Are you thinking about using WordPress.com to host your business or organization’s web site?
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This recently came up with a client of Studio 544 and I thought my findings might be helpful for others considering using WordPress.com hosting services.
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Wordpress is a GREAT CMS (Content Management System) and one that I often recommend to my web design clients when it comes to their projects. It’s loaded with powerful editing features right out of the box and there’s a multitude of free (and paid) plugins that can do just about anything you will ever need for your web site. The community support at WordPress.org is wonderful and most hosting companies include WordPress as part of their cPanel arsenal to allow for one-click installation.
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While the free hosting services offered by WordPress.com may be fine for personal blogs, students, grandparents, etc. it is not something I would recommend for my web clients.
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Aside from the added security you may get from a WordPress.com hosted site because of not being able to install third-party plugins, this is about the only benefit I can see in going that route. On the flip side, It’s also one of the biggest disadvantages of hosting a site with WordPress.com. Why would you want to limit your site’s functionality to the standard features that come with their hosting packages when there are so many fantastic WordPress plugins that can bring your web site’s functionality to the next level?
On several occasions while working with my client on their WordPress.com hosted site, the features they were asking for just could not be done because of the inability to install any third party plug-ins and many other request required work-arounds to accomplish the desired results. If you’d like to watch a video that explains the differences between a hosted and non-hosted WordPress site, click here for more information.
On top of this, it also seems like most WordPress.com Premium themes are considerably more costly than other premium WordPress themes and offer fewer features plus much more basic designs. WordPress.com offers several available upgrades to their hosting packages but read carefully about what they do and how much extra they will cost you. You can read more about WordPress.com available upgrades.
Contact Mark Lewandowski at Studio 544 Web Design in Hutchinson, MN today to learn more about the professional freelance web designer services offered.
