I mentioned the two big guns of blogging (Blogger and WordPress) in a previous post about switching from Blogger to WordPress, but I also stated I would breakdown the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. There are a plethora of articles on this, including a support page directly from the horse’s, er, WordPress’s mouth. However, I’m going to feed you some candor today.
WordPress.com
- For people with little to no blogging experience
- Can get started in several minutes
- Absolutely free
- Will look like a basic cookie cutter blog site
WordPress.org
- For medium to expert level blogger
- Can get started in several hours
- Some costs involved (e.g. domain, hosting)
- Could look like a professionally developed blog site
So it looked like WordPress.com was going to win by a landslide until we got to the last bullet, which makes WordPress.org the winner if you think you’re ready for prime time. It’s really the difference between coming off as an amateur or a pro. I won’t claim that the look and feel of this site (developed in WordPress.org) is the greatest but it also doesn’t look like it was slapped together by someone who decided to start a blog on a whim. (At least I hope not!) BTW, if you think this site is, in fact, the greatest, please let me know. 
There are, of course, many other pros and cons, many of which you can read at the aforementioned WordPress support site if you wish. However, I tried to make the decision easy for you.
What platform are you using?
I am a business professional
with an entrepreneurial spirit. Although I have an MBA and managed websites and IT departments
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I think this sums it up nicely in general. You’re right, there are a lot of websites out there that explain the differences very well. I think ultimately if you’re new to blogging that you should look into Blogger. Once you become comfortable with the process you should move to WordPress.com and stay there for a while to get a feel for how the advantage is for you, if any. After that, if you’re serious about really making something of your blog (money or just anything you feel is necessary to use .org for) then you should at least look into WordPress.org. I have yet to move my stuff to WordPress.org but it will be worth everything that happens… I believe that.
And by the way, your blog looks very well put together and it looks like you definitely care about your visitors and about providing very useful content to help them succeed. Great job, really! I don’t like liars and I work hard not to lie myself. I actually want to figure out a way to set up something like what you have with the Blog Sponsors on the right side of your blog here.
I just need to take things one step at a time though.
Blogger has a bad rap. I actually made money from my corporate blogs and blogger.
However, WordPress.org is just way better and offers much more flexibility and control. I think you’ll enjoy once you cut over. It’s a small monetary commitment (under $100/yr for domain and hosting) but it’s a big work commitment.
BTW, the Blog Sponsors are simply affiliates. I currently don’t sell ad space on here. Once you decide what products or services you want to pitch, you can add them almost immediately.
I vote for woedpress.org, no doubt
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Me too, no doubt it is the way to go.
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Mee too,no doubt about this.
I choose “.org”, I feed blog post and I want to customize my page the way I wanted it to be, and wordpress is very handy also, so better choose .org guys. Enjoy blogging.
Thanks fowr sharingdw nice blog and good list Gabeew
wordpress.com is much easier to use and its free of cost. I too have no blogging experience at all! Also, for monetizing your site, wordpress.com is much better than ‘.org’
I like wordpress so much. Thanks for your blog. Great help!
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I think every blogger worth her salt should use wordpress CMS on a selfhosted domain. It does not take much time, effort or energy to get up to speed with wordpress. Anyone who is capable of handling a blog on wordpress . com should be able to handle a self hosted wordpress blog easily. Almost all hosting accounts provide easy wordpress installation (fantastico in cpanel). I think blogging on non-self-hosted platform is akin developing someone else property. You never know when or how the terms of service will change.
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That last point is a good one. There are many instances of “free” platforms that suck you in and eventually start charging.
I have wordpress.com, and it very comfortable for me.
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WordPress.com is great for people who are new to blogging (like me). It has made everything so simple and understandable.
The theme options are a great bonus…
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WP.COM also helps promote your blog through their tags. I have a .COM and a .ORG of the same blog, trying to move away from the .COM world, but I can’t get my hits up on .ORG enough to make it work. I do as much marketing as I can (granted, not enough), and it works much better with the .COM wind at my back.
Hi Gabe, wordpress dot com is good when you are learning, but I think it is necessary to have your WordPress blog in a good web hosting, if you want to go to the next level. You have more control and freedom to do lots of things.
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Too me wordpress.com is for those who either dont want to pay for hosting or are just starting there blog.
WordPress.com is alot easier to use but it is also much more restricted.
WordPress.org is for those who want to branch out and do alot of customising, or use ads, or need to expand on some of wordpress.org’s limits.
WordPress.com does have VIP hosting…so its like WordPress.org but still with them.
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I am a blogger myself and I can tell you that all of my blogs are WordPress based and are hosted on private hosting services, depending on the occasional deal and service.. and they are all providing me with a decent and steady work and earn from home environment, and are keeping me steady… I also giving it some proper SEO work and decoration (options are wide !) and personally I love this platform myself, it’s one of the friendliest UI experience for me.
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As a blogger I can tell you that I run all my WP blogs myself and hosting them on a private hosting service, they are graphically cepable for just about anything you need, and they are all providing me with a very comfortable and easy to use “work from home” environment. I tend to prefer WP on every other system today.
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Honestly i am new here but i learn a lot from here i use to write a blog and this post is giving me an idea.thanks for sharing.
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I am new in wordpress and currently using WP.com. Can you please kindly confirm if you really cannot monetize your WP.com and you need to really move to a paid service which is WP.org
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nice info bro
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Great post!For a newbie like me this post really big help to understand about WP.by watching the video it may answer all the question.thanks for sharing.
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I am on blogger, but then every platform works differently for different bloggers depending on their skills and maturity in the blogging arena as you have rightly mentioned. Thanks for sharing this, I never knew the difference between the two… This is great information for a newbie like me!
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I am newbie blogger and i always organized before i put into WP.this is additional idea in finishing my work.
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I am more comfortable with wordpress.com. Easier to use and much friendly, and yes I agree with you it can be done in just few minutes.
I started with free hosted wordpress blog and after few weeks quickly moved to selfhosted blog because I cound’t make the blog to look my own blog. I would recommend to learn the platform with wordpress.com and then after you know what you need move to self hosted blog. Blogger is another great way to learn how to start blogging with different platform but remember to move to a self hosted as soon as you know what you need.
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Aren’t wordpress.com and wordpress.org the same? I mean they’re both wordpress. ^^ Maybe the only difference is the cost. If you decide to invest some money for your site, then go for wordpress.org. If not, just settle for wordpress.com.
All my blogs are based on self hosted WordPress. This gives you complete freedom selecting your theme and the plugins you need. Well recommended!
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As someone who is new blogging, I still use wp.com
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I love and use Self hosted wordpress blogs.
Nice post here!
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free blogs do not allow any additional plugin installation that is essential when talking of seo
Hi! I am new to blogging. I started with WordPress.com, but I have reached the point of wanting to be able to monetize it because I have had some regular traffic. I am torn between Drupal and WordPress.org. I was wondering if you have an opinion about which is better. I have medium computer skills, but am relatively clueless with hard programing.
Cheers,
Louise
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The best of the best is wordpress
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If you aren’t real serious about your blog and just want something really easy to start publishing then WP.com is fine. It’s when you want to really build the status of your blog for whatever reason that you want to take things more seriously and use the CMS, imo.
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Ciao,
Chiaramarina
thanx you for share you blogs is very nice
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WordPress.com is great for all beginners. I have tried wordpress.com and I have learned so much about it. However, I prefer wordpress.org the best.
Thank you for sharing your knowlegde with us!
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WordPress.com – FREE and limited themes unless you pay for it.
WordPress.org – Customizable blogging CMS and you can even use hijack premium templates
hahaah