Difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com
WordPress.com is used to create a website or a blog. It provides default themes in a WordPress account. One has to go to the website “WordPress.com” and register, thereby creating an account over there, and then the user can be able to create a website by just selecting the themes or layout of the site and can design the website as per there requirement. It provides several free and premium themes also.
WordPress.org is also used to create a website or blog, and it is an open-source software which is freely available online. It provides you this software free of cost, but you should have accounted for hosting and get yourself a domain name for your website through which it would be visible to the public and which costs you money.
The main critical points on which we can consider the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com are as following:-
COST:
In com, it is 100% free to host a website as it also provides a hosting server with a subdomain (WordPress.com) in which you are provided with a disc space up to 3 GB of storage. But if you don’t want its subdomain in your website’s URL, then you have to buy its premium domain.
While in org, it is expensive or can cost you more money if you but the domain name and host your website for a shorter period, but for an extended period, it is cheaper than that of WordPress.com.
INSTALLATION:
If we talk about the installation process, it is a way more comfortable to establish a website through wordpress.com than that of WordPress.org. All you have to do is to go to its official website “WordPress.com” and click on start your website button and then by just signing in and a required theme from several available pre-designed themes. In a few minutes, your website or blog gets ready, and you are ready to use it.
In org, it is not as similar to wordpress.com; it is more complex. You don’t have to go to its website and register yourself there for the same instead of this, and you have to search for a web host of your choice and register yourself there. The different host provides different methods of WordPress establishment. Like if you use Bluehost as a hosting platform for your website, then you have to provide you credentials for your sites such as domain name and all, and your website gets ready to run on webserver similar to wordpress.com. But all hosting platforms don’t provide the same installation process. It varies from host to host.
“If you’re new to WordPress, you might be wondering about the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.”
THEMES:
In com, you can have access to 150+ pre-designed themes in a free version, while after taking a premium account, you can have access to these themes and 200+ themes also.
org provides you pre-designed free and premium paid themes. You can choose or select more than 7500 themes for free from its official website that is “WordPress.org,” and you can have access to these themes plus 11000+ themes in its premium plan.
PLUGIN:
com provides a feature to extend the functionality of your blog and website by adding a plugin, but only if you have a premium plan of business or eCommerce. If you want to sell anything on your site, then you have to use this eCommerce plan. It provides more than 50000 plugins. You can add any one of them as per your choice or requirement. Like it has SEO(Search Engine Optimization) plugin to improve your website rank higher on the different search engines. But you cannot add your plugin in your wordpress.com website. And also, you cannot do backend coding of any part of your website as it doesn’t allow you for it.
In org, you can also design your website on your own you have to code every page and can install or add your plugins and have to make a database for your website and get every backend work done by yourself only. In it, you can easily customize your site as you can create your design or can change the themes or install it form the web add additional features, or can extend functionality by adding a plugin to your website.
SECURITY:
And if we talk about the security part as wordpress.com provides a hosting service also and it is a way more secure, and it also has a backup feature.
org is also as secure as wordpress.com, and if you want to increase the security of your website, you can install and add security plugins also. In wordpress.org the whole website is owned by you only every single module, and you are paying for every aspect of your website like hosting, domain, security, and you have full control over the website, and this is the reason it is a way more secure, and it doesn’t have loopholes and no one can easily hack your website and cannot access to your website until and unless your website is involved in illegal activity.
MONETIZATION:
In com, if you want to make money by monetizing your website or blog, then you have to buy a premium business plan, and even after buying that premium plan, you can have limited monetization methods. It also has one more disadvantage that you cannot hide or cut ads on WordPress’s website.
org doesn’t have any restrictions. You can monetize your website in your way, and it also provides advertising plugins you can install it from the web and use it on your site accordingly. You can use all types of plugins available in the plugin directory.
MAINTAINANCE:
In this, you don’t have to worry about the maintenance wordpress.com automatically updates necessary things.
While in org, you have to maintain your website by yourself by updating it regularly or by removing plugins that are not currently in use and by managing user accounts or by checking your website’s buffering rate/speed.
E-COMMERCE:
In com, if you want to sell something online through your site, then you can choose eCommerce or business premium plans and can start selling.
But or doesn’t have any pre-designed feature of eCommerce, but you can install the third-party plugin for the same and can sell things online, and these plugins also have more features than can help you in advertising jobs online on your website.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION:
In com, if you won’t get your website rank higher in the search engine, then there are so many tools available online for this, and some of which are provided by Google. And If you have brought a Business plan from wordpress.com for the tour website, then it has a by default SEO tool, which you can use it for free.
org also have SEO plugins which will help you to improve your website rank higher on different search engines. You can even edit it manually in wordpress.org.
