I use WordPress.com for pretty much all my clients who just need a simple, effective and no frills site, that requires no technical know-how in order to manage it!
Why?
Web designers will hate me for saying this, but for me, when it comes to small businesses, there is nothing worse than an overly complicated website with loads of buttons, bells and whistles, sliders and graphics and other moving parts that has unnecessary plugins and editing software. You just do not need all that.
All those things distract from your business; they are too complicated; they don’t look great on mobiles and they slow down your site.
Most of my clients are small businesses, one man bands, charities or other small organisations that do not have the time, skills or inclination to manage a website.
What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org self-hosted websites?
WordPress hosted (WordPress.com) means that WordPress platform hosts your website and takes care of all the back end updates, security etc etc.
WordPress self-hosted (WordPress.org) means that you get to use the WordPress software, but your site is hosted by a third party hosting company of your choosing… And YOU take care of all the back end stuff.
WordPress.com and WordPress.org use the same WordPress software, but unlike using WordPress.org on a third party host (ionos, tso, bluehost, godaddy etc etc), WordPress.com sites just do everything for you with no middle man!
The benefits
- Back up and software updates are handled by WordPress automatically.
- SEO and SSL is inbuilt.
- Very little can go wrong and it’s super easy to do what you need to do.
- There are loads of features and widgets you can use without needing anything else
- There is no overlay editing software. It’s just WordPress and that’s all you need.
Its lower end plans are limited in terms of customisation, bells and whistles etc, but most of the time, you don’t need any! Unless you have a Business account or upwards, WordPress.com does not support plugins but you don’t need and to be honest, plugins break sites! Temporarily most of the time, but still, it can be really irritating.
The cost
- A basic annual hosting, which I use for pretty much everyone is £36 per year (£3 per month) + VAT per year.
- You get one domain purchase or mapping (from another domain registrar) free for the first year.
- Emails can be added for £5 per month (£60 per year) via Titan or £66 a year for Google Workspace.
The higher end plans get quite expensive compared to some other providers, but you can always switch your site over to a WordPress.org self-hosted site if you need something more complicated further down the the line.
If you’re basically after a simple, no frills, slick, fast and safe information site that tells your customers or clients what you do, where you are and how to contact you, then WordPress.com is it.
If you can be bothered to read it, this useful article explains the difference of WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
https://wordpress.com/support/com-vs-org/
I just create websites that are for people or small businesses like me. People who aren’t trained in website design! I do however work with one or two “proper” (!) web designers when clients need more complicated e-commerce and other exciting sites… I can highly recommend them for stuff I would have no idea how to do (or inclination!).
HERE are some WordPress.com sites I have created for clients (as well as my own)…
linkoxted.org
The Word Bird 