As a beginner we have two options to start a WordPress site. www.wordpress.com and www.wordpress.org, while both systems offer the best website building method and content management system. There are some differences between them, to understand these differences you can make the right choice to make your website and its hosting.
Before that you need to know a little about extension (.com) and (.org). Basically both of them are domain names according to DNS (Domain Name System). In 1985 domain name .com was derived from the word commercial. Its original purpose was for domains registered by commercial organizations. Later the domain opened for general users. On the other hand domain name .org was truncated from the word organization. It is one of the original domains and has been operated by the public internet registry since 2003. Basically this domain is for non profit organization, open source project and social community.
What is WordPress.com ?
WordPress.com is basically a domain service of domain service providers, and taking help of this service you can build and maintain your website. It’s totally free to start your website build and hosting. All you have to do is just go to WordPress.com and sign up for your account. After that start to build your website and then host it under the maintenance of WordPress.com
What is WordPress.org ?
WordPress.org is predominantly a hub of resources and community. You can host your own site with WordPress.org hosting service. You have to purchase space from them, install WordPress on that service and host your site. You will get better customization options then others. You can install custom plugins, themes and also do so many things with your choice for your site looks and functionality.
Comparison:
If we see in little depth the comparison between them, we can see there are four basic area where these platform differ;
- Domain Name
- Website Hosting
- Website maintenance
- Security and backup
Domain Name:
A domain name is an address that you can reach on a website. For example www.wordpress.com or www.wordpress.org. Free version of wordpress.com means your website’s hosting domain will be a sub-domain of WordPress.com. It means “WordPress” is your domain name. On the other hand, for wordpress.org you have to purchase a domain name separately. The domain will be your own and for the domain name and space it will typically cost some amount per year.
Website Hosting:
Your domain space both paid and free for your website will be maintained by WordPress.com plans. You will get a list of 3GB data space in this plan. But for wordpress.org users have to purchase a minimum hosting package from any third party from any hosting company first. Then the hosting company will give you permission for hosting your site and work on it. Of Course in exchange of payment per month or year.
Website maintains:
In this system a minimal maintenance will be required. Any update like themes or plugins will be handled directly by WordPress.com, All you’re responsible for is producing new content for your website in WordPress.org. But when you host a website yourself, it means that you’re 100 percent responsible for not only creating content, but also managing and maintaining your site.
Security and Backup:
The website backup and its maintenance will be maintained by Wprdpress.com account. Whereas the security system of your website is fully responsible for your own in wordpress.org. Not only for contains but also maintains your site and its plugins, themes and its update. Of course you can update your security system by paying in WordPress.com whereas in WordPress.org no need to pay anyone extra.
At a Glance:
Further more of WordPress.com and WordPress.org difference will cover;
- Cost comparisons of (.com) and (.org) platform
- Using plugins and themes restriction
- Differs of website customization
- Website security and maintenance policy
- Getting started system for your site
- Monetization of your website
Summary:
Based on the above we can ethically say like a tenant and an owner. WordPress.com is providing their service by rental policy means you are taking rent their space for your site. On the other hand, WordPress.org is providing service as ownership policy means you have made an owner of the space first. Then only you can host your site on that hosting space. It is difficult to say which system is best. It will depend on your need for your website hosting.
Leave a Reply