If you’re thinking of setting up a blog or a simple web site then WordPress is a great platform to build it on. It’s simple to use and easy to set up. But there are currently three different versions of WordPress available and one of the first technical question you’ll have to ask yourself is, “Which version of WordPress should I use?” In this article, we’ll help you figure out the differences between all three versions of WordPress  so that you can better understand which one is best suited to your requirements.

A Little Bit About WordPress

WordPress is one of the most popular free blogging tools around. But it’s not just used by bloggers. Many companies and web designers use it as the basis of company web sites or incorporate it into an existing company web site to help their clients publish and manage news stories and articles.

Whether you’re setting up a personal blog, creating a new online magazine or building a web site using WordPress as a simple content management system, you’re first step in to the world of WordPress is to choose which version of WordPress you need. Although this is a technical question, as with all things technical, your decision should be lead by your business or project requirements.

As you read through this article, bear in mind the following three questions as these are the deal breakers:

1. Do you need to place advertising on your WordPress site?
2. Do you need to use your own design or a specific WordPress theme?
3. Do you need to incorporate specific WordPress widgets or include your own JavaScript on pages?

If you answered an emphatic YES to any of these questions then you’ll probably have to download the WordPress.org version, but read on and I’ll explain why.

WordPress Versions

So, WordPress comes in three different versions, all of which are free to use and adapt to suit your own needs. These are:

1. WordPress.com
2. WordPress.org
3. WordPress μ (the μ symbol is the Greek letter “mu” pronounced “myoo”.
   mu = multi user)

We’ll look primarily at the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org as WordPress μ is only a special adaptation of WordPress.org that is used to manage multiple blogs from one central point and is not relevant to most individuals. WordPress μ is used by leading online newspapers such as Le Monde , CNN and the New York Times. So you’re in good company, but their needs probably go beyond yours so let’s put WordPress μ to one side for the moment.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is the hosted version of the blogging software. All of the files are hosted free of charge by Automattic, the company that created WordPress. You simply create an account and start writing your articles. This is definitely the easiest way to get started and it has a number of limitations and a number of benefits.

Benefits

• very low barrier to entry. No hosting accounts to set up or files to install. Just sign up and start writing.
• very robust hosting which is useful if your web site becomes an overnight success and demand is very high.
• all of the latest upgrades are applied for you by the WordPress team

Limitations

• you cannot use advertising schemes such as Google AdSense on your site
• you are limited in how much you can change the design of the site
• you only receive basic analytics information

WordPress.org

WordPress.org is the version that you download and install on a hosting account that you or your web designer has set up for you. There are no restrictions on what you can do with the software and how you can change the design.

However, you do have to apply all updates your self and make sure you have back ups of all your data.

Some web hosting companies provide very easy installation procedures that automate most of the work and in that case you don’t have to upload any files to your hosting account unless you want to change the design of the site from one of the standard templates available.

Using Your Own Domain Name With WordPress

If you’re building a company web site or a site for an organisation then you’ll most likely want to use your own domain name.

You can use your own domain name for your WordPress blog irrespective of which version you use.

By default all WordPress.com blogs have the address [YOUR BLOG NAME].wordpress.com (e.g. blueclock.wordpress.com)

If you opt to go down the WordPress.com route, you have to pay an annual fee of around $15 to use your own domain name. This does not include the cost of the domain name itself.

Can I Use My Own Design On WordPress?

Yes and No!

As we’ve already seen, you can change any files you like with the WordPress.org version so using a bespoke design or a third party theme isn’t a problem.

If you’re hosted on WordPress.com you design options are limited to the pre-installed themes with the option to change the header image or for an option $15 per year you can also have access to the CSS (but not the actual PHP files). These two options can get you a long way if you are a bit creative and have good CSS skills, but if you really must have complete control over your design, you’re going to have to choose WordPress.org.

WordPress Templates and Themes

WordPress uses a system of templates and themes to change the layout and appearance of the web site. These are very easy to use and provide great flexibility. There are a vast number of WordPress templates available on the web. Some web sites provide free WordPress templates, others charge for premiums templates which are only sold to a limited number of people. Some web designers specialise in customising WordPress to your exact specification or creating bespoke themes and plug-ins.

WordPress.com comes with a number of free themes and you can change your current theme at the click of a button, but you cannot use your own themes on WordPress.com.

In a WordPress.org based site you can import any number of themes that you have downloaded from the web.

If you want to use your own template or a template that you have bought, you will need to use the WordPress.org installation.

WordPress Hosting Requirements

If you opt to use the WordPress.org or MU versions you’ll have to find a place to host your web site.

WordPress is built on PHP and MySQL.

The present minimum configuration requirements are:

• PHP 4.3 or greater
• MySQL 4.0 or greater
• The mod_rewrite Apache module

but always check WordPress.org/about/requirements and read the documentation before choosing your web hosting company.

WordPress.com Terms of Service

Another factor which will determine your choice of WordPress version are the Terms of Service. The WordPress Terms of Service apply to blogs hosted by WordPress.com and prevent you from some fairly fundamental things which may be the reason you are setting up a blog in the first place.

1. You cannot place paid advertising on your blog

Not only is this part of the terms of service, most popular advertising schemes used by small web site owners such as Google AdSense require the use of JavaScript. Any JavaScript that you try to post to a page will be stripped out and render the advertising useless.

2. You cannot use the blog for search engine optimisation i.e. to boost the rank of another web site

If your sole intention for setting up the blog is to improve the search engine ranking another web site then you risk having your account closed.

WordPress Licensing

WordPress.org is package that you either download and install on your hosting account or will be provided pre-installed by your hosting company. Either way, you’ll have access to all of the files that make up the WordPress blogging software. WordPress.org is Open Source and released under the GPL, which means that you can access the code and make any changes that you want. So you can use the code to create something completely different if you like. And yes, it’s still free of charge.

Access To Analytics

WordPress.com uses Google Analytics to provide you with free stats about how many time your blog posts are viewed, which sites are linking to you and what words people searched on to find your articles.

If you require access to the full statistics provided by a package like Google Analytics or if you want to use another package then you will have to go down the WordPress.org route.

What If I Change My Mind?

Web sites grow and requirements change over time. If you find that you need some of the capabilities that WordPress.com does not offer, don’t worry, you’re not locked into using that system and you’ve not lost all your hard work.

All of your pages, blog posts and comments can be exported from any of the WordPress versions and imported into another version. This means that not only can you upgrade from .com to your own version of .org, you can also change hosts relatively easily as well.

Feature Comparison Table

Hopefully, this article has addressed the main questions that you had about WordPress and your now in an informed position to set up your blog.

The table below is a quick overview of the main features as they apply to each WordPress version.

Requirement	WP.com	WP.org	WP μ
I want to have advertising on the site	No	Yes	Yes
I want to use my own design	Partial	Yes	Yes
I want to use a third party template or theme	No	Yes	Yes
I want to edit the CSS	Paid Upgrade	Yes	Yes
I want to use plug-ins and widgets	Only those provided	Yes, any	Yes, any
I want to use my own domain	Paid Upgrade	Yes	Yes
I want to include my own or third party JavaScript	No	Yes	Yes
Standard Storage	3Gb	Dependent on your host	Dependent on your host
I want a site that requires no knowledge to set up	Yes	No	No
I want free hosting	Yes	Possible	Possible