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Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.
I want to address Wordpress.org because it's very popular. It's a great platform that gives you freedom to create pretty much any type of site that you'd like, and the great thing is that you'd own your site. It's a free, self-hosted content management system (CMS) that allows you to exert full control over your site's functions. According to W3Techs.com, Wordpress(.org) powers more than 40% of ALL websites on the internet.
It’s NOT to be confused with Wordpress(.com), which is a proprietary web builder and host. Even though the Wordpress.org software is free, you’ll need to pay for web hosting. Having a host allows your site to be visible on the internet.
Although Wordpress.org is user-friendly, there’s a learning curve (as with any new platform!) There is a huge community of users, so you can find a LOT of resources.
Wordpress is open-source, which means that anyone can view its code, including hackers; this makes it easier for attackers to target Wordpress sites, since it’s the most popular CMS in the world. It’d be your responsibility to take care of your website's security and we’ll discuss this later.
Many bloggers choose to go with Wordpress.org because it allows them to have full ownership of their site. That means they'd own the code. Example: Let’s say that you decide to host your site on SiteGround, and for some reason you want to switch to a different host. It’s typically easy to migrate your site from one Wordpress host to another, and it happens often. However, if you were to build your site on a proprietary site like Wix, even if you’re paying for the domain and own your content, Wix owns the code and platform. You would be bound by Wix’s terms and conditions. I'm not sure how you'd migrate a site from Wix but I don't believe that it'd be simple.
🌻 Tip: Having a Wordpress.org site is like having your own place, whereas with a proprietary host, you'd essentially be renting. You'd still own your content in both scenarios, but for the latter - you don't own the platform. Both options are fine, it just depends on your goals :)
🌸 Here’s an overview of what you'd do:
1.) Sign up for a free Wordpress.org site
2.) Choose a host
3.) Install Wordpress on your host
🌻 Tip: Wix is a platform with a beginner-friendly website builder where you can create professional websites without having to worry about code or maintenance. It's great for building business sites for professionals like realtors, a shop or small restaurant, and more.
Wordpress.org is a very powerful platform - you can build pretty much ANY type of site with it, and it has few limitations, but it's not without flaws. Some people find it too dependent on plug-ins, which can slow down the site (bloat). Also, not everyone needs all the extra features.
Let's talk next about non-Wordpress.org platforms.
Go to next --> Wordpress Alternative