WordPress.com Vs. WordPress.org: What’s the Difference?

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WordPress is a common platform that many companies worldwide use to create their online website, whether it is for personal or for business purposes. But what is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org and how will you know which one to choose? You have probably come across this dilemma and find that it is often a source of confusion for many people. Well now you will know the difference as you will see which one is the better choice for your website.

WordPress.com: The Perks

WordPress.com is a commercial website that runs on the open source platform, where you can host your sites at no cost. Technically WordPress.com is a subdomain that has WordPress in your website address, unless you upgrade to the paid version to use a custom domain that will remove WordPress from your address. One of the perks of using this site is that it is regularly updated and protected from spam without any concerns.

With WordPress.com, you are capable of having your website up and running as fast as choosing your business site name, especially for those who fear the technical side of running a site. All the technical parts of running a website are done for you, so you don’t have to stress over running updates, creating backups in case of a disaster, spam protection, having to find a hosting provider and heavy security.

WordPress.com: The Drawbacks

As easy as WordPress.com is, having WordPress.com in your site address or having to purchase a domain name directly from them. Also having to pay fees for specific extensions such as a .me or .co.  If you brought your own domain name, WordPress.com will charge you a fee of $13 per year on top of your domain name registration fee for yearly renewal. When wanting more control over the design of your site, such as fonts, unlimited colour schemes, etc. you will have to upgrade to a premium package that runs you $8.25 per month.

WordPress.org: The Perks

WordPress.org on the other hand, is a free software download where you are able to build a site that is completely yours. Although you are responsible to choose the hosting provider and handle the backend maintenance yourself. This will give you full control over your website and the WordPress software. WordPress.org provides you with access to a community forum – where you are able to get advice from more experienced users and extensive documentation. You are also able to contribute to the core code, mobile apps, translations and accessibility.  You also have more choices for extensions such as .biz or .info.  Your design options are limited to your own imagination, the ability to choose from thousands of templates as well as choosing from many plugins at no cost.

WordPress.org: The Drawbacks

Depending on how you look at it, running your own website and having complete control over it can be a drawback, when you are responsible to buy your own domain name as well as the hosting plan. Same with having to update and backup your own site regularly and keeping proper security precautions and in the matter of something going wrong, you will have to hire a WordPress developer to correct it for you.

The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is mainly the amount of control that you have over your website, whether you want full control or partial, is a decision that you as the consumer would have to make. When wanting your business to grow and improve, the best decision is always to have the full control over your site, where you get to choose everything from the way it looks to what can be uploaded to it. At the end of the day, the decision is yours.

Contact us today and find out more about WordPress and which one is right for you at www.tristarwebsolutions.co.uk

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