-
How to choose the right type of WordPress blog for your business
When we set up this blog about a year ago we went through a long winded process of figuring out what kind of website we needed in order to meet our objectives.
Eventually we identified WordPress as the web software we wanted to use, then we got stumped when we learned that not all WordPress blogs are created equal.
This article shares what we discovered, to help you choose the right type of WordPress blog for your business.
There are two different versions of WordPress; wordpress.com and wordpress.org
WordPress.com blogs are free and easy to set up but can not be custom designed
WordPress.com blogs are free and easy to set up. The limitations are that you can not have a custom design or add plug ins. Plug ins are the “add-ons” that give additional features like making your blog posts easy to share, adding Google Analytics monitoring and making it search engine and mobile phone friendly.
Use a free WordPress.com blog if you:
- Are happy to select from one of the design themes that are available
- Want backups and upgrades to be looked after for you
- Want a blog that is simple to set up and that lets you add content to share with people you know.
WordPress.org blogs offer a huge array of options for customisation and adding additional features, but they need to be hosted and backed up
WordPress.org blogs can have a fully customised theme and you can add a myriad of plug ins for additional functionality. You will need to pay a website hosting company to host your WordPress.org blog.
Use a WordPress.org blog if you want:
- A customised design that is uniquely yours and aligns with the branding of your business (you can also use one of the many themes that are available online)
- To give your readers all the different options for sharing the content of your blog such as the “tweet” button
- To add features to the content of each new article, such as Page Titles and Meta Description, that enhance your search engine optimisation
- To be able to monitor your website’s performance, beyond just basic statistics.
When you have a WordPress.org blog you need to look after backups and upgrades yourself. Find out how to backup your WordPress.org blog
Want to find out more?
This is an excerpt from our Free eBook “9 Important Considerations for Adding a WordPress Blog to your Website”
Melinda, generally known as Mel, is half of the Grassroots team. She is a Google Qualified Advertising Professional and a SEO Web Copywriter. Mel's aim is to make the web world a better place.
If you like it, please share it!
Join in! There's already been 4 comments
Post a comment
Recent Posts
-
Enter Code passion099 for 25% discount on your first purchase
After having many problems with my web design company, I finally decided to set my page up using wordpress. I LOVE IT!! I can change the data any time I want and I can even change the look if I choose.
I would highly recommend using it, especially as an economical option for a start up business.
Thanks for your comment Wendy. We love WordPress too
WordPress.org has given us far far more features than I expected in the beginning.
Mel
WordPress.com hosted blogs are a great (simple) starting point.
However it usually doesn’t take long before you need to customise your blog by adding a new feature or plugin (which you typically can’t do with a WordPress.com blog).
If you do end up changing from a WordPress.com blog to a WordPress.org blog, you can use the new WordPress.com offsite redirect feature to ensure that your visitors and search engines are directed to your new WordPress.org blog.
James
Thanks for the info James, I wasn’t aware of that WordPress feature but I’m sure it will be handy for a lot of people as they start realising the limitations of WordPress.com and decide to make the switch to WordPress.org
Mel