Many new bloggers and business owners are intimidated by using WordPress, Is WordPress Easy to Use is the answer we are going to answer in this guide. No matter what your experience you can master this, if I could do it anyone can, with zero experience with the internet and website design when I started out.
Prices are exactly the same for you if your purchase is through an affiliate link or a non-affiliate link. You will not pay more by clicking through the link.
WordPress.com
We are going to start with WordPress.com first, you are right now on a website created with this version of WordPress. I am no stranger to both versions of this website builder, and being experienced with both, I am going to give you the pros and cons to help you decide which one is right for you.
Pros
- WordPress.com offers its own hosting, so that means no extra costs to get your website up and running online.
- You aren’t responsible for any maintenance or security, you can spend all of your time creating content, instead of having the responsibility of keeping your website up and running on your own.
- There is a free basic plan to get you started at no cost to you, and as your business or blog grows you can upgrade to a paid plan at any time if you choose to.
- Business plan, you’ll be able to:
- Install your own themes and plugins
- Connect to your server and access your site’s files via SFTP.
- Edit your wp-config.php file
I always recommend beginners start off with the free plan, why invest any money before you know if this is going to be something you do long-term? This is a great way to test out if this is right for you, and if not you have lost nothing but your time. If it is going to be a long-term project, you can upgrade at any time.
Cons
- You can’t install your own themes and plugins unless you pay for the Business or eCommerce plans.
- You can’t add certain types of code, access your site via FTP, or make other such modifications unless you pay for the Business or eCommerce plans.
- You’re subject to the WordPress.com Terms of Service. While these terms are not overly strict, they do limit what type of content your site can have.
With over 20 years of experience in this business, I am now using both versions depending on the type of business I am promoting. I chose this version for this website because it provides me with what I need to help people just like you. My other websites are e-commerce stores, so with them using WordPress.org was a much better choice for me.
Gizmos e-Commerce Websites
If you are curious to see my other websites created with WordPress.org, you can check them out with the links below. Since I needed a hosting company, I chose Blue Host for both of these websites. There are many to choose from, but I prefer this one to all the others I have used over the years.
You can compare my other two websites above to this one to see the difference in the two versions of WordPress, this might help you decide which one you wish to go with seeing both of them at the same time.
WordPress.org
Now we are going to learn about WordPress.org, if you are planning on creating an online store or an online community, I would recommend you consider this version instead. For a more complex website this is going to make your life so much easier, and even more important will give you the freedom to create your website exactly as you have dreamed it.
Pros
- Install your own themes and plugins.
- You can use any web hosting for a small investment
- You can use any web hosting, which lets you pick very cheap hosting when you’re just getting started.
- You can edit literally anything on your site
- There are no restrictions on what type of content you can create
- For a low investment, you can have your own unique name which I recommend for higher ranking on the search engines.
The main advantage of using this version is the freedom to create your website exactly as you picture it, with the other version you have less customization freedom, so ask yourself how important is that for the website that you have in mind to create.
Cons
- There is some learning of technical customization involved, but if I could master this anyone can. You can always contact me for assistance if you get stuck, I am even willing to mentor anyone wishing to get started.
- Installing updates, creating backups, and server issues are the most complicated tasks with this version. If you have the patience, you have the ability to learn all you need to maintain your website.
- You will need to shop around for website hosting, I recommend Blue Host but there are many others you can use instead. Another one that I was satisfied with was Dream Host, many beginners use Go Daddy, another option to consider.
What are you going to be using your website for, that will help you decide which one is the best choice for you. As you can see, Gizmo uses both of them, so no matter which one you decide on they both will get the job done.
How To Guides
If you have found this how-to guide helpful, I have taken the time to list some of my others that might interest you as well. This is just for your convenience and to save you time, you also can browse all of my self-help guides by clicking here.
The reason there are only two other how-to guides is this is a new topic I added recently, there will be more added regularly, so if this type of information interests you, there will be more available in the near future.
For Book Lovers
Some people learn better by watching the videos provided, and some people prefer using books for referring back to. If you are one that has a library for reference, what I have are some books that are worth adding to your reference library.
- WordPress for Beginners
- Using WordPress to Design Great Websites
- WordPress for Writers
- Building Web Apps With WordPress
- WordPress in Easy Steps
- WordPress Absolute Beginners Guide
- WordPress: A Beginners Step-by-Step Guide
You will find these and more by clicking here to go directly to browse the books, now if any of these might interest you, I have provided you access to them and more. This is an affiliate link just so you know I will earn a tiny commission, by the way, all the books listed above are budget-friendly priced.
WordPress Apps
Maybe you are into using phone apps, so for those of you who would be interested, below are some of the apps available to assist you in using WordPress. If this guide has been informational, please consider sharing it on your social media for your followers to read.
- WordPress Website Builder
- Jetpack
- App My Site
- Woo Commerce
- Your Perfect WordPress App Builder
- Learn WordPress
- Mobile Security for WordPress
Now you have access to WordPress-related apps for your phone, and for your convenience, you are able to browse them simply by clicking here. This is my way of thanking you for reading “Is WordPress Easy to Use”.
WordPress Resources
As you might be familiar with, resources are my regular bonus for reading my entire guide. I really do my best to provide you with the best information and resources, you will notice affiliate links are used moderately in all my articles. That is because this is a website to help people like you, and not to focus on making much money from its readers.
- How to Contact WordPress Support
- How to Use Automated Installation
- WordPress Community
- Learn WordPress
- WordPress Hosting
Feel free to spread the word about “Is WordPress Easy to Use”, I encourage you to help promote any of my guides that you feel are worth sharing with your family and your friends. Marketing is very expensive and most bloggers can’t afford it, so we depend on readers like you to help more people with our content.
Yes and no lol
I’m often saddened to see WordPress making their platform less and less user friendly. That’s not how it was when I first started. It was easy to use and much easier to grow your blog. I think that was because there were many more active blogs back then since WordPress was so user friendly. However, now many bloggers are leaving for other platforms like Medium because WordPress is no longer what it used to be.
Thank you, Pooja
I totally agree with you about WordPress today, and with so many other options that are easier to use new bloggers are avoiding using WordPress.