Is Word Press free?
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Hello: I was watching a YouTube tutorial about Word Press and it said Word Press was free. But here I am, having signed up, and I’m trying to get started and design a website and I’d like to use a domain name I bought and I was given two options by Word Press: One, transfer the name to Word Press and it renews at $18 per year (not free) or Two, ‘map’ the domain (whatever that is) and that’s included in ‘Paid Plans’ (not free). How can I design my website with Word Press for free? Thank you. The YouTube video I was watching made Word Press appear very simple and user-friendly and also free, once the domain was purchased and hosting with Host Gator was done. Thanks again.
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Hi porzellangasse,
The video you watched must be talking about the open source version of WordPress which is free to download and use. It can be found at WordPress.org.
This version of WordPress is also known as self hosted WordPress where you buy your own hosting space from services like Hostgator and install WordPress.Follow this link to understand how WordPress.com is different from WordPress.org: https://wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
Hope this clarified
@stwNigel -
Hi there,
Wordpress.com is a free platform, where you can design and create your own website. Custom domain names are typically not free, however the option you’d be looking for is to map the domain. But, as you’ve pointed out, you can only have this if you have a paid plan.
For a completely free blog, you are given an option at the start, which may look something like “mywebsite.home.blog”. This is the easiest option to getting a free website with WordPress.
If you’d like to use the domain name you have already bought, you can either transfer the domain to WordPress.com. This means that everything will be handled by WordPress.com, but it does come with a fee to transfer the domain from whatever internet registrar to WordPress.com and you’ll need a paid plan. Alternatively, you can map the domain, but this also requires a paid plan, with no transfer fee.
I hope this helps clarify the situation. For more information on the differences between the two, as well as information on the free .blog domains, please see the guides below:
Mapping A Domain: https://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/map-existing-domain/
Transferring A Domain: https://en.support.wordpress.com/move-domain/incoming-domain-transfer/
Free .blog Domains: https://en.blog.wordpress.com/2018/11/28/announcing-free-dotblog-subdomains/ -
Oh boy, now I’m more confused than ever. Thanks for the responses.
I have the domain names.
What is “mapping” a domain? Is that the same as making a website?
The Host Gator video talks about making a Word Press website with “one click” after signing up for Host Gator hosting. This is the Word Press version I want as it looks easy for the layperson and seems to have everything I need and the narrator says it’s free. I have hosting with Go Daddy and the Word Press that came with that is so complicated that you’d have to be a website professional to figure it out. I don’t even know how to get back there. Something about C Panel. Ugh. It’s useless to me I’m afraid. I tried to just go to the Word Press site and download Word Press and sign in and I’m not making any heads or tails out of that either, as I get stuck at the page that I referenced in my original post. Can’t find the Word Press software or version that the Host Gator tutorial on YouTube shows.
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porzellangasse – Write back to us here with further questions and we will answer those.
Mapping is not the same as masking a domain. That term is more in line with an iframe which will not work at WordPress.com.
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Thanks everyone! Can anyone tell me if this guy in this YouTube vid is using WordPress.com or WordPress.org? Thanks.
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Thanks everyone! Can anyone tell me if this guy in this YouTube vid is using WordPress.com or WordPress.org? Thanks.
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That video is referencing the open source WordPress installation. You can pick up on that because they mention Host Gator. With WordPress.com we give you a managed hosting environment and no additional hosting provider is required.
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OK thanks very much. This is difficult. Another very helpful piece of puzzle. So I guess he is using WordPress.org. That’s probably what I got with GoDaddy hosting too. But Host Gator sounds easier.
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Well, you can host the site where ever you want. We have some recommendations outlined here: https://wordpress.org/download/
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