Getting Started With WordPress – WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org

WordPress is a popular publishing platform that makes it easy for anyone to publish online. It’s very easy-to-use, quite powerful, and flexible.

If you want to create a site (website/blog) with WordPress, it’s important to note that there are two versions.

1) WordPress.com

2) WordPress.org

WordPress.com Vs. WordPress.org 

When starting out as a beginner, this question comes in everyone’s mind. Which one is better? .WordPress.com or WordPress.org. Let’s compare the features and choose the best one for creating your site.

WordPress.com 

The WordPress.com is a free version, and your site will be hosted on the WordPress.com servers.

You won’t have access to the powerful features like plugins , theme customization & create widgets etc.

WordPress.com provides limited theme support. Which means you are limited to free themes that exist in the WordPress theme repository. You are not able to edit the CSS or other codes within the theme.

WordPress.com provides limited monetization options. That means you cannot use AdSense, affiliate programs or any other kinds of monetization .

You can apply for WordAds, the official WordPress.com advertising program. But you need a custom domain for the same. The approval process is based on various factors.

If your site is hosted on wordpress.com, they own your site. If WordPress.com decides to delete your account for any reason, you have no control over that.

So I never recommend you to use wordpress.com unless you are looking for a personal blog .

Choose WordPress.org Instead 

WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress. The Software is completely free , but you need to find a host to run your wordPress site. You need to pay around $3-$10 monthly to get a good WordPress hosting. In addition, register a custom domain name for your site.

Most of the popular web hosting companies provides one-click WordPress install . So your blog is up and running in less than 5 minutes.

WordPress.org provides full theme support. That means you can use custom, commercial or free themes. You can edit, modify or customize your site.

You can upload any number of free, paid or custom plugins, which helps you to add more functionalities to your site.

You have full monetization freedom , ie. You can sell ad spaces, AdSense or other ad networks, affiliate program, etc.

So I highly recommended to use WordPress.org, if you really want to run a professional site and make 100% revenue from it.