What is WordPress?
WordPress (WP) is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) written in PHP and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database. It just may be the easiest and most flexible blogging and website content management system (CMS) for beginners. It started out as a blogging platform in 2003 but soon transformed into a CMS and later a full-fledged website building platform.
Why You Should Use WordPress for Your Website?
WordPress is free and open-source. It means you are free to download, install, use and modify it to match your needs. You can use it to create any kind of website. While the WordPress software itself is free, you need a domain name and web hosting to install it.WordPress is Easy to Customize with Themes and Plugins?
A large portion of people using WordPress is neither web designers nor programmers. As a matter of fact, most folks start using WordPress without any prior knowledge of designing websites.
WordPress is the perfect solution because there are thousands of free website templates (themes) that you can choose from. There is a perfect WordPress theme for just about every kind of website (whether it’s a blog, business site, portfolio website, e-commerce, or an online store).
You can also add custom functionality to your WordPress site by using plugins. WordPress plugins are like apps for your website that you can use to add advanced features like analytics, contact forms, membership area, and more.
Just like themes, there are thousands of free and premium plugins available for you to use.
What ways to use WordPress?
WordPress can be used in many different ways from simple websites to eCommerce marketplaces and anything in between.
Following are just a few examples of different kinds of websites you can make with WordPress.
- Start a Blog
- Sell online courses
- Start an online store
- Make a business website
- Build a membership website
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – What’s the Difference?
The whole WordPress.com vs WordPress.org thing is really confusing. For everyone.
WordPress.org and WordPress.com are two entirely different websites/organizations/web solutions.
The best way to understand the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org is to take a look at each platform individually.
WordPress.org
WordPress.org, often called self-hosted WordPress, is the free, open-source WordPress software that you can install on your own web host to create a website that's 100% your own.
They also offer more power and scalability for your site.
You can add free, paid, and custom WordPress plugins/apps to your website.
You can actually make money from your WordPress site by running your own ads without sharing revenue with anyone.
You can use powerful tools like Google Analytics for custom analytics and tracking.
Let's you take and install any theme you want, and also do all the customization you want. You can also create your own themes if you know your way around PHP coding.
You need to get a custom domain on your own (additional costs apply).
Doesn’t come with free hosting. You’ll have to look for a host yourself, and pay for it separately.
WordPress.com
The free WordPress.com platform is a good choice for hobby bloggers and those starting a blog for their families.
It takes less time to set up a WordPress.com site than it takes to set up a WordPress.org site.
Takes care of updating and backing up your site automatically, so you don’t have to worry about anything.
Offers free hosting, but limits your website space to 3GB on the free plan.
You get basic security and backups handled for you.
Offers a limited number of themes for you to choose from. It comes with limited customization options as well.
You can’t have your own ads on your site. However, WordPress.com displays *their* ads on your site – that’s the price you pay for having the platform for free. To remove those ads, that’s at least $4/mo.
You are restricted to their stats. You cannot add Google Analytics or install any other powerful tracking platform. Business plan users can install Google Analytics.
0 Comments