Have you ever wanted a website builder that was so good for you, but money mattered first? A tiring factor for those who wish to have an online presence to share their passions with the world.
Countless aspiring bloggers, entrepreneurs and creative minds are left feeling excluded because of the prohibitive expenses involved.
To flip the concern of money, enter the world of WordPress! Did you ever think of having access to source code for free? WordPress CMS offers an extraordinary solution to this financial takeover.
What sets it apart?
It’s simple – WordPress is Free!!!
Yes, you read that right! Say goodbye to exorbitant price tags and embrace the liberating world of WordPress, where your creativity knows no bounds.
Let’s walk through the question you all have “Why is WordPress Free?” We shall cover what else you could get for free with WordPress, How can you make money with WordPress and what features may ask you for a subscription.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a popular Content Management System (CMS). Users can manage and create their websites and blogs. Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little 2003 stepped in as the founders of WordPress.
Matt Mullenweg, in particular, played a significant role in shaping and leading the development of WordPress.
WordPress is available for free and can be customized and changed by anyone. Because of this, widespread adoption and community-driven development have taken place.
WordPress is a CMS that has got a Market share of 63.2%. There are several developers in the WordPress community. Including designers and users who contribute to its growth. By creating WordPress themes, plugins and extensions that improve its functionality.
I should say that the key reasons WordPress grows so well are its accessibility and cost- friendliness.
Anyone can download and install it. Anyone can use it without having a licensing fee.
The users take this as a great choice for individuals, small businesses, and even larger firms looking to establish an online presence without incurring substantial costs.
Difference Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
Till now you have been grabbing an idea of what WordPress is. You may encounter two kinds, WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
Let’s confirm if they are distinct from each other and have unique meanings!
| WordPress.org | WordPress.com |
| Cost on Hosting and Domain | Either free, or pay subscription |
| Full Themes Available | Limited Themes |
| Self-hosted | Hosted by WordPress.com |
| Full Customization | Limited Customization |
| Allows Installation of Plugins | Can’t Install Plugins |
| Full control and ownership | Limited control and ownership |
| Monetization options available | No monetization options available |
| Your own Branding | WordPress Branding |
| Manual maintenance and updates | Automatic maintenance and updates |
WordPress.org
It is a self-hosted WordPress that can be installed from the official website, paying no single cost. But you will have to pay for the website’s hosting and security services later on to function. Your web host will be a third party. You can use this for any kind of website you want to create, even for a personal blog.
WordPress.com
This can be launched for free by making an account and signing in!
You may have to spend some cost only for some additional features, which you might need for your website, such as themes or custom plugins, etc. Even accessing a premium version to grow your website needs some payment.
A website owner gets an easy process in handling WordPress hosting, security issues, and automatic updates for free, making it suitable for non-tech individuals.
You can get help with the WordPress tutorials available! Also note that, without a web host the WordPress site can be created. If you are eager to know more about their differences, place your cursor arrow here and click!!
Why is WordPress Free?
Open Source Software
WordPress follows an open-source method. And hence, the source code is available to the public users.
This encourages collaboration, innovation and community presence in the development and enhancement of the platform.
Community Contribution
A large community of developers, designers and contributors dedicates their time and expertise to enhancing WordPress software.
They contribute code, themes, plugins, translations, and support, making WordPress a collective effort.
GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
The software has been under the GNU or General Public License (GPL). A used software license was developed by the FSF or Free Software Foundation. GNU GPL or just GPL is a free software license designed to handle the rights and freedom of users using software like WordPress. GPL licenses and enables open source software.
What is Free with WordPress?
Install WordPress, and you are free to get several elements for no cost. Scroll down below:
Themes
WordPress could provide an entire WordPress theme directory. Use these free WordPress themes to customize the appearance of your website. These themes provide different design styles and layouts for respective websites.
You can browse and install them from the WordPress theme repository. With a free WordPress theme, you can create different websites with no hassle!
Plugins
A free WordPress plugin can improve a lot of the functionality of your website. Now the plugins can add features like contact form, social media integration, search engine optimization, caching, security, and much more.
The WordPress plugin repository holds tons of free plugins you can install and activate on your website.
Updates
WordPress releases software updates for its core software to enhance security, fix bugs, and introduce new features. Updates are available for free for you. You can update your WordPress installation process with just a few clicks from the admin panel/ dashboard.
How Does WordPress Make Money?
Premium Plans
WordPress offers premium plans to users who want extra features and customization options for their WordPress site.
These plans come with an annual subscription fee and provide benefits such as custom domain names, advanced design options, e-commerce functionality, and priority support.
Other premium features could be brought after billing an amount.
VIP Hosting Services
WordPress.com VIP is a premium host. This has been tailored for enterprise-level clients. As well as for high-traffic websites and large-scale publishers.
It offers dedicated infrastructure, scalability, security, and specialized support. The pricing for WordPress.com VIP is based on each client’s specific requirements.
Domains
WordPress offers domain registration services, allowing WordPress users to purchase custom domain names through their platform.
Users pay a registration fee for their chosen domain, and there may be additional charges for premium domain names or add-on services like privacy protection.
Enterprise Solutions and Partnerships
Automattic collaborates with enterprise clients, providing tailored solutions, consulting, and development services.
This includes large-scale websites, media organizations, or corporations that require specialized help or custom development work. These partnerships generate revenue for Automattic.
Revenue Generation from Add-Ons
Automattic is a company founded by Matt Mullenweg. The WordPress plugins repository comprises many add-ons which are offered by Automattic.
These include Jetpack (for improved security features), and Wordads to display ads (for content monetization).
And then, WooCommerce (an e-commerce plugin), and Akismet (a spam filtering service). Thus, the plugin repository also helps in generating revenue for WordPress.
Additional Costs Involved with WordPress
When using WordPress, there are additional costs that you may encounter beyond the free core software. Here are some common expenses associated with it:
Hosting Costs
To make your WordPress website visible to the public via the internet, you need web hosting.
Hosting providers offer various hosting plans and pricing options, and the cost will depend on the factors like server resources, performance, reliability and support.
While there are free hosting options available, paid hosting is recommended for better performance and flexibility.
Premium Themes
While this platform offers you a variety of themes for free, a premium WordPress theme for additional features can also be taken for your website.
A WordPress blog may need customization options for a professional look.
Premium themes are the best way to make it happen. They can differ in price, depending on the complexity and quality of the theme.
Premium Plugins
You can get free WordPress plugins from the WordPress plugin directory.
Some plugins may have premium versions or extensions that offer advanced functionality, priority support, or additional features.
These premium plugins come with a price tag or a subscription fee. A premium plugin like Yoast SEO could free you in making the perfect content for growing traffic to your website.
Maintenance
Regular website maintenance is important for optimal performance, WordPress security, and functionality. This may include tasks like updating WordPress core, themes, and plugins.
Other tasks like backing up your site, monitoring security, and managing website optimization can be included.
You may choose to handle these tasks yourself or hire a professional service for ongoing maintenance, which could involve additional costs.
Custom Development
If you require specific customizations or advanced customization beyond what existing themes and a free plugin offer, you may need to invest in custom development.
Hiring a WordPress professional developer or agency to build custom features or design elements can involve additional expenses.
Will WordPress Remain Free?
This question is asked by a lot of you, and it’s quite complicated to say whether WordPress will remain free forever.
The platform has open-source software that is free to use. And only certain elements and features for some upgrades require a subscription fee. WordPress is free and may remain free for a longer time.
Why Should You Use WordPress?
WordPress in a brief was easy! Now why WordPress? Apart from additional features, let’s find other reasons as well!
User-Friendly
WordPress offers a good user-friendly interface. This can be accessed by beginners and non-technical users so that they can manage it. It also comes with a simple WordPress dashboard.
Here, you will also be given a friendly dashboard of tools for content creation, editing, and publishing the content.
Blogging Features
WordPress has its roots in blogging, and it remains a powerful platform for bloggers.
A WordPress site could have robust blogging features, which include categories, tags, commenting systems, RSS feeds, and more. These concepts make it an excellent choice for individuals and businesses focused on content creation.
SEO-Friendly
WordPress is optimized for search engines, making it easier for your website to rank higher in search results.
It generates clean and structured code, offers SEO plugins like Yoast SEO (which can be free and premium), and provides tools for optimizing titles, meta descriptions, and other elements that contribute to search engine optimization.
Strong Community Support
WordPress has a large and active community of developers and designers.
This community offers support and various other documentation, forums and resources to help users facing troubleshooting issues. Also, to learn new skills and stay updated with the latest trends and practices. A professional developer can be there to support your concern.
Mobile-Responsive
In today’s mobile-centric world, having a mobile-responsive website people may search for it!
WordPress shows you a wide range of mobile-responsive custom themes. Ensuring that your site looks and functions well on different devices. Useful even for personal blog setup.
Multilingual support
WordPress supports multilingual websites. So that you can create content in multiple languages. Also, to translate your website use plugins that enable multilingual functionality, making it convenient for global audiences.
Regular Updates and Security
A team of developers who release updates, bug fixes, and security patches is behind the WordPress community. Your website will be secured, stable and up-to-date.
Integration capabilities
The integration with various third-party tools, services, and platforms by WordPress is a helping hand in promoting your service. Your website can integrate with other services like social media platforms and email marketing tools to expand functionality and reach.
Cost-Effective
WordPress is available for free, reducing the initial cost of setting up a website.
While there may be some costs coming up with premium themes, premium plugins, hosting providers and domain registration, the flexibility to choose from a wide range of options allows you to control your expenses.
Conclusion
Summing up here, WordPress is a transformative platform that has redefined website creation and empowered millions around the world.
It is free and open-source software licensed under GNU GPL. This ensures that the users have the freedom to use, change, and distribute it. To install WordPress, go to their official website and download it for free and with ease.
The WordPress software is free to use. You also get free themes and plugins along with it. However, if you need additional features like hosting, domain name, premium theme, and premium add-ons, you need to pay subscription fees for availing of these services.
Choosing which type of content management system will best suit you rests on your requirements and level of expertise.
Non-technical? Consider WordPress.!
WordPress is a flexible CMS that doesn’t require much coding knowledge. Even if you have a WordPress host for your site, it could enhance your website performance faster.
Which kind of CMS are you using for simplifying your website experience? Or which one will you use? Do you think WordPress could be a suitable option for you?
Let’s discuss this in the comments section!
FAQs
Is WordPress Copyright free?
WordPress itself is copyright protected, the GPL grants users certain rights to use and change the software within the framework of the license.
Therefore, you can consider WordPress to be both copyrighted and licensed under the GPL, with the GPL providing the permissions and freedoms associated with using the software.
How Do People Make Money with WordPress?
People can make money through theme development, content creation and blogging, E-commerce, membership sites, freelancing and much more.
Why Don’t They Sell WordPress as Software?
WordPress is not sold as proprietary software because it follows an open-source philosophy, prioritizing transparency, collaboration, and community involvement.
What Are the Benefits of Using WordPress?
If you have a WordPress site, then you have got a User-friendly interface, advanced features for customization options which is a better way to enhance your blog posts, SEO tools, active community and support, scalability and flexibility, mobile responsiveness, regular updates, security and integration.
Is WordPress free?
WordPress is free to use. But this free zone comes as per your choice from WordPress.org and WordPress.com. WordPress.org incurs costs for hosting service providers, as it will be a third-party server. WordPress.com can be created, except to add certain additional features if required for your website. A self hosted WordPress website may incur some costs.
