If you need to create a website then WordPress is arguably the perfect choice for beginners in web development, specifically with the option of WordPress.com. What it provides for beginners is a streamlined design that limits the control of certain features that would’ve been accessible in WordPress.org. WordPress.com overcompensates for its limited freedom over hosting capabilities with convenience, a convenience in price and time management. That same convenience obviously deters the more seasoned web developer, so it would be more prudent for a veteran web developer to create a website with WordPress.org. As Bill Widmer of Themeisle chronicles in his blog, WordPress.com vs WordPress.org: Key Differences and Which One Should You Use, the pros and cons of web hosting with WordPress tend to correlate with the varying prices of the different hosting plans.

Pros of WordPress.com:

  • + Reduces time devoted to researching external hosting services
  • + Maintenance and security is managed by WordPress for you

Cons of WordPress.com:

  • – No monetization of content without upgrading the free plan
  • – Can’t install plugins
  • – Limits disk space to 3GB
  • – Can’t remove WordPress advertisements or other elements of branding from your “own” website

You can save a lot of time just by creating an account with WordPress.com, but with the choice of convenience comes the cost of limited customization which would deprive the developer the freedom to tailor their design towards the user.

Pros of WordPress.org:

  • + The ability to monetize your content
  • + Freedom to install plugins and themes
  • + You own your domain name
  • + Overall more freedom

Cons of WordPress.org:

  • – You need to research the various hosting services
  • – Learning curve when experimenting with website functions

The savvy choice for developers who want to own and present their content how they please. More comparisons between plans can be found in this resource by Karol K.

This chapter is a revised version of a blog post titled “Web Hosting with WordPress” on Publishing Without Ink.

 

 

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