WordPress.org is where we get the open source blogging software that is freely available to anyone to download. The software must be downloaded and installed onto a computer.

Wordpress.com is the online counterpart, much like blogger.com. You cannot add plugins etc. like you can do with an independent wordpress installation downloaded from wordpress.org. It’s a web site that provides blogs hosted free of charge. The software on WordPress.com is very similar but not exactly the same software you can download from WordPress.org. It is a multi-user version of WordPress that allows many thousands of blogs to be hosted on a single web server. The free blog hosting does not come with the ability to upload plugins or themes.

WordPress.org Pros [Standalone Software]

• Ability to upload themes
• Ability to upload plugins
• Great community
• Complete control to change code if you’re technically minded

WordPress.org Cons

• You need a good web host, which generally costs $7-12 a month
• Requires more technical knowledge to set up and run
• You’re responsible for stopping spam
• You have to handle backups
• You must upgrade the software manually when a new version comes out
• If you get a huge spike in traffic (like Digg or Slashdot) you site will probably go down

WordPress.com Pros [The Website]

• It’s free and much easier
• Everything is taken care of: setup, upgrades, backups, security, etc
• Your blog is on dozens of servers, so it’s highly unlikely it will go down due to traffic
• Your posts are backed up hourly
• You get extra traffic from blogs of the day and tags
• You can find like-minded bloggers using tag and friend surfer
• Your login is secure (SSL) so no one can get into your account if you use wifi

WordPress.com Cons

• Limited customization of themes (though we’re adding more every day)
• You can’t hack the code behind your blog
• Cannot add plugins