For people who are first looking into the idea of starting a WordPress website, there’s one major stumbling block that we’d like to clear up. You can go to WordPress.com and set up a WordPress website in a few minutes. The hosting for that site is free forever, which is great, but with their free website you get a domain name that looks like this: http://myamazingsite.wordpress.com. Not so appealing, right? That shouldn’t be your dealbreaker; you can pay a small fee ($13) to add a domain you already own. And your site will enjoy the automatic security updates and spam-fighting power of the organization behind WordPress—which are two benefits that must not be overlooked. The limitations, however, are substantial. You must choose from a limited supply of themes. You can’t install plugins. When it comes to styling your new site, you are limited to the changes you can make via CSS… and even then, you can only make CSS changes if you subscribe to a premium plan. Here’s a list of the limitations of a free site hosted at WordPress.com:
- Limited to WordPress.com themes—you can’t upload your own
- You cannot upload your own plugins
- Limited control of your content (for example, you must pay a fee to remove ads from the front end of your website)
- Limited storage space
- No FTP access to your files
- No paid posts/product reviews/links
- No Google AdSense (you can apply to be part of WordPress’s ad program)
- You can’t alter page structure
WordPress.org offers a completely different solution with maximum autonomy, though.
At WordPress.org, you (or more likely your WordPress developer) downloads a free copy of the WordPress software and installs it on a server at your web host, such as GoDaddy or Hostgator. This is known as a “self-hosted WordPress website.” You’ll notice right away that the back end looks completely different than it did at WordPress.com, with tons more options for configuration. With freedom comes responsibility, as they say. The software is free, but the cost of hosting, a WordPress theme (if you choose a paid one), your domain, web development, and maintenance are your duties. That sounds overwhelming, but most of those expenses are quite small. Web hosting can be quite inexpensive; in fact, GoDaddy offers a Managed WordPress package that is only $3.99 per month on sale right now, and a .com, .org, or .net domain can often be had for under $13 annually.
So what is it you want to do with your website? Are you just running a blog for fun? Sharing pictures or stories with friends and family? Maybe setting up a simple portfolio site for a business you’re just starting? WordPress.com might be the solution for you. In fact, if you’re setting up a brochure site for your new business, take a look at free themes on WordPress.org; there are plenty that are simple and modern. But if you look at WordPress.com’s themes and see things you want to change beyond colors, fonts, or images, it’s probably not for you. If you have a need for a site with robust functionality, it’s definitely not for you.* If you need help deciding, that’s what we’re here for! Give us a call at 214-321-1110 or contact us any time.
*This is not meant to imply that WordPress is the only solution, though! Check out our post on Squarespace vs. WordPress or Wix.
