It’s like, the best blogging platform EVER… better than sliced bread, airline miles and street food COMBINED.
So why would ANYONE suggest otherwise?
What type of sick person - especially one dedicated to helping travel bloggers - would steer you in another direction?
Turns out, there is one instance when using WordPress is a really, really bad idea.
WordPress: .com vs. .org
Many new bloggers get these confused.
In a nutshell, WordPress.com hosts your blog on their server. Your website URL would look something like this:
www.yourwebsitename.wordpress.com
Using WordPress.com to host your server is like renting a room (except it’s free). You don’t have to pay for hosting, domain names or any other fees. Just sign up and start blogging.
But remember: you get what you pay for.
With WordPress.com you do not own your site. Which means it could go down any time due to policy changes, technical issues or just a stroke of really bad luck.
Using WordPress.org means you use the WordPress platform on your own, self-hosted domain. So your website looks like…
www.yourtravelblog.com
Hosting your own domain makes sense for a lot of reasons:
- It’s better for branding
- You own the real estate
- The domain is shorter
- Greater flexibility
- You can sell it down the line
So if you can afford a $100 a year, you really should host your own site using WordPress.org.
Other Reasons You Shouldn’t Consider WordPress
Um… there aren’t any. WordPress.org is the choice for travel bloggers. It’s fast/easy to install and there’s a plugin for things you haven’t even thought of yet.
What You Need To Do Next
Is download WordPress if you haven’t already.
In the next lessons we’ll cover what plugins you should (and shouldn’t) install.
To your successful travel blog,
Adam Costa
Editor in Chief, Travel Blogger Academy
P.S. This is part of a 24 part course on travel blogging. If you haven’t already, sign up for it now!
About adamcosta
Adam,
Can’t thank you enough! Turns out I am using wordpress.org, moved from .com to self host then thought I was missing out on WP world, but you’ve confirmed my choice.
LOVING all of this valuable info!
Victoria
I’ve been using wordpress.com since I started my blog about 13 months ago. Basically, I did it because at the time I knew nothing about blogging and felt like I needed my hand held. At some point I do want to switch over but I feel kind of intimidated. But I want to make a correction to something you said: although my site is on wordpress.com, my domain name does NOT have the word “wordpress” in it. For a slight premium I was able to buy my own domain, so there is no problem with branding, etc. And I acknowledge the theoretical risk of some interruption of my service if something goes wrong, but that seems pretty unlikely in the near future with a reputable company like wordpress. The main drawback for me of using wordpress.com is the inability to use plugins, which limits what I can put on my site, which IS why I’ll have to make the transition to self-hosting eventually.
Adam,
I’m in the process of designing my travel blog using the Squarespace platform. So far I’ve had a mixed experience: lots of extremely simple drag-and-drop formatting but limits to the plugin options. Once I’ve got it up and running (fingers crossed that its within the week) I’ll have a better sense of how well if functions live. I started out attempting WordPress only to bogged down in the (to me) complex formatting process. Squarespace, so far, seems to be easier for me with my limited tech skills.
I’ll let you know how the launch goes. In the meantime, thanks for the heads-up on the difference between the .com and the .org!
I didn’t know the difference for ages! I’m glad I signed up with .org! I think it’s better to do it sooner rather than later as moving all my stuff around was annoying. Now I’m in the once place for the next three years.
Now all I have to worry about is the content, that’s the easy part, right!? 😉
I currently have wordpress.com, because I didnt even know there was a .org up until a few months ago. Is there a way to switch things over to .org without having to start over??
I just learned this past week about the difference, after having my blog for over two years. I also pay a premium for the domain name, and so far haven’t realized a drawback to not being able to use plugins. For those of us that get too bogged down with the nuts and bolts of self hosting, is .com really so bad?
Shoo - gave me a bit of a fright - having built our entire website in WordPress! Thank goodness it seems we did it the right way from the beginning. Great example of a killer headline - got me to click through pretty quickly. Thanks for the fantastic site - learning so much from you guys!