First of all, we are wrong with our question. Our question should not be – “What is the difference between WordPress.org & WordPress.com”. Our question should be, “What is the difference between WordPress.com & Self Hosted WordPress Website”. WordPress Developer Toronto says, ‘Major difference between these two terms lies in hostings – WordPress.com is considered a managed host, but WordPress.org is not.
Brief Introduction about ‘WordPress.com’ & ‘WordPress.Org’
WordPress.com can help you build a website with ‘WordPress Software’ & ‘Managed Hosting’. WordPress.org is a source that can help you download the software.
Characteristics of WordPress.com
- You can create your blog for free.
- You can build a marvelous website for free.
- You need to pay for a domain name.
- You also need to pay for hosting.
- You will get secured hosting for your website
- You needn’t worry about maintenance & backup
Characteristics of WordPress.org
- You have to find a web hosting company.
- You must get a custom domain for yourself.
- You should take responsibility for web security.
- You will install the software updates yourself.
After knowing the predominant difference between the two, we should also know about some of the myths & bust them too:
If you are a WordPress user, you can’t move your site to a different host!
Really? Who is spreading such rumors?
First of all, let me clarify: “You must use an upgraded plan”. It will facilitate you with the downloading of customized themes & plugins. Apart from that, you can carry out the migration of your site as a whole.
Please Note:
If your site is complex enough, it will be challenging to handle migration activities.
The Custom Domain Is Your Website’s URL
The custom domain is only the address of your website. It cannot be considered a URL for your website.
There are Great Differences Between WordPress.Com & WordPress.Org
Well, when we are talking about the functional ability of the software, it is not that much. But when it comes to customizations in the code or enhanced features, there are differences but not giants.
You needn’t hire developers as WordPress is a DIY thing
Based on your skill set, you can use WordPress as per your requirements & preferences. But for adding advanced-level functionality, you need a trained developer.
Self-hosted websites are better in terms of cost than WordPress.com
It can be the case, sometimes, but not every time. All this entirely depends on the hosting plan you choose when it comes to self-hosted websites.
WordPress.com does not give you complete control over your website
When it comes to WordPress.com, you have control over the website’s features. Apart from that, you can export the content anytime.
WordPress.com restricts how your monetized site.
The user may face restrictions if they have chosen the cheapest hosting plans. Choose the right strategy if you do not want to face any constraints.
WordPress can delete your site anytime.
NO, It won’t unless & until you are breaching the legalities. But WordPress is not like other hosting providers. It tells you about the breaches & guides you on how to mend them.
WordPress cannot help you build membership websites
There are numerous ways to create membership sites. And the best part about WordPress is that you can make it with or without plugins