7 Things You Need To Know About WordPress.com
WordPress is probably the most common site when it comes to blogging. But do you know that there are two types of WordPress that’s available on the world wide web? As a new blogger, I had to admit that I didn’t have a clue about this reality until I started really digging about the platform that I was in. Clearly, I didn’t do much searching before I started my website. All I knew was that WordPress.com is the best choice for what I needed at that time. So if you are planning to start a new blog or if you simply want to know more about this site, here are 7 Things You Need To Know About WordPress.com that’ll help you understand why or why not you should choose this as your website’s home.
7 Things You Need To Know About WordPress.com
Very easy to use
Starting a blog with WordPress.com is very easy! You simply have to create an account, choose your theme and you are ready to start sharing your contents. You don’t have to worry about any technicalities like SEO, keywords or RSS since WordPress.com will take care of it themselves. Your only worry is to produce quality content to attract more readers and viewers to your website.
WordPress.com is not the WordPress you’ve heard about!
You’ve probably heard so much about articles or links that talk highly about WordPress or how there are endless opportunities in this platform. Chances are, it’s not WordPress.com that they are referring to but it’s actually WordPress.org. It’s important to know that these are two different platforms but may be closely linked because of both have the same founder- Matt Mullenweg.
Read: What are the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org in case you missed it!
It’s not free!
This is a tricky part since you can create an account with WordPress.com without paying any fee. But, here’s the catch! You may not spend a dime to create your blog but WordPress.com will run ads throughout your website (if you are using the free version) to compensate for the “free” service that you are getting from them. This is completely understandable since WordPress.com is a fully commercial service site thus they have to find a way to still earn from websites that are not paying a monthly fee.
It’s More Expensive
If you are ready to take your website to the next level, upgrading your membership with WordPress.com is much more expensive than hosting your own website. You can choose to pay $60.00 or $120.00 CAD yearly but with a limited storage capacity and with little or no control over important details on your blog. You can also pay 396.00 CAD yearly if you wish to have a full access to plugins, SEO tools or to simply remove WordPress.com from your branding. Going self-hosted, on the other hand, can cost you at least $106.00 CAD for a three-year subscription and with a full control over your website.
Your website does not belong to you
Now, this may come as a shock to a lot of you but sadly, when you are blogging with WordPress.com, your website does not technically belong to you. Think of it as an apartment that you are renting to your landlord. Regardless of the amount you pay or paid for months or years, the space you paid for will never be yours. Also, they still reserve the rights to shut down an article or your entire website whenever they deemed it to be necessary. Meaning to say, you can lose your website and all the articles you’ve written in a split second. My advice is to always create a back up for all your blog posts just in case this happens.
Very limited in terms of Monetization
Generating an income from your website is totally possible. In fact, there are a lot of full-time bloggers out there who rely on their blog’s income. However, if you are currently blogging with WordPress.com, this might be difficult to achieve. Why? WordPress.com has a lot of restrictions when it comes to monetization. For example, you cannot install the Google AdSense plugin unless you are paying for the most expensive membership fee. Also, even if you are already paying for a plan, you still have to follow their guidelines when it comes to any Affiliate links if not, your site may be sanctioned for violating the rules.
The best Blogging Teacher
Think of it as your training ground before you can decide if you want blogging to be more than just a hobby. Personally, WordPress.com taught me a lot of things before I finally decided to go self-hosted. Because in all honesty, blogging is not as easy as it looks or as others perceive it to be. It takes so much effort and time that it can add pressure to your daily life. However, if you are truly passionate about it, just creating a content is already a fulfillment.
Overall, WordPress.com has its own pros and cons. Depending on your needs and views, you can always find a reason to find this platform necessary to your own blow. Whatever it is, creating quality content is much more essential for a successful blog.
Hope you find this post helpful!
20 Comments
Gluecksgeist
This was really interesting to read! I use wordpress.com but I do my blog for fun so it’s fine to me but I do see the differences between the both xx
thatgirlarlene
WordPress.com in my opinion is the perfect platform if you are still in the stage where you want to keep blogging as one of your hobbies until you are ready to explore what’s on the other side (of blogging at least, LOL). Thanks for reading!
Jean Labitoria
I totally agree! I love WordPress for begineers like me and would still be on it until I’m ready to explore. 🙂 This is a great read.
thatgirlarlene
Hi Jean! I’m glad you like it! WordPress.com is a really good place to improve your writing skills.
Joy
Very nice post, I’ll definitely share this to my friend who wants to start blogging, I think he’ll find this article useful!!
thatgirlarlene
Sure! Thank you for sharing it!
Stuart Danker
Yep, am starting to see the advantages of .org over .com
One thing though, how do you cope without having the WordPress Reader for the extra readership?
Anyway, nice site and writing too!
thatgirlarlene
Hi Stuart! About losing my website’s accessibility on the WordPress reader, I cope with it by maintaining my presence with my existing WordPress followers and readers. Although I don’t get as much exposure as before, getting consistent views from WordPress is better than completely losing it. I also try to improve my SEO to get viewers from other sources. 🙂
Natalie Hanson
Such a useful informative post, thanks for sharing!
Nat x | https://nataliehansonblog.wordpress.com
thatgirlarlene
Thanks for reading Natalie! ♥️
Fiona, Sunshine, Raindrops and Tea in the Garden
Thanks for sharing this info, I’d love to know how about changing to WordPress.org 🙂
thatgirlarlene
Hi Fiona! Thank you for reading! If you want to switch to WordPress.org or go self-hosted, you can create an account to their website- wordpress.org then select a hosting site (I am using BlueHost) to start your website. Hope this helps! 🌷
Fiona, Sunshine, Raindrops and Tea in the Garden
Thank you I really think I should look into it. If I’m on a WordPress premium plan is it easy to just switch over?
thatgirlarlene
No. You can’t switch WordPress Premium with other plans or if you want to go self-hosted. I’d suggest for you to research or read more about your options before deciding on which one works best for you to avoid spending on something that you may end up not needing or not liking in the end. 🙂
Jo
How did you switch your content over? And where do you back up your posts
I bought a domain through them but I’m not sure and about a lot of this and I hate the idea of losing pictures!
thatgirlarlene
Hi Jo, I migrated all my old contents from the old WordPress.com site to my new website. You can contact the WordPress support for assistance, they will help you with the process. They’re usually very responsive and helpful based on my experience.
Jo
That’s awesome! I have so many pictures and I’m afraid to lose them!
thatgirlarlene
Yes, I understand. I was the same, I didn’t want to lose any of my old pictures. Don’t worry, you can still keep them. It may take a little time before you can transfer all files but the most important thing is that you’re nor losing them.
Jo
Excellent! Thank you for sharing your experience! I really appreciate it.
thatgirlarlene
You are welcome! 🙂