Is WordPress Free To Use? WordPress And Free FAQs.

Is WordPress free to use?

WordPress the CMS software is free to use. In fact, you can also find 1000’s of free WordPress themes and plugins to set up your site as well on WordPress.org.

WordPress CMS is open source. In fact, you can use WordPress and have your site hosted on WordPress.com or you can self-host it on any number of Web Hosting Providers.

However, you would still need to pay for web hosting so your WordPress website is online and accessible through the internet. Although you can usually find a Web Host that will host your WordPress website on a Shared Web Hosting plan for as little as $5-$10 per month on average.

The only exception to paid hosting is if you create a WordPress blog or website on WordPress.com through their “Free Blog” plan. Other costs for using WordPress can include using premium themes and plugins should you decide to do so.

In this post, we are going to talk about your free options with WordPress as well as answer some frequently asked questions about WordPress’s free options as well as some of their paid counterparts.

Is WordPress hosting free or paid?

WordPress Hosting on WordPress.com is both free and paid. WordPress.com has a free blog plan, but WordPress.com offers many Managed WordPress paid plans as well. 

You can also self-host your WordPress website on various Web Hosting Providers too. However, most if not all, are not free, but they do offer a variety of affordable paid plans that you can choose from.

How can I create a WordPress website for free?

The easiest way to create a WordPress website for free and to have it live on the internet is through WordPress.com free plan. 

However, you can actually create your own WordPress website right on your laptop. You can simply download the WordPress CMS from WordPress.org and choose from thousands of themes and plugins both free and paid.

If you are new to WordPress you can get to know the word press CMS while developing your WordPress website right on your laptop. Here is a post on how to download WordPress on your laptop using free software, “Can I build a WordPress site without hosting? You bet you can!”.

Is a WordPress domain free?

If you have a free or even paid WordPress hosting plan on WordPress.com then the WordPress.com domain name you are given with your URL does come free. 

However, if you were to get your own custom domain name, then it’s not free. But you can pick up custom domain names for as little as $10 or $15. This will allow you to have your own custom domain name without WordPress in the URL.

Is the Wix free version better or is the WordPress free version better?

In all honesty, despite the name of this website, I can say that the Wix free version is neither better nor worse than the WordPress free version. When I’m talking about the WordPress free version, of course I’m referring to WordPress.com’s free blog plan. 

When you consider what both offer and the limitations of both free plans on Wix and WordPress it is pretty difficult to differentiate them.

However, this is a big “however”, WordPress is open source. Wix is closed source. So you can literally start a free WordPress blog on WordPress.com and once you get to know the CMS and build something with it, you can either move up to one of WordPress.com’s paid plans which will give you much more flexibility or you can move it and self-host on any number of Web Hosting Providers. 

On the other hand, with Wix, you can upgrade your free plan to one of Wix paid plans, but you can’t move your Wix site off the Wix hosting platform. 

That makes a huge difference. I’ve addressed some of these in other posts that you could check out here.

Does WordPress require coding?

WordPress CMS is not only free and open source, which means you can host it anywhere you like as well as build anything you like with it. 

WordPress also requires no coding. Everything you build with WordPress is yours to keep and you can host it anywhere you like. You can even sell it.

Is WordPress free with GoDaddy?

WordPress is not only free with GoDaddy, it is free with most, if not all, Web Hosting Providers on the internet today. 

In fact, many Web Hosting Providers now allow for quick downloading of the WordPress CMS right into your Web Hosting account’s dashboard. You can then choose from thousands of free themes and plugins from WordPress to get started.

Can I get a domain for free with WordPress?

Normally, the only free domain name you can get with WordPress.com includes WordPress.com in the URL. 

However, there are many Web Hosting Providers that will include a domain for free with some of their hosting packages. Although, you will be then obliged to pay for that hosting package for one year at least.

Is WordPress premium worth getting?

If you want the freedom and flexibility of having a WordPress website without all the constraints and limitations that having a WordPress blog or website on WordPress.com’s free plan, then getting WordPress premium is definitely worth it. 

This is especially true if you prefer a more hands-off Managed WordPress Hosting experience. This is when your Web Hosting Provider, in this case WordPress.com, takes care of all the security and backend tasks that are required in running a website. 

You can simply focus on what you do best, create content and service your customers, or just create content. You can even decorate your website any way you see fit. You then just leave the rest to WordPress and they will manage it for you as part of their premium package.

Can free WordPress blogs make money?

Although free WordPress blogs do have some limitations as far as monetization is concerned, you can still make money with a free WordPress blog. How?

You can insert affiliate links to any products that you wish to sell or promote in your free WordPress blog.

In addition, if you offer any products or services offline, you can use your WordPress blog to promote those products and services. 

However, if you wish to sell products online from your WordPress blog or website, you would need to change your free WordPress blog plan to one of WordPress’s paid plans. Or move it to another Web Hosting Provider and self-host it there.

If WordPress is free, why do I have to pay for plugins?

WordPress CMS is free. In fact, all themes and plugins that you find on WordPress.org are free as well. 

However, you should know that all or at least most of these free themes and plugins do have paid or premium versions. 

Let’s face it, WordPress Developers have to make a living just like anyone else. 

By offering free versions of their themes and plugins on WordPress.org, Developers get massive amounts of exposure. 

This is why they list their themes and plugins on WordPress.org in the first place. That and of course, they believe in the WordPress open source movement. 

You will find that in most cases paid and premium versions of themes and plugins are more than worth the money that they charge. 

The amount of things that you can do with a paid theme as far as customizations are concerned is amazing. You can basically take a paid version of a theme and customize it to make it look and feel any way you want. 

Best of all, you can make all these customizations without any coding. 

With plugins, you may find that you would like to have some extra features and your plugins to perform just a little bit more than the free versions offer. 

You will find that many paid versions of plugins offer extras that may greatly improve the functionality and performance of your website. 

Again, just like with themes, paid versions of plugins are not only very affordable, but more than worth the money that Developers charge for them.

Can I change my domain name on WordPress?

If you have WordPress.com’s free blog plan, you will receive a domain name with “WordPress.com” included in the URL. 

If you want to change your domain name to a custom domain name, you will need to buy your domain name from WordPress.com and either upgrade your hosting plan to one of WordPress.com paid versions. 

Or you can buy a custom domain name from any domain name registrar and self-host your website on any number of Independent Web Hosting Providers. 

Where can I get a WordPress free download?

You can get a WordPress free download from WordPress.org or you can self-host your website from a Web Hosting Provider. You can normally access free WordPress downloads right from your Web Hosting Provider’s dashboard for your account.

Is WordPress free to use, summary.

To sum up, WordPress CMS is free to use. In addition, it’s also open source. 

This means that you can create a website with WordPress CMS using any themes you like as well as plugins. And what you create is yours. You can self-host that website anywhere you like. 

If you don’t like your Web Hosting Provider, you can migrate your WordPress website and take everything with you including the theme, any customizations as well as plugins to another Web Host. 

However, outside of WordPress.com’s free blog plan, hosting your WordPress website, whether that’s on WordPress.com or self-hosting it on another Web Hosting Provider, is not free. 

In any case, you can opt for a free hosting plan on WordPress.com. You can download the WordPress CMS onto your local computer and learn how to use it and build your own WordPress website without hosting. 

You can even self-host your WordPress website on another Web Hosting Provider. 

Anything you build with your WordPress CMS is yours to keep and do with what you like. That’s what free and open source is all about.