Wordpress

Wordpress.com is a web hosting service best suited to websites built with Wordpress software. Many people confuse Wordpress.com, the hosting site, with WordPress, which is software maintained and distributed by Wordpress.org.

This document primarily deals with the hosting site. But since the WordPress software is integral to Wordpress.com, it will also take a brief look at the software. We will look at the features and use cases of Wordpress.com, and also situations where it may not be the best hosting option. We also cover tips on how to get started with Wordpress.com, and what tools may and may not be compatible with websites developed for this web host.

WordPress is a free open-source content management system (CMS). CMS software allows you to create and manage a website with no technical knowledge and no need for a developer. WordPress was originally developed for blogging, but it has expanded into a powerful website builder.

You can download the software for free from www.wordpress.org, but you would still need a web host to run the software and a domain to link to your site. Many commercial web hosts include WordPress in their plans.

WordPress has several advantages as a web development platform:

• Creating a site with WordPress is quick and doesn’t require any technical know-how;
• It allows comprehensive categorization and tagging of blog entries;
• Sites can be built using either the WordPress visual editor, plugin editors or using HTML;
• Pages are automatically created compatible with desktop, tablet or mobile device browsers;
• WordPress sites are search engine friendly. Several factors contribute to this:
  • Compatibility with search engine standards;
  • The code is well structured;
  • URLs can be structured and include keywords;
  • Metadata is included;
  • Pages load quickly.
• Sites are easily ported to a different host.

A WordPress site consists of content, themes, and plugins. 

The term ‘content’ describes anything that appears on a page. Text, images, and videos are all examples of content.

A theme is a template from which a page is built, and it defines the layout and look-and-feel of the page. Thousands of free themes are available on www.wordpress.org. You can also buy premium themes or, if you’re tech-savvy, you can develop your own.

Plugins are snippets of code that you can use to add extra functionality to a page. For example, a checkout function would be coded as a plugin. www.wordpress.org has a wide range of excellent, free plugins, for example, WooCommerce and WooPayments. You can also buy premium plugins.

Now let's cover the use cases of WordPress:

Wordpress.com is a quick, reasonably-priced way to create an online presence, and it offers several hosting plans to meet the needs of individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. It has an excellent uptime record and is optimized for WordPress.

It’s fairly limited regarding the number of themes and plugins that are available, especially on the low-cost plans. This can also be an advantage, since Wordpress.com only allows the most reliable and frequently updated plugins and themes.

It’s possible to host sites that were not developed on WordPress, but this would be unusual.

Wordpress.com offers a free mobile app that lets you manage your site from your mobile phone. With the app, you can:

• Create blog posts and pages;
• View and moderate comments on your pages;
• View site statistics.

Wordpress.com does not offer email addresses.

Individuals, freelancers, and start-ups may find the personal plans sufficient for their needs. In this category, Wordpress.com offers a free plan, a personal paid plan, and a premium plan.

The site also offers two plans aimed at small to medium businesses.

Additionally, Wordpress.com has a high-performance, multi-featured platform available for large enterprises. You can request a quote for a plan that suits your enterprise.

Wordpress.com caters to a wide range of customer types, from simple start-ups to enterprises. Site development is relatively simple, pricing is reasonable and the site reputation is excellent.

There are, however, a few scenarios where you may decide to choose a different web host:

• Some users find the WordPress editor difficult and prefer a simpler site builder. Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy all have simple website-building tools.
• WordPress may not allow enough customization options when creating your site. You may prefer to have a custom-built website created with other developer tools.
• You may need more flexibility to integrate your site with your other business software.
• Your site may require specialized software.
• You may need WordPress plugins or themes that aren’t available on Wordpress.com. In that case, you may prefer to host your site on a host that has the WordPress software pre-installed. BlueHost and Hostgator are good examples of suitable hosts.

These instructions explain how to create a free site on Wordpress.com. You can switch to a paid plan at any time.

• Go to www.wordpress.com, click ‘Get Started’ and either sign in or create an account.
• Name your site. This will be used in your site headings.
• Pick a domain. For now, pick the one marked “Free.” If the URL you’re allocated is not acceptable, try using the ‘Back’ button and give your site a different name
• Choose a design: Pick your best fit; it can be changed or customized later
• It will then give a list of features to choose from. None are available on the free plan, so click “Skip.”
• You will be asked to choose a plan. Scroll to the bottom, and click “Select” on the one marked “$0”
• You will then be taken to the editor to set up your home page.

You will find these Wordpress.com guides helpful:

• The Get Started Guide takes you through the whole process of creating your site.
• The Navigation Guide explains how to work with your site dashboard.
• The Site Editor Guide explains how to customize your site and add content.

Migrating from another WordPress site

A simple tool, MigrateGuru, allows you to migrate from one WordPress site to another with just a few clicks. The Wordpress.com guide explains exactly how to do this.

Migrating from a non-WordPress site

Wordpress.com has a range of tools that allow you to migrate from most of the web hosting and site builder options. Here are some links to their migration guides for different platforms:

Import from Blogger
Import from Facebook
Import from Medium
Import from Squarespace
Import from Tumblr
Import from Wix
Import from Weebly
Import from Xanga
Import from Gumroad
Import from Substack
Import from other builders

WordPress is compatible with a wide range of site-building and development tools. Here is a list of some of the most useful ones:

• Yoast SEO, an SEO tool useful for keyword optimization, meta descriptions, readability analysis, and creating XML site maps;
• Google Search Console and Google Analytics;
• WooCommerce, a plugin that adds full eCommerce functionality to your site;
• Shopify, a popular eCommmerce platform;
• Bulk mailing applications such as MailChimp and ConstantContact;

Additionally, it is possible to include Javascript code on your WordPress site. This guide explains the best way to do this. WordPress also has support for MySQL and MariaDB databases.

WordPress doesn’t directly support databases other than the two named in the previous section. SQL Server, Oracle and NoSQL databases such as MongoDB are all examples of databases that can’t be directly integrated.

If you need to use developer tools that aren’t directly supported by Wordpress, a developer could use the Wordpress REST API to build custom integrations. Using this API, you can write custom code in languages such as:

• NodeJS
• Java
• Python
• PHP
• Ruby
• Go