I want to try WP without hosting

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  mountainherbs100 · Member · Jan 16, 2020 at 1:39 am

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  I want to move my existing website on Shopify mountainherbs.com.au to either a WordPress or a Wix site because I am no longer selling online –

  so no shop required.

  I tried out Wix and I am quite happy with the functionality, BUT I don’t like that I don’t own the site.
  What I want is, to TRY WP out, whether I like it THEN build the complete website and THEN move my already existing domain name.
  Is there and EASY way to do it? ( I mean it’s pretty silly to ask for registering a domain when I haven’t even seen the product…)

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  kokkieh · Staff · Jan 16, 2020 at 9:04 am

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  Hi there,

  You can create a new WordPress.com site without transferring or registering a domain.

  All sites on WordPress.com get a free WordPress.com or .blog subdomain when the site is created, that functions just like any regular subdomain, and your site is fully online and accessible at that subdomain (provided you set it to public).

  So you can experiment and build your site at that free address, even upgrade the site while still using the free address, and only add your own domain once you’re ready.

  I mean it’s pretty silly to ask for registering a domain when I haven’t even seen the product…

  Actually that’s pretty standard. If you go to any regular hosting provider to set up a self-managed website, whether it’s using WordPress or any other system, you’ll need to buy a hosting account and register a domain before you can do anything, as it’s impossible to create a site and have it visible online without having those two things. You can always create a site on a virtual server on your own computer – that won’t require a domain but only you will have any access to the site, as it will live entirely on your computer, not on the web.

  Some traditional hosts, like Bluehost and Pressable, do provide temporary staging domains for when you’re still developing the site, but that’s not that common, and even then you’ll still have to pay for hosting first, before you can even get that staging domain.

  WordPress.com is not a traditional host, as we function as a platform, like also Shopify and Wix, which is why a free domain comes standard with any free site you create with us.