WordPress is a well-known free and open-source content management system. It is written in PHP and paired with a MariaDB or MySQL database. It is one of the most popular online publishing platforms and is currently powering over a third of the web. According to a survey, around 70 million users make new posts, and 77 million new comments are observed each month on WordPress platforms. There are two types of WordPress platforms available for the users, WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Beginners often get confused in understanding the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org. Therefore, today in this blog, we will get an insight into WordPress.com and WordPress.org and learn which can be used when.
Brief Understanding of WordPress.com and WordPress.org
- com: It is all in one, build on your own website platform. WordPress.com is free to get started with and doesn’t even require an external domain name or hosting. To begin with it, all you need to do is go to WordPress.com, sing up, and start building your website or blog.
- org: It is open-source website software used as an operating system for your blog or website. This software doesn’t charge you anything, but you need to buy a hosting server to use this software.
Significant Differences Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
The key differences between the WordPress.com and WordPress.org are –
1. Cost Comparison
WordPress.com
- You can get a free version of WordPress.com if you are ready to set up a website or blog on WordPress.com’s subdomain.
- The free version provides up to 3 GB of disk space, and you will also get WordPress.com’s own ads throughout the site.
- On the other hand, if you select the premium plan, you get multiple options. And the WordPress website cost will be from $4 to $45 per month according to the plan you select.
- The premium plans come with different perks and the latest features.
WordPress.org
- org software is 100% free, but to make use of this software, you need to get a web hosting server and a domain name, which comes with a price tag.
2. Start the Set-Up
WordPress.com
- To get started with WordPress.com, all you need to do is visit its site and click on the “Start your website” button.
- After this, you need to follow some steps to configure your new website easily.
- com allows you to enter your email, set a name for your site, and pick up a design for it to make a WordPress website.
WordPress.org
- To start with WordPress.org, you need to first find a hosting server, and during the setup process of the hosting server, you need to install WordPress.
3. Plugins
WordPress.com
- With WordPress.com, you can install plugins only if your site is for a business purpose.
- The plugins can cost you from $25 a month if you have taken the business plan for your website, and if you have chosen the eCommerce plan, then the plugin might cost you $45 a month.
- WordPress has 50K+ plugins to offer.
WordPress.org
- You can easily install a new plugin with WordPress.org.
- It gives you access to 50k+ plugins, but it includes free and premium plugins.
4. Customization
When we talk about WordPress website customization, not much difference exists between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, as they run under the same software called the native WordPress software.
WordPress.com
- com puts a number of various interfaces, mechanisms, and limitations on top.
- You can customize the WordPress.com websites, but it’s no different then WordPress.org as they are running on the same software.
WordPress.org
- As WordPress.org is an entirely open-source site, you can easily change the theme of the website, install & configure plugins, and customize the code on your site.
5. Security and Backup
WordPress.com
- com offers basic security options and backups from the start to end.
- You can rely on WordPress.com for internal security and the mechanisms required to be built around the company’s services to secure the WordPress website from malware.
WordPress.org
- When we talk about WordPress.org, it is a transparent platform, and it is built with modern security requirements and standards.
- If WordPress is cleanly installed, the site is already secured, but to add more security factors, you can also install plugins like Sucuri and Wordfence.
- And if you want more secure backup options, then can install plugins like UpdraftPlus and Backup Guard.
Conclusion
With around 163 million users every month, WordPress is known as the most visited platform than Twitter. So it is clear that WordPress is the best idea to create your blog or website. From the above-listed points of WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org, you can figure out that if you want to launch a personal project, WordPress.com is the best for you. But if your project is creating a serious website for a business, then you must choose WordPress.org. To get a WordPress website or blog that can run without any glitches, and contains updated information for the visitors, feel free to avail the WordPress maintenance services from myWPguys.