What's the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
Talk about frequently asked questions: four people have asked me this one this week already! But there must be plenty of others who, like me when I first approached WP, don't even realise there is a difference, or that there are two different flavours of WordPress to deal with.
The least you need to know
- WordPress.com is a free, hosted blog system (similar to Blogger). Your blog lives on WP's servers, and is maintained by them: WP.com-hosted blogs are subject to restrictions they have in place with regard to design and functionality. Pick this option if you:
- don't want to spend even a few pounds a month for hosting,
- are really, really terrified of technology, and
- don't care about being able to customise your blog the way you want it.
- WordPress.org supplies software which you install on your own server or web hosting. It is under your control, which means that the technical responsibility for maintaining, upgrading and backing up your blog is yours. Pick this option if you:
- want to be able to run your blog the way you want it,
- don't mind being responsible for upgrading, backing up and getting rid of spam, and
- already have web hosting or don't mind buying it.
And in a bit more detail:
| WordPress.com | Self-hosted WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Basic blog is free; paid upgrades for various features. | Hosting must be paid for; software is free. |
| Themes | You're limited to themes that WP choose to offer (currently around 70-ish); a paid upgrade gets you the option to edit the CSS. You cannot install themes of your own choosing, or custom themes made just for you. | You're free to install whatever theme(s) you like. |
| Plugins and PHP-hacking | You can't use plugins, though widgets do offer some of the same functionality. If there are specific things you want to do with your blog, check if WP.com will offer them. | You can install as many plugins as you like, and even change the core PHP code of your blog. It's yours to do with as you like. |
| Spam | Spam-fighting done for you. | You'll need to use plugins to keep spam commenters off your blog. |
| Upgrades | Your blog is automatically upgraded to the newest version of the software. | You'll need to click a button to upgrade to the newest version of the software. |
| Backups | Your blog's backed up for you. | You'll need to use a plugin to backup, or do it manually with FTP and PHPMyAdmin. |
| Storage space | Various-sized paid upgrades available. | As much as your host provides; if you're running a photoblog, think about an account with unlimited storage. |
| Multiple users | Up to 35; paid upgrade for more. | As many or as few as you like. |
| Ads | May be served up by WP on your blog; paid upgrade to remove them. You can't add your own advertising (e.g. Adsense) or affiliate marketing, nor can you post paid-for posts (e.g. Pay Per Post). | Up to you; if you want ads, you can sell 'em. |
| Robustness | Hosted across multiple servers, so if you hit the front page of Digg, you should be okay. | Up to you and your service provider; unless you've done something to make your blog more robust, if you hit the front page of Digg, your site will probably go down. |
The choice really comes down to the simplicity of WordPress.com versus the flexibility of self-hosted WordPress; I know a fair few people who've started off favouring the former, before getting frustrated and moving to the latter. If that's you, the good news is that self-hosted WordPress has an easy import facility to copy over your posts from WordPress.com, so moving is always an option. Or you might like to consider our own hosting; installation, spam protection and upgrades are handled for you, and we can also help with any other aspect of your blog you might not want or be able to handle yourself.
Tags: FAQs, Hosting, plugins, themes, WordPress.com
Posted by Sue on April 16, 2009 in WordPress.
Wow! Would love to have found your post when I was researching wp org and .com , I will share this post with my readers. I know that they will appreciate it.
If I go with Wordpress.com and later decide that I need .org, is it possible to convert the .com to a .org?
It's not quite as simple as "convert" - you can export all your blog posts and comments over though. And all the themes on .com are available for self-hosted WP - so it'd be a bit of work, but yes, you can.