Is wordpress.com a better option for me than wordpress.org? Can you easily move?

  • Unknown's avatar
    treesschepens · Member ·

    I am not very tech savvy. I’m not very familiar with plugins or other stuff. Of course I know plugins are not necessary, but anyways.

    For a person who isn’t very tech savvy and just wants to write articles as static pages + blog posts (both pages and posts can include pictures), is wordpress.com or wordpress.org the best option?

    I know plugins are completely optional. However, I am a bit concerned about security. At WordPress.com, is everything done by the host (wordpress.com / Automattic) to keep a site secure, or do I need to take manual actions for that?
    Likewise, is wordpress.org easy to keep secure, or does it require manual actions that require to be a bit tech-savvy?

    Also, I guess a choice doesn’t have to be permanent. But can a wordpress.com-hosted blog/site easily be moved to a webhost where I’d run wordpress.org at a later stage? I heard conflicting things about this: some say that a backup of a wordpress.com website can easily be uploaded to a webhost where you run wordpress.org, some say that it is not that easy (especially if your pages and posts have both text and images).

  • Unknown's avatar
    justjennifer · Member ·

    Hi there, let’s take this one at a time. (As I long time WordPress.com site owner, I’m a bit biased.)

    For a person who isn’t very tech savvy and just wants to write articles as static pages + blog posts (both pages and posts can include pictures), is wordpress.com or wordpress.org the best option?

    ✔ WordPress.com There are lots of learning resources and of course the forums for questions

    At WordPress.com, is everything done by the host (wordpress.com / Automattic) to keep a site secure

    ✔ Yes, via the Jetpack plugin, which is included on all WordPress.com websites. This plugin is maintained by WordPress.com/Automattic

    can a wordpress.com-hosted blog/site easily be moved to a webhost where I’d run wordpress.org at a later stage

    ✔ Absolutely, you can export your WordPress.com content at any time and move to a new host. Text and words are not a problem. If you have very complicated content, you can add a plugin to transfer your site (on any paid upgrade plan.)

    This Support page summarizes well the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org https://wordpress.com/support/com-vs-org/

    Post back here if you have other questions

  • Unknown's avatar
    justjennifer · Member ·

    Correction: “Text and words…: should have been “Text and IMAGES…”

  • Unknown's avatar
    treesschepens · Member ·

    Dear @justjennifer , thanks for so much clear information!

    I actually heard from a woman who professionaly builds sites on WordPress.org that moving a site/blog from wordpress.com to a site on wordpress.org would be difficult without errors, especially if there are both text and images (I think she said the images would need to be moved seperately). I’m glad to hear this is not the case!

    As for security: Jetpack plugin should keep a site totally secure ; but does one need to manually activate this plugin on wordpress.com, or is this plugin always activated and always updated by the host (WordPress.com / Automattic) so that the site owner does not need to do anything him/herself to keep the site secure?

    PS: is there a way I could send you a private message or email?

  • Unknown's avatar
    justjennifer · Member ·

    Hello again, There are a few ways to move a WordPress.com website to other WP hosting and you can find a support guide about the simple export at https://wordpress.com/support/export/ If your site has a paid upgrade plan on WordPress.com, you can also use plugins to move your content. See here https://wordpress.com/support/export-an-entire-website-with-a-plugin/

    The Jetpack plugin is activated by default on all WordPress.com websites and automagically updated. No need to manually activate or update. Here’s more on that https://wordpress.com/support/jetpack/ and https://wordpress.com/support/security/

    PS: is there a way I could send you a private message or email?

    Nope, all support is given here in our forums, but I might also suggest that you take a moment to become familiar with our Support site at https://wordpress.com/support/ :) When you search for something, our AI Assistant can also point you in the direction of the relevant support guide.

    Cheers for now.

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