I was using wordpress.com for the last 3 years (hurray!!) but still didn’t find it quite satisfying. Not only because the followers are not increasing but also because the impossibility of custom change the design and other little features which are just not possible on wordpress.com. So I decided to switch to a self-hosted version and ‘till now I am more than happy with it.
Since I work in the IT industry I didn’t have to struggle as much as do with bonsai J and can quite imagine that other no IT geeks can have some difficulties so I couldn’t help but wonder: does other bloggers have the same dilemma? WordPress.org or wordpress.com? Keep it easy or increase to a higher level?
So let’s see the pro and cons of both worpdress systems.
The self-hosted version is much more expandable, custom made, flexible, better. So why is wordpress.com still so popular? In my eyes because is really easy to handle and for the most users this is reason enough to keep on going on a free platform. Of course there some upgrade you can make on wordpress.com but you need to pay for them. And what is so special on the self-hosted wordpress.org version? My costs Fr. 17.- for the domain, Fr. 8.90 in month for the hosting (unlimited domain), I also purchased a template for Fr. 49.- to try it out. Basically my expensive for the year are pretty low considering that I am not aiming to earn money with this blog, but yet not free as wordpress.com can be.
On the other hand wordpress.com gives some features that I don’t have (or still didn’t find) in the self-hosted version. For example the reblogg option as well as the “like it” button for other wordpress.com users, only 2 features which I am pretty sure I can handle with a workaround (if you know, please leave a comment). Another advantage on wordpress.org is the liberty of add all kind of plugins than can help your blogging go along and increase in popularity and deserver a higher rate within Google. Although I am having again some problems with Google+ on one of my wordpress.com site; again nothing I can’t figure out.
The question is: which to choose for your purpose?
There is no specific answer to this question, because both have they pro and cons. Are you willing to learn something new? Then you can choose wordpress.org. Are you totally newbie in blogging and only wanted to try it out? Then wordpress.com is good for you. I found a really nice article about the diversity of both and this image takes it to the point.
As far as I’m concerned, I can handle both and love them both the same way, although I prefer the wordpress.org for the challenge of creating something new as well as wordpress.com for the simplicity of it. I do have a wordpress.com page on which I do write as well as my new self-hosted wordpress.org page which I really love.
I have transferred my blog to melaniesdreams.ch so please be sure to subscribe for the latest news and I hope that the “old” followers will become my “new” followers.
…love, Melanie!
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