WordPress is the most popular website design software because it is easy to use and well documented. This article will teach you the basics that you need to get started with a WordPress website.

When you start researching WordPress, you will find WordPress.com and WordPress.org. These are two separate products from the company behind WordPress. The .org is the FOSS software that you can download, edit, and deploy on your server. The term Self-Hosted refers to using WordPress from the .org site. You have full control over this version of WordPress.

The .com version is the company's solution to give you the space to run your site. You can start without a domain for free, and add a domain to the website for $4 per month. Unlike the .org version of the site, you have no control over the code or what it does. On the free and personal plans, you cannot use any custom code and are limited only to the curated themes and plugins they give you.

Which is Best?

Like anything else, neither of the options are perfect or best case for all users. Here are the pros and cons of each:

WordPress.com Pros

• Security is Included
• No difficult setup
• Everything included will work
• Company support (on the paid plans)

WordPress.com Cons

• No customization (without expensive plans)
• Monthly fee for custom domain name
• Limited function
• Harder to fix errors that do arise

WordPress.org Pros

• Free to use
• Completely customizable
• Easier to fix when broken
• No limitations

WordPress.org Cons

• Requires a Hosting Account
• Security can be difficult to manage
• Requires regular backups and updates
• No direct support

My personal preference is WordPress.org, but I am a bit biased in being a web dev who has specialized in WordPress designs for a long time. Still, I always prefer freedom and flexibility over paying fees for locked down software, but that is me. I also use A2Hosting for my sites, so I have a lot of available web hosting servers available to me.

If you need help with your author website, contact me and I will get you a quote to finish up your site.