So, you wanna use Wordpress to create your website? Great choice! WordPress is the most popular platform on the web—and it’s not close. But, how do you get started? Do you go to the WordPress website? Do you install the software from somewhere? Which website do you go to? Is it WordPress.com or WordPress.org? What’s the difference?

Here in my WordPress.com Review, I’ll answer all of the above questions as well as go through a detailed look at when and why WordPress.com is the best choice to create your website.

Differences Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org

Okay, first let’s start out by going over the difference between using WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

I’ve written a complete detailed article on WordPress.com vs WordPress.org that you can read here if you want more information on when to use WordPress.com as opposed to WordPress.org.

WordPress.com Features

WordPress.com used to be the lightweight or beginner edition of WordPress—but that’s no longer the case! While in the past, using WordPress.com could be considered similar to using a tool like Blogger.com, these days it can be used to create all types of websites—on the same level as Wix, SquareSpace, Shopify, etc. And, in many cases because of the quality and features of the WordPress platform, it’s actually a better choice.

WordPress.com Website Plans

You can choose from 5 different WordPress.com plans:

Free
The WordPress.com Free plan is a great way to get a feel for the platform and to see how well it works for your website. Be aware that it is meant to be an introductory plan that will include ads.

Starter ($4 mo.)
With the Starter plan, you can get rid of the ads on your website, plus you get a free domain for a year. More importantly, you get support access via email.

Explorer ($8 mo.)
The Explorer plan is the minimum level I would go with if you’re serious about your WordPress site. Here, you also get live chat support, premium themes, and style customization.

Creator ($25 mo.)
Although the Creator plan does cost a bit more, it’s the plan I would choose for mission-critical WordPress websites. In addition to everything you get at the Explorer level, you now get the ability to install plugins and themes, plus premium features for better performance and security.

The Creator plan includes global edge caching, global CDN, unrestricted bandwidth, high-frequency CPUs, and automated datacenter failover. On the security side, you get managed malware protection, DDoS mitigation, web application firewall, and isolated site infrastructure.

Entrepreneur ($45 mo.)
The Entrepreneur plan is designed for online store owners that need an E-commerce website. It includes premium store themes, inventory management, store design tools, customer marketing automation, and a bunch of online store features for sales, inventory, discounts, etc. And, unlike the other WordPress.com plans, here there are 0% commission fees for payment features.

There is also an option for larger Enterprise level plans.

Creating a Website with WordPress.com

If you have an existing standalone WordPress.org website or a website on another platform such as Wix, SquareSpace, or GoDaddy, you can import it into WordPress.com. Otherwise, you can just go ahead and start creating your new WordPress site easily. With most WordPress.com plans, you get your domain name free for the first year. If you already have a domain, you can either transfer it or point it to your WordPress.com site.

Though the WordPress.com interface will guide you somewhat on getting started building your website, if you’re completely new to WordPress, I would strongly suggest watching some of the tutorial videos before you start creating your site. While WordPress.com is easy to use, it may take a bit to get familiar with where to find the link or button so you can perform certain functions.

If you’ve used WordPress.org before, then you shouldn’t have any trouble getting started and creating your website.

WordPress.com Speed and Performance

WordPress.com is very impressive when it comes to website speed and performance. In our testing, websites were fast with excellent page loading times and core web vitals. It’s also worth noting that our testing was done with the WordPress.com Explorer plan. The Creator and Entrepreneur plans have the potential for even better speed and performance as they include premium features such as edge caching and a global CDN. As it is, I’m pleased to report that WordPress.com gets high marks for the speed and performance of WordPress sites hosted there.

Below are some of our sample speed test results via GTmetrix:

WordPress.com Customer Support

WordPress.com does include an extensive collection of knowledge base and tutorial material. However, the live chat support that is included with some of their website plans was not as responsive as we had hoped. I found that the live chat was either unavailable or did not respond on those occasions that I had questions. It does look like this is one area that could use improvement.

WordPress.com Pros and Cons

Conclusion: Why You Should or Shouldn’t Choose WordPress.com

I have to admit that the best fit for using WordPress.com was not what I had anticipated going into my reviewing it. I thought it was going to be a better fit for beginners that were not familiar with WordPress. However, having tested the WordPress.com website creation process, I think it’s better geared for someone who has used WordPress before or at least has some knowledge of the WordPress platform.

While WordPress.com does guide you somewhat in creating your first website, it doesn’t go as far as I think most newbies would appreciate. Combine that fact with the somewhat limited availability of live chat support, and you can see why I believe the best fit for WordPress.com is actually experienced WordPress users looking for an alternative to finding a separate web host for WordPress.

However, I do really like the website performance you get with WordPress.com. And as I believe it is constantly being updated and refined, the best fit for using WordPress.com could change going forward—in fact, I would expect just that. In the meantime, you can actually test it out for free. So, if you are looking for a WordPress Hosting alternative, click the link below and judge for yourself. You might find that you prefer having your WordPress blog or website hosted there instead of somewhere else.

Click Here to Start Using WordPress.com for Free

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