How to Practice WordPress without Hosting
Practicing WordPress is essential when you’re new to the platform. However, after your initial trials and errors, it’s easy to become complacent with your approach and lose the ability to learn new things.
If you’re looking for a way to practice wordpress without having to set up a hosting environment or buy a subscription, then this post is for you. We’ll teach you how to use a free web platform that provides many advantages over regular WordPress hosting.
The Pros Of Using WordPress.com
WordPress.com was first launched in 2011 and is the original self-hosted blogging platform from the creators of WordPress. Even though it’s a fairly new service, many seasoned bloggers have already found their way to this platform. The main reason behind this is the abundance of free features that are available on WordPress.com. It’s a well-known fact that WordPress is free to use, and this is especially beneficial for those just getting started. You won’t need to pay a penny to create a blog on this platform, and the fact that it’s free makes it perfect for experimentation.
Even better, some of the leading WordPress.com blog platforms are completely free. This provides you with unlimited storage, a variety of free plugins, as well as the ability to take advantage of the powerful marketing tools that are available on this platform. The fact that these tools are free is what makes them so attractive to new bloggers who are just getting their feet wet.
The Cons Of Using WordPress.com
Although we’re listing the pluses of using WordPress.com, it’s important to point out the platform’s shortcomings as well. One of the major concerns is that this is a free platform, and as we all know, free things rarely are perfect. This is why you will find many glitches and hiccups when using WordPress.com. Even the WordPress team acknowledges this, as they state on their website that:
“For a free service, you will inevitably find many glitches and hiccups. It’s a work in progress and we’re constantly improving. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please feel free to let us know. We’d love to hear from you.”
Another downside to using WordPress.com is that you’re tethered to their ecosystem. As a result, you won’t be able to take advantage of the latest WordPress updates, as these will require you to update your blog by hand. Finally, as a self-hosted blog, you have complete freedom of choice in terms of the theme and plugins that you want to use. You won’t be limited to what is provided by WordPress.com.
Choosing Your Own Hosting
WordPress is a free service, but that doesn’t mean that you have to use this platform to build your blog or website. In fact, WordPress is a popular choice with web hosts because it’s such a simple and light-weight platform to maintain. That said, what you want to avoid is using an aging web host that is already supported by many other platforms. Chances are, they won’t have the bandwidth to handle your blog or website without causing you stress.
Thankfully, we have a solution for this conundrum called WordPress.org. This is the open-source version of WordPress, which was originally designed for use by webmasters who want to maintain control over their content. As a result, WordPress.org does not come with the same free trials as WordPress.com, but the cost is significantly less. This is also a self-hosted solution, which means that you have complete freedom of choice in terms of the themes and plugins that you want to use. The best part is that you don’t need to worry about bandwidth consumption, as WordPress.org is highly optimized for low-end hosting packages. This makes it perfect for those just getting started.
The Difference Between WordPress.com And WordPress.org
As mentioned, WordPress is a popular choice among web hosts because it’s such a simple and light-weight blogging platform. However, if you’re new to the platform or just want to dive in head first, then you may not know the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. As the name would suggest, WordPress.com is a service provided by WordPress, while WordPress.org is the open-source version of the platform created and maintained by the WordPress community. The fact that WordPress is an open-source solution means that the creators and maintainers of the platform can contribute to the project and shape it to fit their needs. This is why WordPress.org is usually the preferred option for those who want to avoid having to pay a penny to use the platform.
Using A Free Blogging Platform Will Help You Learn More
Using a free blogging platform will undoubtedly assist you in your journey to become a better writer. Why? Because as you continue to build your blog, you’ll start to accumulate content that you can use to your advantage. You may find that you have to reword portions of an article, change its structure, or add more details, as you gain experience. This is why it’s important to continue to build your blog using these free platforms, so that you can learn from your mistakes and missteps. Plus, you’ll have the flexibility of changing the platform whenever you want, without needing to convince a web host to give you their special deal.