WordPress is a popular website builder that can create stunning websites using various templates and plugins. WordPress has around 500 Million users around the world. But For installing and setting up WordPress, you need some coding knowledge. WordPress is open-source software, which is self-hosted. We will have full control over the website. WordPress provides you with around 60,000 plugins and 10,000 themes. That is pretty interesting. Here is WordPress Review. I reviewed WordPress.org, its features, pros and cons, pricing, and the difference between WordPress.org & WordPress.com, etc. Let’s see whether WordPress is the right choice for you.
What is WordPress?
WordPress (WordPress.org) is open-source software that you can install and use as your own. It has so many customization options and other features like temples, plugins, themes, etc. It does not provide any domain and hosting. We have to use third-party apps like Bluehost, DreamHost, SiteGround, etc. There is also WordPress.com. WordPress.com is a hosting provider service, which also allows you to create websites. It is a simple website builder that is used by small businesses and bloggers, those who are not expecting any revenue from their website. In this comparison, we are talking about WordPress.org.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| High customization options. | You have to maintain your website yourself (Update themes, plugins, etc). |
| You can select your own hosting service. | You have to install WordPress software. |
| around 60,000 plugins | You have to do the backups. |
| A good number of templates | |
| Affordable compared to WordPress.com. | |
| You will get more control over SEO. |
Pricing
WordPress is a self-hosted website with self-hosting platforms like Bluehost, SiteGround, DreamHost, etc. You have to purchase your own hosting and domain and install the WordPress software onto that login. You can buy it through NameCheap, GoDaddy, Bluehost, etc. You will get a custom in both for free for 1 year using Bluehost. You have to renew your domain name each year.
1. Bluehost Pricing
Bluehost plan starts from $4.95 /mo. You will get a Free Domain Name, Free SSL Certificate, Automatic WordPress Install, Expert 24/7 support, and Secure, reliable hosting, WordPress is more recommending Bluehost hosting.
Basic Plan: $4.95 /mo => You will get 1 Website, 50 GB SSD Storage, Custom Themes, 24/7 Customer Support
Plus Plan: $7.45 /mo => Unlimited websites, Unlimited SSD Storage, Custom Themes, 24/7 Customer Support.
Choice Plus Plan: $7.45 /mo => Plus Plan with added privacy and security features.
Pro Plan: $13.95 /mo => You will get more power with optimized web resources + Plus plan features.
2. DreamHost Pricing
Basic Plan: $2.59 /mo => The most affordable way to get all the basics for your WordPress website — perfect if you’re new to WordPress
DreamPress Plan: $16.95 /mo => Fast, optimized WordPress Hosting with professional staging, daily & on-demand backups, custom caching + email.
VPS for WordPress Plan: $27.50 /mo => The ideal way to support 5 WordPress websites. A high-performance platform with isolated resources and more backend control.
3. SiteGround
Start Up Plan: $2.99 /mo => 1 Website, 10 GB space, 10,000 visit monthly, Free SSL, Daily backup, Free emial, Database enabled, etc.
GrwoBig Plan: $4.99 /mo => Unlimited websites, 20GB web space, 100,000 Visits Monthly, Unmetered Traffic, On-demand Backup Copies, 30% faster PHP, Staging, etc.
GoGeek Plan: $7.99 /mo => GrowBig Features + White-label Clients, Free Private DNS, Highest Tier of Resources, Priority Support
Ease of Use
There are two WordPress are available. One is WordPress.com and the other is WordPress.org. WordPress.com is a simple website builder used for blogging and small businesses. WordPress.org is the real WordPress. WordPress.org is open-source software. You have to download the software. And also WordPress is a self-hosted website. You can host your website on any hosting provider you want. So, hosting will be the only cost you’ll have for building your website. The most recommended hosting provider is Bluehost. The domain name comes free with Bluehost and WordPress and their website.
After selecting Bluehost from the hosting, it will redirect to the Bluehost website. After clicking “get started now”, it will bring us to the pricing page. You can select any plans out there. Then you have to choose your domain name. If it is available, you can set up the account information, package information, package extra, and payment information. Then click the submit button.
After that, you have to create the Bluehost account with that domain name, and password. Then login to the Bluehost account. Then click the “create your website” button. Then there will be so many options like “how much help you want”, “what kind of site are you creating”, etc. You can either select it or skip it.
Then you have to select “How do you like to build your WordPress site”. There are 2 options that will be available. “Limitless customization” and “Fast, easy site-building”. Here I am selecting Limitless customization. Then the themes page will appear (You can either choose or set it up later). There are free and premium themes that will be available. Then your WordPress will install on the Bluehost. It will redirect you to the Bluehost dashboard. Then you have to verify your email address and then log in to your WordPress account.
Then, it will lead you to your WordPress Dashboard. All you need to build a website will be available on the left side of the WordPress dashboard. It includes posts, Media, Pages, Designs, Templates, appearances, Plugins, Settings, etc. You can create beautiful websites of any type using this WordPress.
WordPress Themes
WordPress has around 5000 wordpress themes and templates. You will get free and paid themes and templates there. If you are using free themes, then WordPress will provide you with only limited support. And you will get premium support for Paid themes.
Themes are categorized into 3 different sections. Subject, Features, and Layout. The subject includes Blog, E-Commerce, Education, Entertainment, etc. Features include Accessibility Ready, Editor style, Custom background, etc. The layout contains different layouts like Grid Layout, One Column, Two-column, etc. You can filter from these and they will suggest templates for you. WordPress does not have any in-built or third-party plugins for Logo making.
Editor
WordPress provides different types of themes like Elementor, Divi, Gutenberg, etc. They all have different types of editors. The normal editor of WordPress is the Gutenberg editor. Given below is the Gutenberg editor. Gutenberg editor is a simple editor. It contains different blocks like Images, Videos, Tables, List, etc. Within the Gutenberg editor, you will get a Classic editor. It is also simple. You can add images, videos, links, lists, etc. from there also.
Elementor is another type of editor that we can install from plugins. It is free. It is a simple drag-and-drop editor. It also contains different elements like Images, a Text editor, Video, buttons, Google Maps, Portfolio, etc. You just need to drag and drop the elements you want. WordPress also gives you so much customization freedom. You will get SEO optimization in the editor itself. So you can set up the title, Meta description, keywords, etc. You can drag and drop the editor within a block. But you can’t place anything anywhere you want.
After editing for the desktop, it will automatically optimize for the Mobile also. You don’t have to do anything. That is cool.
Automation
WordPress does not provide any in-built marketing automation. But WordPress has so many plugins for doing marketing automation. There are around 400 plugins are available. It includes FlentCRM’s Email Marketing Automation, MailChimp, Omnisend, Zoho Marketing automation, etc. And also, there are free plugins are also available.
WordPress Plugins
WordPress does not have an App Market. Instead, it has around 60,000+ plugins to help you add different features to your site. There are free as well as paid plugins available. Plugins are not like Wix App Market. You need a little technical knowledge to install and successfully update them each time if there is a new version.
SEO
WordPress provides even more. Its software comes with limited SEO features. You also have access to tons of powerful plugins such as Yoast SEO, RankMath SEO, Google Analyticator, etc. which help you to reduce your SEO efforts. RankMath SEO is given below. We can set up focus keywords, meta descriptions, titles, etc. through RankMath SEO.
Analytics & Tracking
WordPress does not have in-built analytics and reporting. You have to install Google Analytics on your WordPress website. There are also other analytics plugins available in WordPress like Analytify, WooCommerce Pixel manager, Conversions.io, etc. See the full list of Analytics & Tracking plugins here.
Customer Support
WordPress is open-source software. It is technically free. So, they don’t provide any official support. They provide documentation and a forum. So, it will be easy to find answers. However many hosting providers like Namecheap, Bluehost and SiteGround have knowledge of WordPress and they will provide support.
Let’s see how WordPress is good for different business types.
1. Small Business
As I told you, WordPress is also good for small businesses. They are providing so many plugins for Small businesses. Both paid and free. Small business features include Bookings & appointments, event schedules, Local pickup, etc. They include WP ERP, WP Ever Accounting, Jetpack CRM, Salon booking system, etc.
2. Start-ups
You can also create Start-up websites using WordPress. WordPress also gives you so many plugins for creating start-up websites. It includes, Popup builder, Translate WordPress with GTranslate, MailChimp for WordPress, etc.
3. Portfolio
You can create beautiful portfolio templates using WordPress. They are providing the Portfolio element in the Elementor editor itself. But it is not that good. And also they are providing so many plugins for creating portfolios. There are plugins like “Portfolio Awesome”, “Portfolios”, “Elegant Addons for elementor”, “MB portfolio”, etc.
4. eCommerce
You can create eCommerce websites in WordPress so easily using WooCommerce. WooCommerce is one of the popular eCommerce platforms on the market. You can also use so many eCommerce plugins for selling products, and other e-commerce needs. It includes Ecwid eCommerce Shopping, WooCommerce shipping & tax, eCommerce product catalogue, etc. WooCommerce is more advanced than Wix. It provides more features when it comes to eCommerce.
5. Blogging
WordPress, on the other hand, has a long-held reputation as being one of the best tools for blogging. You can add blogs from the “Post option”. Then click “Add new”. Their blog feature is powerful, with the ability to add tags, categories, and RSS. And also it provides a lot of plugins for comments, related posts, polls, etc.
WordPress blog-related plugins are given below. They include News & Blog Designer Pack (WordPress blog plugin), PostX, MailerPoet, WP Blog & Widget, Blog Designer, etc.
WordPress Review – Notes
- As I mentioned, WordPress does not have in-built analytics. There are so many plugins available for getting the analytics of our website. The best tool for website analytics is Google analytics. Google Analytics helps to track the visitors to your website. And also, you can see the trends, patterns, visitor engagement, etc. using Google Analytics.
- After connecting to Google Analytics, it is good to connect with the Google Search console. It is another free service provided by Google. It helps you to maintain, monitor and troubleshoot your website. You can see how google sees your website using Google Search Console.
How To Setup Google Search Console?
Difference between WordPress.org & WordPress.com
WordPress is a popular website builder. Around 45% of websites are built by WordPress. But, there are two WordPress categories. One is WordPress.org and the other is WordPress.com. Both are different in terms of themes, plugins, customization, etc. WordPress.com is mostly used by simple websites and blogging websites that are not expecting any revenue from their website. But WordPress.org is used by most people like any type of business. It has so many features and a lot of customization options are available.
WordPress.com Pros & Cons
| It has a free plan as well as paid plans | It has limited features |
| Good customer support | Templates are limited & you can’t install all types of themes (eg: Divi) |
| Automatic website maintenance. You don’t have to do anything. | Only a limited number of plugins can be used. |
| Up to 3GB of space is free | You can’t create an e-commerce store (can’t integrate payment gateways. You need extra cost for that – Upgrade to an eCommerce plan) |
| Automatic updates & backup | You can’t add google analytics or any other plugins for tracking. |
| They will display ads on free websites. |
Conclusion
WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two great website builders. But they differ in a lot of features and functionalities. WordPress.com is mainly used by small business organizations and bloggers. It has a free version and also paid version. But a lot of features are limited in WordPress.com. On the other hand, WordPress.org is a perfect website builder for all types of businesses. WordPress.org is the real WordPress. Features are functionalities are better in WordPress.org when compared to WordPress.com. It has around 60,000 plugins and 9000 templates are available.