Having my own domain and web hosting, ok to use WP.com Beginner?

• 

  4rcom · Member · Dec 24, 2014 at 4:09 am

  • Copy link
  • Add topic to favorites

  I have my own existing domain name and web hosting. May I just use WordPress Beginner for website design? I read through the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. It looks like if I have own-hosted blogs, I must go with WordPress.org rather than WordPress.com. However, I am not a website designer nor tech savvy but WebPress.Org does not provide any templates/theme for a beginner to start with, like the WordPress Beginner plan at WordPress.com

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

• 

  raincoaster · Member · Dec 24, 2014 at 4:21 am

  • Copy link

  Well, you’ve got it wrong.

  It is indeed much easier to blog at WordPress.com and you have themes already installed on your dashboard. You don’t need any upgrades at all just to blog here.

  At WordPress.org, you get one prefab theme when you install the software. Then you can go get any of thousands of other themes (paid themes are safer than free ones, which often have malware installed on them).

• 

  4rcom · Member · Dec 24, 2014 at 4:36 am

  • Copy link

  Thank you for your quick reply, raincoaster!
  I still don’t get it. Do you mean I should blog at WordPress.com rather than signing up at WordPress.Org even though I have my own domain hosted somewhere else? To my understanding, if I blog at WordPress.com, I need to go with domain created and hosted by WordPress.

• 

  raincoaster · Member · Dec 24, 2014 at 5:43 am

  • Copy link

  You cannot use WordPress.com EXCEPT on a WordPress.com blog. Since you want to use a blog hosted elsewhere, you HAVE to use WordPress.org software. You have no choice.

• 

  4rcom · Member · Dec 24, 2014 at 7:00 pm

  • Copy link

  Thanks again Raincoaster!
  Now I know I have no choice then :(
  Is it too hard to play with at WordPress.org if I don’t know coding?

• 

  timethief · Member · Dec 24, 2014 at 7:04 pm

  • Copy link

  Please read this first http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
  WordPress.COM and WordPress.ORG are completely separate and have different logins, features, run different versions of some themes with the same names, and have separate support forums.

  If you don’t have a username account at WordPress.ORG click http://wordpress.org/support/ and register one on the top right hand corner of the page that opens, so you can post to the support forums there.