Best Host For WordPress: .com or org?
The options for hosting a WordPress site are nearly endless these days, but the best host for WordPress is one that offers WordPress hosting as a simple install package. By install ‘package’, I’m referring to push button type installation.
Setting up a WordPress site on your own can be a daunting task. Long before hosts began offering hosting plans specifically for WordPress, you would need to locate a reliable, fairly priced hosting company that supported not only the server side PHP, but the MySQL back end database.
As I recently explained to a web design client who wanted to host his own WordPress blog but didn’t know where to start, you really have two main options for hosting this wonderful software package.
WordPress “.com” Hosting
First you can go to WordPress’s .com site and signup for a blog there. This is the ‘free’ way to dip your toe in the water with your own WordPress blog. However, the trade off for this free hosting service is that you are extremely limited with what you can actually do once you’ve signed up for an account.
Here is a quick example of free hosting with the ‘.com’ address. First off, your web address will look more like myaddress.wordpress.com rather than myaddress.com. Sure, you can tie your domain name to this new blog. BUT, you’ll pay for that.
Second, once your blog is up and running, you will be very limited with the types of plug-ins you can install. In case you don’t know, a ‘plug-in’ is a piece of software that can be installed into WordPress.
Let’s say you want to use Google Analytics to monitor web traffic on your WordPress blog. You could simply search for ‘google analytics’ plug-ins, find one that you like, install, and your blog would begin interacting with the Google Analytics account you setup for your domain.
The big issue, is that the blog on my client’s WordPress (the .com site) wouldn’t allow plug-ins for Google Analytics to be installed.
Why? Controlled hosting for the masses must be policed to a point that there ONLY certain approved plug-ins. That means, your “.com” account is VERY limited in so many ways.
However, never fear! There is a much more flexible, powerful way to host WordPress. You can actually go to WordPress’s “.org” site, download the WordPress software, and install on your own paid hosting account. Why would you do this? Keep reading…..
WordPress “.org” Hosting
If you are not using free but limited hosting with WordPress’s “.com” site, you can host your own WordPress site by downloading the software from WordPress’s “.org” site, then installing it on your own paid hosting account.
However, this process can be a MAJOR pain if you are using a host that doesn’t support the WordPress installation easily.
The best host for WordPress installations makes makes installation so easy, it’s push button simple. Check out a WordPress hosting account here and you’ll see what truly makes the best host for WordPress today!