Did you know that WordPress.com and WordPress.org are actually two very different platforms?

Often beginners confuse the two which leads them to choose the wrong platform. 

I recommend you set your website up on WordPress.org and will show you how to do this in this training. Here's a brief comparison for context:

WordPress.com - is a hosting service created by the co-founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg. Because of the same founder, often users confuse WordPress.com with the popular WordPress.org software. This platform has many limitations :

1. You need to upgrade to premium OR Business plan to have custom domain name.

2. You can’t add Google analytics or any other plugin on your website without upgrading to a business plan.

3. They can delete your site at anytime if they think it violates their Terms of Service.

4. They don’t offer any eCommerce features or integrated payment gateways.

5. You cannot build membership websites with WordPress.com.

6. They place ads on all free websites. So your users will see ads, and you don’t make money from it. If you don’t want your users to see their ads, you need to upgrade to business plan.

7. You are NOT allowed to sell ads on your website.

8. If you run a high traffic site, then only you can apply for their advertising program called WordAds. 

9. You need to share earned revenue with them.

WordPress.org -  aka “the real WordPress”, is the popular website platform that you have heard all the great things about.

1. You own your website and all its data. Your site will NOT be turned off because someone decides that it is against their terms of service (as long as you are not doing something illegal). You are in full control.

2. You can add free, paid, and custom WordPress plugins/app to your website. There are over 45,000 plugins to help your website meet your needs. Add an online store, galleries, mailing lists, forums, analytics and much more.

3. WordPress.org has thousands of free and paid themes available which you can install on your website.

4. You can make money by running your own ads. (Google adsense)

5. You don’t need to share your earned revenue with anyone.

6. You can use powerful tools like Google Analytics for custom analytics and tracking.

7. You can use self-hosted WordPress to create an online store to sell digital or physical products, accept credit card payments, and deliver / ship the goods directly from your website.

8. You can also create membership sites and sell memberships for premium content, courses, etc and build an online community around your website.

I hope by now you have understand the benefits of using WordPress.org. Follow the steps in the next lecture to set your site up with WordPress.org.