What’s The Difference Between WordPress.com & WordPress.org | EP 80

What’s The Difference Between WordPress.com & WordPress.org

Both websites were created by Matt Mullenweg. First, he created WordPress.org to be an open source platform. Then, he created WordPress.com to be his actual business.

1. WordPress.com 01:50
   • This is a hosted platform. It’s an all-in-one solution that is really meant for blogging.
   • It has a lot of features, but it’s limited because you do not control the website.
   • You do not have the control to add custom code or upload your own theme and you can’t sell online products.
   • However, you get built-in maintenance and security. It’s great hosting and it’s very secure.
2. WordPress.org 04:00
   • A free repository where a user is able to download and use the software at will.
   • You use this on your own hosted environment.
   • You can pretty much customize the site to do whatever you want.
   • The downside of this is that you have to have more knowledge and be responsible for managing your own site.
   • Though you can use a service such as WPEngine to do all of this for you.

The bottom line is… if you plan to keep this website as a hobby, then WordPress.com is a great option for you. If you ever plan to monetize your website, use WordPress.org.

For more information on this topic, check out this post from Aspen Grove Studios.