No business is complete without an online presence. If you’re thinking of designing a new website, WordPress is the perfect platform. Chosen by nearly half of all website owners across the internet it is has options to suit all budgets.
What is wordpress?
WordPress is largest content management system – powering 41% of sites on the internet. It is a complex system that can be used to build anything from personal blogs to large ecommerce websites.
There are two variants of WordPress – a free to use, build-your-own version or an opensource option that involves purchasing your own domain and hosting. We’ve evaluated both options so you can decide which will work best for you.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com lets you build your own website hosted directly on the WordPress platform. It’s easy to use – simply register your details, choose a template, and get to work building your new website. You won’t need to worry about purchasing a domain or finding your own hosting as its all included for you. Along with automatic updates and back-ups.
However, with this ease comes a lack of flexibility with your design options. You’ll only be able to choose from the templates provided with minimal control over the style. You can upload your own images and content but that’s all.
You’ll also be limited with the plug-ins that you can use with your WordPress.com website. A plugin is an additional bit of code that ‘plugs in’ to your website to enhance its capabilities or to add new features. With WordPress.com you can only access a limited selection of plugins compared to WordPress.org which has unlimited third-party capabilities.
In recent years, WordPress has introduced a business plan to give its users more flexibility. This is a paid for option that allows more freedom to use bespoke templates and install a range of plug ins. However, even this option is still more rigid than the opensource WordPress.org and limits its user’s abilities. For example, the underlying code on your WordPress.com website is still inaccessible on WordPress.com so you cannot make significant changes even after paying for the business plan.
Not only that, even when you pay for the business plan, this can be far more expensive than a self-hosted option with the right hosting provider. Your website domain will also still end in wordpress.com.
WordPress.org
WordPress.org is a self-hosted web development platform that provides a stable base for users to customise and build bespoke websites. To use the platform, you’ll first need to purchase your domain name and set up secure hosting.
After that you’ll be able to dig deep into your website code and customise to your heart’s content. There are no restrictions on design, plugins, or third-party integrations so you can create a truly unique website. You’ll also be able to scale your website up without any restrictions – perfect for a growing business.
The benefit of using WordPress in a self-hosted capacity is the ability to choose your own domain name and private mailboxes. This is essential to build a trustworthy online presence. You’ll also have more options to improve your SEO scores with a self-hosted WordPress website. You can build your own backlinks, work on your domain authority, and have control over whether you want to accept adverts on your site or not.
With a self-hosted WordPress website, you will need to arrange your own hosting, domain name and regular backups. Here at Expand Digital Media we can take care of this for your as part of your web development package. Get in touch today to discuss your new website build.
