WordPress.com Review: Is WordPress.com the Best Website Builder?
WordPress.com Review: Is WordPress.com the Best Website Builder?
WordPress is known to be the most widely used and popular content management system for websites, but in order for WordPress to work, it needs hosting and a domain, which are two separate services that you need to purchase from a paid website hosting company at prices that may start from just one dollar per month, or you can get them for free from a free hosting company, but we do not recommend that!
There are many reasons why WordPress is so successful that it currently runs about 39% of websites, the most important of which is its ability to meet the needs of all types of websites and its high customization capabilities, which makes it the best content management system.
However, many users are concerned about their inability to create and manage their own websites because they believe that using WordPress requires a certain degree of technical knowledge and experience to deal with it.
WordPress.com provides a service to create and host blogs and websites built using WordPress for free with limited features, with the possibility of obtaining more features by upgrading to paid packages that come with more powers and features.
What is WordPress.com?
WordPress.com is a platform that provides a service for creating a website, blog or online store based on the open source content management system WordPress. WordPress.com also hosts the site for free and provides a central control panel to easily control your sites.
The WordPress.com service was created specifically to help non-technical users to help them create their personal blogs, online stores or online business interfaces without the need to purchase hosting from one of the website hosting companies such as the well-known company Bluehost.
Its service includes a set of easy-to-use tools to help you manage your site, starting from creating and designing its pages, all the way to analyzing data traffic and making SEO improvements in order to attract more visitors to your site.
If you are interested in blogging or want to create an online store or interface for your company on the Internet, but you do not have enough experience to create and manage that site, WordPress.com is an ideal choice for you as its service provides a suitable solution to your problem. By using one of its packages, you can get a simple and easy-to-use website builder to design and host your site without having to write code or hire a specialist to manage your site.
Types of WordPress
Your presence on this page of the Dean of Hosting website probably means that you know WordPress or at least have heard of this name before.
But did you know that there are two types of WordPress?
WordPress was initially created as a free and open source content management and blogging system and it still is. This is the first type, which is referred to as "WordPress" only or "WordPress.org" WordPress.org, and anyone can download and modify it, but it needs hosting as we mentioned earlier in order to work on it.
Since the task of buying, managing and controlling hosting can be a difficult task for beginners, the founder of WordPress established a private company called "WordPress.com" WordPress.com that gives you the ability to create a WordPress site or blog easily without having to worry about hosting or a domain even because it takes care of them.. This is the second type of WordPress.
Here is a simple comparison between WordPress.com and WordPress.org..
1. WordPress.com platform
WordPress.com is a WordPress hosting service created by Matt Mullenweg, one of the founders of the WordPress system, specializing in providing fully managed web hosting for WordPress sites across several different packages.
That means you won't need to take care of the details of hosting your site or do the usual routine tasks such as updating the system and its components, performing regular backups, performing any maintenance work, or modifying your server settings. You will be able to focus entirely on your online project and your site content.
WordPress.com platform is more like a Website Builder than a hosting service, as you will get a graphical interface that allows you to design your site without having to write codes like other site builders such as Gator developed by HostGator and Zyro website builder.
On the other hand, this peace of mind will cost you many restrictions that will limit the ability to customize your site and add additional features to it, especially in the smaller packages. We will mention these restrictions later in more detail in the WordPress.com disadvantages section.
2. WordPress.org platform
While WordPress.com represents a paid services platform for hosting and creating WordPress sites, WordPress.org represents a platform for developing the open source and completely free WordPress program.
WordPress.org does not charge fees for developing the content management system and does not provide any paid services related to it, so if you are thinking of using this platform, you will need to use separate services to register and host your site's domain, such as GoDaddy or cheap hosting companies such as the American company Namecheap and the European hosting Hostinger, which started as free hosting.
This option is suitable for developers and expert webmasters, in addition to website owners who want to have great customization capabilities that allow them to design their site professionally and program special features for their site.
Usually, this platform provides better performance for your site and more freedom to control it, but you will manage and maintain your site yourself, and you will need to choose the appropriate hosting service for you from hundreds of options.
WordPress.com features
When compared to the number of hosting service providers, you will notice that the website building tools market has a small number of competitors, the most famous of which are WordPress.com, Weebly, and Squarespace. In addition to these services, there are a few website building tools that specialize in designing online stores such as Shopify and Joomla, and of course most of them use their own content management system, as is the case with WordPress.com.
In this section, we will explain the reasons that made WordPress.com one of the best website building tools, if not the best, and we will also talk about the strengths that distinguish it from others..
Free WordPress Hosting
As mentioned above, WordPress needs hosting to work, and although there are many companies that provide hosting services, most notably HostGator, the rising FastComet company, and the well-known hosting company A2 Hosting, it is still a paid service that you need to pay for in order for your site to continue working.
In addition, managing the site's hosting and maintaining its high performance and high speed may be difficult for beginners who do not have experience in this field, especially if this hosting is unmanaged hosting that does not come with technical support and a powerful control panel such as cPanel, for example.
What distinguishes WordPress.com is that it takes on this task completely, as it provides and manages the hosting of your site or blog, protects it, and maintains its performance and speed without the need for you to intervene in these technical matters.
Thus, your most important task becomes to focus on the content of your site only, whether articles, pages, comments, videos, images, or products if your site is an online store.
WordPress.com offers a lot of themes
WordPress prides itself on offering the largest number of themes compared to competing website builders such as Weebly, Joomla, and others, and these themes and templates belong to a wide range of categories that target different types of sites.
It is easy to notice that the templates that target personal blogs are more abundant than others since WordPress started as a blogging platform before expanding to become what it is today.
But you do not have to worry about that as there are many templates that target other types of sites that have been added recently and more new templates are constantly appearing.
Currently, the number of templates available for free download from the control panel is estimated to be in the hundreds, but that number will double when you upgrade your subscription plan, and the higher plans allow you to upload your own template that you designed yourself or obtained from another party.
Templates available for download on WordPress.com
All of the templates available for download via the WordPress dashboard are editable without exception, but you will be limited to the customization options that each template offers individually. That is, you will not be able to edit the template's CSS file directly, at least when using the lower packages, as WordPress.com offers this feature starting with the Premium package.
On the other hand, the number of templates available for free use cannot be compared to what the WordPress.org platform offers in terms of abundance and multiple options.
However, the customization capabilities offered by regular templates are good enough for most sites, and they are all capable of creating interactive pages that are suitable for browsing on smartphone and tablet screens.
If you prefer to use a template designed by a third party, WordPress.com offers the feature of installing templates from external sources such as TemplateMonster, ThemeForest, and others starting with the Business package.
WordPress.com offers a money-back guarantee policy
WordPress.com allows you to get a full refund of your prepaid amount if you cancel your subscription within 30 days of your purchase. This guarantee policy gives you enough time to try out the platform and decide if it’s right for you, otherwise you can cancel your subscription and get your money back.
While WordPress.com’s guarantee policy states that you get a full refund if you cancel within 30 days, this does not apply to its domain registration service. If you purchase a new domain and want to cancel your purchase, you must do so within 96 hours, as stipulated by ICANN’s policies, which regulate domain registrations.
After that period, WordPress.com will deduct the domain registration service fees from the total amount refunded to you, but in return, you will keep your website’s domain for the remaining reservation period.
The refund process is fully programmed and you will not need to contact anyone within the company or provide reasons for your withdrawal from the service. In other words, you will get your money quickly and smoothly once you cancel your subscription within the specified period.
You can get a free package from WordPress.com
One of the best features offered by the WordPress.com platform is the ability to create and host a website for free. In fact, this package is the most popular and has millions of users who want to create their personal blogs without having to pay any costs for this service.
In addition to the excellent server performance, you will get isolated computing resources that include 3 GB of storage space, unlimited bandwidth, and all the services and security features provided by other packages.
On the other hand, using this package involves very strict restrictions such as the inability to install plugins and being limited to a limited set of templates. You will also have to use a subdomain from WordPress.com and accept displaying some ads on your site pages, at least there will be a promotional link from WordPress itself on the margin of your site that you will not be able to remove unless you upgrade your subscription.
There are more restrictions on free hosted sites such as preventing the sale of ads on your site pages and the lack of support for payment gateways, which hinders any attempt to make profits from your site.
But if you compare this to what you get from free hosting services, you will find that WordPress.com offers an excellent deal despite all the above mentioned limitations.
WordPress.com offers built-in analytics tools
Managing a successful blog or website requires more than just good page design; you will need to attract visitors based on your site’s content and its ability to rank high on search results pages. Fortunately, WordPress.com performs most of the SEO optimizations automatically, but it also offers some options to manually modify some SEO elements such as the title, description, and shortened link.
In addition, WordPress.com has a built-in data analyzer that you can view by heading to the statistics section of the control panel. This tool provides an easy way to take a comprehensive look at your site’s performance by providing a variety of statistics that you can use to evaluate the success and development of your site and its ability to achieve its goals.
WordPress.com Default Analytics Interface
Unfortunately, the built-in analytics tool in the dashboard is limited compared to the advanced analytics software available through the WordPress.org plugin repository.
Fortunately, you can use Google Analytics when you upgrade to the Business plan to get better analytics on your site’s traffic, giving you more ideas for optimizing your content and marketing it better.
WordPress.com Offers a Free Domain
Unlike its free plan, WordPress.com offers a free domain registration service with all its plans. In fact, the free plan also offers a free domain, but it will be a subdomain of the main WordPress.com domain and you cannot change it to a custom domain address unless you upgrade your subscription.
This feature adds a lot of value, especially for the less expensive plans, as purchasing this service separately requires paying an additional cost, which is estimated at around $15~20 on average for .com domains. Fortunately, these costs are already included in the WordPress.com package prices and you will not need to use a separate domain registrar.
As with most web hosting services, the free domain offer is only available to new users who have booked a paid package for a period of one year or more. After that, you will need to renew the domain reservation annually from your account control panel.
WordPress.com provides advanced security measures for your site for free
As previously mentioned, the WordPress.com platform provides a fully managed hosting service for all customers who use its platform to create their sites. This includes obtaining an advanced anti-malware protection system and encrypting your site data using a free SSL certificate, in addition to using a constantly updated firewall to filter suspicious connections to your site and block the path of hackers.
The WordPress.com security package includes a service to automatically and periodically copy your site data without the need for any intervention from you. This way, you can restore your site in the event that it collapses for any reason or if you make a mistake that causes you to lose your site data. In this case, you can go to the control panel and choose the appropriate data recovery point date and restore your site from it with the click of a button.
In addition, the WordPress.com platform allows the use of two-step verification technology when logging in to protect its users' accounts from theft, and the company has created the HackerOne program to encourage ethical hackers to contribute to the development of their system's protection by offering generous rewards for reporting bugs and security vulnerabilities in its platform.
WordPress.com Disadvantages
WordPress.com offers an easy way to design and manage your website across a wide range of packages that can meet the needs of different types of websites.
However, its service is still far from perfect, as it has some disadvantages, most of which are due to the lack of flexibility in the customization capabilities that its packages offer, especially when compared to what WordPress.org users or its competitors in the field of website building tools such as Weebly and Squarespace get.
The following points represent the most prominent disadvantages that its platform suffers from..
WordPress.com offers limited customization capabilities
What WordPress.com offers is a website building tool and a fully managed hosting service, meaning that its priority is focused on providing an easy-to-use service for non-specialists. There is no mistake in the company's point of view, especially since it offers another platform aimed at specialists in website design and management.
However, the restrictions imposed on the capabilities of customizing your site are harsher than you think and are more evident in the lower packages. In general, you are limited to the templates you can see in your site’s dashboard and you will not be able to install a custom-designed template unless you choose the Business or eCommerce plans, which start at $33 and $59 per month, respectively.
These restrictions also apply to the plugins you can install, as WordPress.com offers a limited set of them through the dashboard, and although the higher plans allow you to upload and install your own plugins, even then you will be limited to the set of plugins that WordPress.com offers in its built-in package. Because of this, it will be difficult for you to add more features and tools to your site and you will have to use only what is available to you.
For example, WordPress.com offers a special section for statistics in its dashboard within all plans. However, this tool pales in comparison to specialized software for tracking data traffic, which you can easily install from the WordPress.org software repository. In your case, the best you will get is the Google Analytics tool, which is available to Premium plan subscribers, or of course you can subscribe to the Business plan and install any tool or plugin you want manually.
WordPress.com is more difficult to use than its competitors
WordPress.com has made a great effort to make its website builder as easy to use as possible. However, there are some areas where WordPress.com lags behind its competitors in the website builder space like Weebly and Squarespace.
For example, most website builders use a drag-and-drop interface to design your website pages by placing page elements like images and buttons in the appropriate place using the mouse. In the case of WordPress.com, you will have to use an interface similar to the one you use when writing articles, which makes it more difficult to use.
Weebly website builder interface
Of course, you can install specialized plugins to help you design your website pages, such as WPBakery or Elementor, but this option is only available to subscribers of the higher plans. Other users will have to design their website pages using the regular block editor.
There are a lot of restrictions on the lower plans
You will likely have to accept a lot of compromises to get a free plan from WordPress.com that includes a website builder and full hosting service. But these concessions are not justified in the case of paid plans, and worse still, some of these restrictions will remain even after upgrading to more expensive plans.
For example, the Personal plan will cost you $4 per month, and while it is encouragingly cheap, it only gives you a few free templates to choose from. Moreover, most of them are intended for personal blogs, which will make it difficult for you if you want to design a front-end for your business or an online store.
You will also not be able to install new plugins or use any of the advanced traffic analysis tools, which can be very important depending on the type of activity of your site.
In case you haven’t noticed, all of WordPress.com’s paid plans can support monetization activities implicitly, such as selling products or services, but you won’t get built-in support that allows you to accept money transfers via PayPal until you upgrade to at least the Premium plan.
In addition, WordPress.com supports monetization from ads starting with the Premium plan, and does not provide tangible support for online stores except in the eCommerce plan only.
WordPress.com plans are more expensive than most of your options
Let’s ignore the free plan here and focus on what WordPress.com’s paid plans offer because there’s nothing to criticize about a service you get for free. If you do a little research into the features offered by each of WordPress.com’s paid plans, you’ll notice that they’re far less than you’d expect when you consider the features offered by other hosting providers for the same price.
Some will argue that WordPress.com doesn’t just host your site, it handles all the technical work and leaves you to create your site’s content. This is true, but don’t forget that many hosting companies also offer this service under the name of managed hosting, such as Kinsta Hosting, and their plans offer more additional features than their WordPress.com counterparts, such as the ability to transfer your existing site and access your own space on the server via a file manager or FTP applications.
Compared to other hosting providers, WordPress.com clearly has no advantage in terms of pricing and its packages lack the wide range of features that hosting providers like DreamHost or its competitor InMotion Hosting are used to, such as the ability to choose the closest data center, the ability to use performance optimization technologies, and other more advanced features and customization options.
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