What is the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?

Interested in WordPress? All I can say is.. woohoo!

So let’s get straight into just what the heck WordPress actually is and why it’s worth all the fuss and bother.

One of the things we need to clarify is the difference between WordPress .com vs .org. We’ll start with .com so we can just put that aside completely.

WordPress.com is a free service that WordPress provides for you to build your website and your blog for free, much like Wix or Weebly. Traditionally, WordPress was built and meant for blogging which is why when you select a theme to use, the default page is in the form of a blog post. This applies to both .com and .org versions of a WordPress website and it confuses a lot of people.

However, with a WordPress.com site, whether paid or free, you’re tied to what they provide for you in terms of customization, which doesn’t extend very far. Paid WordPress.com websites isn’t much different from Wix or Weebly in terms of what they offer.

Turning our attention to WordPress.org, if you go to WordPress.org website, this is the place to search for themes, plugins and some support.

• It’s meant for developers and DIYers.
• You cannot sign up for an account. 
• There are no plans or pricing tiers.

Because in this case, WordPress is just a package of code.

That’s it.

It’s a package of code that needs a home to live and that home could be on your computer, you could make your own server, but typically speaking, you’d help it find a home on a host provider.

A long time ago before website platforms and drag and drop builders were a thing, I would download the package of code from WordPress.org, sign up with a host provider like Bluehost or Siteground, upload and unzip the this package of code to install WordPress.

It was all very manual. Even the updates.

Now, host providers offer 1-click installations for you so you can skip all of the manual stuff. Once installed, you now have the default WordPress setup with the default WordPress theme.

Now you can customize your site any way you want using page builders and plugins. The sky’s the limit really.

You can build your sales pages and funnels, you can build your course platform or a membership or client portal. WordPress, in this state, is your content management system. And you can build or take apart anything you want at any time you need.

Plus, you’re not paying an arm and a leg each month and plugins and page builders are often a yearly subscription or a life time subscription and there are always free versions you can use until you need to purchase the pro version for more functionality.

If you’re concerned about security and the labour of ongoing maintenance, then keep browsing the videos in the library.

I show you the foundations of keeping your site safe and the tools you need.

I suggest starting with the series that I call, ‘The Classics’.

If you want even more detail on what WordPress can do for you, then watch the WordPress masterclass on the 3 things you need to get started with WordPress effectively.

And if you have an urgent question or issue, tap the chat button in the bottom right corner of the page or you can submit a video idea for me to make and share with you and others who are probably having a very similar problem.

Happy browsing!