the clock.
For new users, the similarities between WordPress.com and WordPress.org may be confusing. Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of how these two website builders differ from one another.
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FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?
If you export your content and transfer it to your self-hosted website, you may migrate your website from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.
Is WordPress.org more secure than WordPress.com?
Both systems can be kept secure with the right security precautions, but WordPress.org gives you more control over the security of your website.
Can I use third-party plugins on WordPress.com?
You are limited to using the accessible plugins.
