When building a WordPress website, one of the first things you’ll need to choose is between self-hosted WordPress (wordpress.org) and hosted WordPress (wordpress.com).
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the differences between a WordPress self-hosted site and a WordPress.com website.
What Is A Self-Hosted WordPress Site?
A self-hosted WordPress site is a website that uses the WordPress content management system (CMS), and is hosted on a server that you manage. With WordPress self-hosting, you have the freedom to select your own hosting provider and get more flexibility in your site build.
On the other hand, WordPress.com is a hosting service that provides a ready-to-use solution for creating websites. When you use WordPress.com, your site is hosted on WordPress’s servers, which means you don’t have to worry about managing the technical aspects of hosting. However, you have less control over your site’s customization and functionality compared to a self-hosted WordPress site.
A self-hosted WordPress site provides more flexibility and control over your website’s customization, functionality, and data. Nonetheless, the software operating both versions is identical as wordpress.org and wordpress.com represent two different methods to use WordPress.
What are the Advantages of Self-Hosted WordPress sites?
Self-hosted WordPress sites offer several advantages over hosted platforms like WordPress.com. Here are some key advantages:
Full Control and Flexibility
With a self-hosted WordPress site, you have complete control over your website. You can change the design, functionality, and add additional features to your site to create a website that suits your needs. This flexibility is especially beneficial for businesses and developers who require specific design elements or functionality.
Cost Benefits
While you need to pay for web hosting with a self-hosted WordPress site, the cost can often be more economical compared to the subscription plans offered by hosted platforms.
Hosted platforms like WordPress.com typically offer monthly or yearly subscription-based plans with added costs for features such as custom domains, premium themes, additional storage, and advanced functionality. The monthly expenses can accumulate rapidly, leaving you with minimal control over the cost of managing your website.
With self-hosted WordPress, you only need to pay for web hosting and domain registration, and you have the option to use free themes and plugins or purchase premium ones as needed. This can result in long-term cost savings. Many web hosting providers offer competitive pricing, especially for shared hosting plans, which can be suitable for small to medium-sized websites.
Scalability and Performance
With self-hosted WordPress, you can pick your own hosting provider and customize your server setup to fit your needs. This allows you to upgrade your server as your website grows and gains more traffic over time, ensuring it runs fast and reliably.
You also have the freedom to choose between different hosting options depending on how much website traffic your site gets. Self-hosting allows you to incorporate additional security and caching functionalities to safeguard your website and enhance its loading speed.
Plus, you can use a wide range of plugins and themes to add new features and customize your site. Having control over your server also means you can try out new technologies and tools to keep your site running smoothly as it grows.
Data Ownership and Control
When you self-host your WordPress site, you have full ownership and control over your website’s data. You’re not dependent on a third-party hosting platform, and you have the freedom to backup, migrate, or transfer your site’s data as needed. This independence provides peace of mind and ensures your website can keep running smoothly no matter what.
Additionally, this control allows you to implement custom security measures, ensuring your data is protected according to your standards and not those of a third-party provider.
Advanced SEO and Analytics
Self-hosted WordPress sites offer more advanced SEO capabilities and analytics integrations compared to WordPress.com. With a self-hosted WordPress site, you are not limited by the restrictions often imposed by WordPress.com.
You have greater control over meta tags, SEO plugins, site speed, and other optimization techniques and factors to help improve your site’s search engine visibility and performance.
This level of control and flexibility is essential for those serious about growing their online presence and achieving the best possible results from their website.
Self-hosted WordPress: Best For Forward-Thinking Businesses
A self-hosted WordPress site gives you more flexibility and control for long term success. Self-hosted WordPress sites are optimal for forward-thinking businesses who to build and scale their website to align with their future growth.
At Nine Isle, we always work with self-hosted WordPress sites that allows for the most flexibility to help your business succeed in the online space. Work with us to launch your WordPress website!