There are times when new inventions get the best of us and we can just help but use and reuse the invented product. Such was the case in 2003 when WordPress.com announced their new blogging script WordPress, that has gone on to become the world most popular blogging script. Currently, there are over 10 million blogs hosted on the home site WordPress.com However, it might surprise you to know that these are not the only people using WordPress. Since it is open source software that is highly flexible and also simple to use, over 200 million more people have been able to access the software and use it on their blogging platforms and websites even for content management. This has been made possible by the availability of the software at WordPress.org.
The above information must have brought to your attention the fact that there are two WordPress sites. WordPress.com is where blogs are hosted whereas WordPress.org is where you can download the WordPress software to enable you self host your own blog. If you are a newbie, you might be wondering which of the above is appropriate to use. This article will focus on self hosted blogs from WordPress.org analyzing their pros and cons to help you determine whether it is more viable to self host your blog or have it hosted at WordPress.com.
One of the advantages of self hosted blogs is flexibility.
WordPress.com restricts your blogging functions to the basic in order to enhance security on the site and ensure that any harmful codes are not injected onto the site. This means that customization of your blog is very limited and you cannot introduce your own theme unless you choose it from the already available ones on the site. You also have to sign the site’s Terms of Agreement before making any posts.
With WordPress.org it is not so as you can download the files and upload them to a host that supports PHP. The interface that you get on launching the site will be similar to that of WordPress.com but you will have more control over your site as you are the administrator. This means that you can customize any site to make it the way you want it to look. You can change your theme if you do not like what you have. You have the option of choosing themes from WordPress site or from other reputable sources on the internet and uploading them to your site for immediate use. You can also customize the themes before uploading them. In addition, you can choose and install any plugins for extended functionality.
The disadvantage of WordPress is the fact that you will have to pay a host even though you will get WordPress for free. You may also have to buy a domain name as opposed to WordPress.com that offers free sub domain names. You also need to constantly maintain your blog on your own. However, the advantages clearly outnumber the disadvantages and if uniqueness is what you are looking for, then go for WordPress.org.
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