To be able to answer this question, we first have to understand what WordPress is. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) built on PHP and MySQL. It’s installed on a web server and serves content to users over the internet. In the early days, the only option of hosting WordPress was to do this on your own server or to purchase a hosting package and install the CMS manually.
WordPress.com
In 2015, a few years after the inception of WordPress, one of the original developers founded a new company and developed the WordPress.com platform. This new platform allowed WordPress based websites to be quickly deployed on their hosting infrastructure without needing a 3rd party host. The new platform meant that anyone could easily start their own WordPress website without having to worry about hosting or maintenance.
Should I use WordPress.com or WordPress.org?
There are a few key differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. We’ve compiled a list of the most important differences:
1. Price
WordPress.com blogs are free for up to 3GB of storage. They do display ads on your website and you can’t have your own domain. You can upgrade for a small monthly fee.
WordPress.org websites vary in price. You’ll generally pay around $5-$20/month for decent WordPress hosting. You may also need to purchase a theme and some premium plugins.
2. Theme Support
WordPress.com supports specific approved themes. There are very basic customisation tools.
WordPress.org supports all WordPress themes. These themes can be fully customised using the built in customiser or even with custom code.
3. Plugin Support
WordPress.com does not support plugins. There are some additional features which can emulate the behaviour of some plugins.
WordPress.org supports all WordPress plugins. These plugins can be used to extend the functionality of your WordPress website. Most of these plugins work well together, but you can occasionally see issues which may assistance from a web developer.
4. SEO
WordPress.com does not feature any SEO tools.
WordPress.org does not feature any SEO tools as standard but plugins such as Yoast can be installed to provide you with a full SEO toolkit within your WordPress dashboard.
5. Ecommerce
WordPress.com does not support ecommerce.
WordPress.org does not natively support ecommerce but plugins such as WooCommerce can be installed. WooCommerce is free and can be used to add a full featured shopping cart system to your website.
It’s not possible to easily migrate between the two, so choosing the appropriate platform is crucial!
