Why WordPress: Top reasons to use WordPress.org for blogging

Today I am diving into why you want your blog to be on WordPress, specifically WordPress.org.  If you are asking Why WordPress? Then this post is for you. 

I am giving you the top five reasons to use this platform for blogging.

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please see my disclosure page for more info

Finding the Right Blogging Platform

If you have been following me for some time now, you probably know that I am a huge WordPress.org fan.

With over seven years of experience blogging, having my own websites, and building websites for other entrepreneurs, I have seen a lot.

I’ve tried a lot of other blogging platforms over the years.

I started on Blogger back in 2014.

Then I tried Squarespace.

After that, I ended up on WordPress.com before realizing that WordPress.org is actually where you want to be if you’re trying to grow a profitable business online.

There are a lot of platforms out there and it can feel really overwhelming figuring out which one is the best one to choose.

If you want to compare and contrast them for yourself, check out this post.

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org

Now, if you are wondering what the difference is between WordPress.com and WordPress.org you are not alone.

Like I said I was confused about this too at one point.

A lot of people come to me with a blog already started on WordPress.com, not realizing that the platforms are very different.

I have an in-depth video and blog post that explains both of these platforms to help you understand the differences.

Why WordPress, specifically WordPress.org?

1. You own all your information

You have full control and 100% ownership of all your content up WordPress.org.

At any time you can access any and all of your files, download them, and move them to a different provider. There is freedom to do what you want with your information.

If you’re on a hosted site like Squarespace, WordPress.com, or Wix, they are hosting your site for you. This limits some of your control. You may run into a bit of trouble if any of your content goes against their policies. Plus, you can’t just take all your information, download it, and move it to another platform whenever you want.

There’s a BIG difference between hosted sites like Squarespace, WordPress.com, Weebly, and Wix and self-hosted sites like WordPress.org.

Learn more about self-hosted versus hosted sites here.

2. WordPress.org is highly customizable

You can really customize your site with 1000s of free and also premium themes.

Most people using WordPress are neither web designers nor programmers. A lot of them have little to no knowledge of web design when they start, but the .org platform has thousands of free website templates that you can choose from to get started.

These themes are easy to customize. A lot of them come with their own options, allowing you to change colors, backgrounds and truly tailor them to your needs with a few clicks of a button.

You can also add custom functionality to your WordPress.org site by using plugins.

Plugins are kind of like apps for your website. You use them to add advanced features like contact forms, fonts, analytics, social media widgets, and so much more. Just like themes, there are thousands of free and premium plugins available for you to use.

I give you step-by-step instructions for building and customizing your own blogging website with WordPress.org inside my Blogging Business Blueprint course, but this is just an overview of how to help you understand what you get with this platform.

3. It helps your site rank higher.

WordPress.org is known to have SEO (Search engine optimization) built into the platform.

Without getting too technical, the platform allows you to customize title tags and meta descriptions for all of your pages and posts, which helps search engines know about your content. Then it can index your posts and help them potentially move up in the search rankings.

There are plugins that can help take your SEO to the next level. Yoast SEO is my favorite free plugin for this. I show you how to install it and go into detail on how to effectively use it in my content course. It is definitely a must-have in my opinion!

4. It has a built-in blog.

Since WordPress.org is a content management system software, it has multiple features that make publishing content easy.

You need to create content to get people to your site and the platform offers a built-in blog feature that can be accessed from any device, at any time.

If writing blog posts is not your thing, you can embed videos and podcasts, into the blog section on WordPress.org or use the blog feature for adding updates or announcements.

5. It is FREE to use

There is no one-time, monthly, or yearly payment to use the platform WordPress.org. It is a free and open-source software, meaning that you can use any free or paid theme you want.

There are no restrictions. You can use it to create any kind of website.

Unlike Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, or WordPress.com you aren’t paying a monthly or yearly fee to use the platform and you don’t need to pay extra to get the Squarespace or Wix branding off the end of your domain.

For example, if I was using a free version of Squarespace or Wix my domain would read thecreativeimpact@squarespace.com or thecreativeimpact@wix.com which is completely unprofessional if you are building a business.

To remove the platform branding and to be able to do pretty much anything with your blog for business, you’re going to need the business account for these platforms, which started at about $25 a month at the time I’m writing this. That’s more than $300, a year!!

While the software itself is free, there are two things you need to have for a WordPress.org website:

• A domain name
• A website host to install it.

A unbranded domain name is going to run you about $11.99 for 1 year.

Hosting is anywhere from $3-8/month.

So you’re only spending about $100 for an entire year! Plus, you have control of all the content and you can customize it however you like.

That is a significantly cheaper and better alternative!!

Why WordPress is Best

To wrap up, those are the five main reasons why I love WordPress.org.

I have been using it for years now and it is what I recommend to my audience, my clients, and my students.

I’d love to know in the comments what your thoughts are.

Ready to get started?

You don’t even have to have a domain name or niche to set it up. You will get a temporary domain name that can be added later when your site is ready to go live!

Check out the step-by-step video tutorial below to set up your hosting and blog today!