It’s confusing enough to understand the difference between Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com (simply put, the “.com” is the hosted service, and “.org” is non-hosted service. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry – I explain below). Now to confuse things even further, there is a third name to keep straight – “WordpressDirect.com”. This is a new service (as of 2008) that is currently being put through its paces by the tens of thousands of internet marketing newbies participating in Ed Dale’s Thirty Day Challenge (30DC).
Definitions in a nutshell
Wordpress.org is where you can download Wordpress to use on your own hosting service, as well as download plugins.
Wordpress.com hosts Wordpress blogs. Use of this service is subject to their terms of service. For example, you are restricted as to what kind and how many advertisements or affiliate links you can put on your site.
WordpressDirect.com is an independent service that offers an easy way to install Wordpress, along with other features such as auto-content generation. They offer a free plan (forever free) and a $1 trial for a paid plan.
What does “hosted on your own server” mean?
When a blog is hosted on your own server, it means that you have purchased a domain name (e.g. homebusinesswiz.com) and paid for hosting. Examples of places where you can purchase a domain name are GoDaddy.com and NameCheap.com.
Examples of places where you can purchase hosting are LivingDot.com (those are the 2 companies I use) or Hostgator.com (the company recommended by the folks at 30DC). In addition, the company that you get your internet service from may also provide hosting.
You can get domain names for $7 – 10 each. Rates for website hosting range depending on the features you want, but generally speaking expect to pay about $10 a month for a reliable web host with good customer support.
Pros and cons of Wordpress.com, Wordpress.org and WordpressDirect.com?
All three use the Wordpress software, but in different ways:
With Wordpress.org, your blog or web site is hosted on your own server. Don’t be put off by the “.org” in the name – your blog will be titled www.yourblogname.com or whatever domain name you have purchased. This is important, because it means that it is entirely at your control.
Wordpress itself is blogging software that you can tweek and play with and place blogs onto your own domain names. Therefore it will cost you money to buy a domain and host it but you can then do whatever you like with it, such as upgrade it, theme it any way you like, add/subtract whatever plugins you like and add whatever content/links you decide are appropriate.
So to summarize, Wordpress.org is the option where you get complete control over your site. That’s the good news. The bad news is that you will need to register your own domain name and get paid hosting. Not only does this cost money, but it’s more technically challenging than going with a hosted solution.
Wordpress.com is a third party hosting of the Wordpress software. This also has good news and bad news. The good news is that it is free and easy to set up a Wordpress.com site. You don’t have to buy a domain name (although you can if you want), and you don’t have to pay for hosting because your blog is being hosted by Wordpress.com. Therefore, your website url will look like www.yourwebsitename.wordpress.com. The bad news about Wordpress.com is that it places some restrictions on what you can do with your blog, such as only allowing one affiliate link.
An analogy would be that with a hosted solution like Wordpress.com you are swimming in the community swimming pool so you have to follow the community rules. If they say “no skinny dipping” then you can’t do it. In contrast, a self-hosted site (which you get by purchasing your own domain name and hosting) is like a private swimming pool in your own backyard. If you want to go skinny dipping, it’s entirely up to you!
And what about WordpressDirect.com? (WPD) Essentially, WPD is an installer and admin tool. It has some admin functionality that you won’t get elsewhere. You can use WPD to install your Wordpress blog, and then choose from a number of fancy features that can talk to your WordPress blog and change its database (e.g. add content automatically using the auto-posting feature). This is what I mean by “admin functionality”.
If later you cancel your WPD account you lose access to these admin tools. But you don’t lose your blog – your WordPress blog would still work. You still can access the admin area of your Wordpress blog in the standard Wordpress admin area (accessible at yourblogdomain/wp-admin/ ) but the fancy features provided by WPD will not be there.
article updated August 2009
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Thank for your post.
the information is good. We should add that these systems are all of the most known and best organized systems for building your blog.
I liked your comparison between the versions of Wordpress to public/private swimming pools.
They took out the WP Direct hosted feature.
New customers need to get a host now.
That is actually better, who wants to be on a server with thousands of Noobs?
@IMStrong, thanks for the update. I’ll edit the article accordingly.
Great article!! You really made a confusing question very easy to understand! I also, liked your analogy about the wordpress.com vs. wordpress.org compared to a “public swimming pool” vs. a “privite swimming pool. I found this very helpful. Thanks again!