Posted by admin | Posted in Wordpress | Posted on 04-11-2010
WordPress was born in 2003 and from that time www.wordpress.com hosts more than 10 millions blogs on its own site. That’s not all by any means. This open-source project also allows the other users to access the latest version of WordPress. These users can then download this version and add their own modifications to it. They can then host it on their own domain and use to it to administer their CMS or blog. The result? More than 200 million websites are using WordPress to manage their content in a variety of different ways besides blogging. Since these figures differ so much from each other, it becomes important to analyze the WordPress platform and the benefits and drawbacks in case you are thinking of using a self hosted WordPress.
Benefits
When you first login to your wordpress account, it will become clear that all you can really do in wordpress is basic blogging. This is to prevent people from using wordpress to inject all kinds of malicious codes that can cause problems for other users. Nevertheless, due to this, you cannot make the most of all kinds of customization features of WordPress. Besides, you will also have to comply with their policy and Agreement terms in order to post any kind of content. If you use WordPress on your own site, then you are only restricted by the rules that are made by the hosting provider of your site.
All these drawbacks vanish the moment you use WordPress files by downloading them and then uploading them on a PHP supporting website host. On your first launch of the CMS that you have newly installed, you may notice a similar interface. However, on further exploration on the settings and options, you will understand that these options can be completely governed by you as you can administer your own blog as you are the sole site administrator.
In other words, if you find the default theme of WordPress too generic for your taste, then you can customize your blog as per your preferences. Though there are some good templates that you can choose form WordPress.com, but your options become almost limitless when you switch to self hosted WordPress website as you can even download a recently made theme, upload it and use if immediately. With time and as you explore more, you can even develop and create your own themes.
Besides the basic blogging function, you can even add new plugins to add new features. The open-source WordPress platform can be reengineered so that it can be integrated in a better way with your other website features.
Drawbacks
Though WordPress does not cost money, the PHP supporting hosting providers are generally paid. You may get a hosting provider that comes free and can support WordPress; however you will still need to buy a domain name in order to market your blog. Those users who are registered with wordpress.com would need to create a sub domain that can be easily remembered. Moreover, WordPress blogs that are hosted in shared hosting servers also need some high maintenance.
Finally
It’s clear that the benefits are more than the drawbacks, which means that a self-hosted website is a good investment for blogs that are expansive and larger. However, if you just want a personal blog or are a first time user, then you can simply register at the WordPress website.
