WordPress is one of the leading web publishing platforms available today. It is free software, so downloading and installing the software on your web server will cost you absolutely nothing. WordPress comes in two different formats, both look the same and have the same effect but with some subtle differences.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a complete WordPress publishing environment that is actually hosted by the company behind the WordPress software. This means you don’t have to worry about hosting fees, backups, or system updates, all of that is taken care of for you. All of this is offered completely free of charge, just sign up, choose a name for your blog or use a name that is no longer in use and you’re done. Within minutes, you’ll be writing content and posting it to your blog for free and hassle-free. Since WordPress.com has a lot of traffic, you will find that the major search engines will soon notice your blog and start indexing your site very quickly, which is great for improving your web presence.

As part of the service, your blog will have the following installed:

• Askimet anti-spam (prevents as SPAM)

• Statistics: full statistics engine so you can monitor the traffic to your site

• Fully optimized for mobile devices – ideal for blog readers using iPhone or Android mobile devices

• Backups – All handled by WordPress themselves

WordPress does place some restrictions on the type of blog you can run on wordpress.com, they are as follows:

Permitted

• Staff

• Business

• schools

• non profit

• Policy

• Military

• Private

• Sports

• Instructions, tips and reviews

Not allowed

• Blog scraping:

• SEO Blogs:

• Affiliate Marketing Blogs:

• Warez blogs:

• Automated blogs:

On the downside, you won’t be able to add many custom features to your blog other than those listed, and you won’t be able to use a custom domain name in the freeware, which might be a bit limiting if you want to brand the blog according to your business. It is very much a horse approach to courses. Less hassle to manage but limited functionality and you will need to weigh this when making your decision.

So in summary, WordPress.com is a fast, cheap and easy way to get your blogging site up and running very fast.

WordPress.org

WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress. This requires you to provide your own web hosting and before you rush out and apply for web hosting, check that the hosting provider meets the minimum requirements for a WordPress blog. The requirements are listed on the WordPress.org site along with some recommended web hosts.

To install the WordPress software, you can download the package from the site and install it manually by following the instructions on the wordpress.org site, it is very simple and quick to do, although it requires rudimentary knowledge of FTP and text editing. files, so I suggest that if you are not comfortable doing this, you seek the advice of someone who has the necessary knowledge. Alternatively, some web hosts offer a 1-click install utility from the hosting control panel that will automatically install WordPress for you. Check with your web host to see if this functionality is available.

Once installed, you have full control over the appearance of your blog site so you can change themes or add specific features to your blog as you see fit. You are not restricted to the type of content you upload to the Blog (assuming it does not violate the web servers’ TOS) and you may also serve unrestricted advertising.

The basic WordPress installation does not include the stats or askimet plugins, you will need to install and activate them yourself (I would recommend that you do) and you will find a host of other plugins that will allow you to customize the blog to your liking.

To sum it up, WordPress.com is a bit like renting a house where you are limited as to what you can actually do with the site and wordpress.org is like owning a house where you can pretty much do whatever you want with it.