WordPress.com is a popular choice among website owners who want a managed hosting solution that handles technical tasks like updates, backups, and security. This setup lets you focus on growing your business without worrying about maintenance. With built-in speed optimization and strong security features, WordPress.com aims to provide a smooth experience for beginners and seasoned WordPress users alike. In addition, they are offering WPBeginner users a 50% discount plus a free domain.
WordPress.com Overview
WordPress.com is one of the most recognized managed hosting platforms for WordPress sites. Founded by Matt Mullenweg in 2005, WordPress.com was among the first companies to offer a fully managed hosting platform running on WordPress.
In this thorough WordPress.com review, we’ll test their offerings using industry-standard benchmarks and analysis tools.
The following are the aspects we’ll cover:
Speed: How quickly does a site hosted on WordPress.com load? We’ll analyze their speed and server response time.
Performance: How does WordPress.com handle traffic surges? We’ll evaluate their reliability during high traffic.
Reliability: Can you trust WordPress.com to keep your website running smoothly without interruptions?
Customer Support: Is WordPress.com’s support team dependable when you need help?
Features: Does WordPress.com offer everything you need to build and maintain your site?
Pricing: Is their pricing competitive? Are there special WordPress.com deals to help you save?
This is our in-depth review of WordPress.com, where we’ll discuss their pros and cons. If you’re looking for a quick verdict, you’ll find our summary and scorecard below.
| WordPress.com Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Performance grade | A+ |
| Average load time | 636 ms |
| Average response time | 4.7 ms |
| Free domain | Yes |
| Free SSL | Yes |
| 1-click WordPress | Yes |
| Support | Live Chat / Email / Knowledge base |
| Start with WordPress.com | |
About WordPress.com
WordPress.com was launched in 2005 by Automattic, the company founded by Matt Mullenweg, one of the original creators of WordPress.
It is a managed hosting platform that is designed to offer seamless integration with the WordPress content management system (CMS).
With WordPress.com, users can build websites without worrying about technical issues like server management, updates, or security.
It caters to a wide range of users, from personal bloggers to small businesses and larger enterprises. Plus, it provides a variety of plans, each tailored to different needs, ensuring that users have access to the tools and resources required to grow their online presence.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
One of the most common questions new users have is: what’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
While both are related to the WordPress open-source website builder, they serve different purposes.
WordPress.org, also known as self-hosted WordPress, is open-source software that you can download and install on your own web hosting server. It offers complete flexibility and control over your website, allowing you to customize and modify it.
In contrast, WordPress.com is a fully managed hosting service. This means that Automattic (the company that owns WordPress.com) takes care of the technical side, including server maintenance, security, and updates.
For more details, see our guide on the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org to learn more.
Pros and Cons of WordPress.com
Every hosting service comes with its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a quick breakdown of the pros and cons of using WordPress.com for your website:
Pros
- Managed Hosting: Automatic updates, security, and WordPress maintenance are handled by WordPress.com.
- Seamless WordPress Integration: Built and maintained by people who know WordPress deeply.
- High Reliability: Robust infrastructure that minimizes downtime and ensures your site runs smoothly.
- Support Options: Access to customer support and community resources to help with any issues.
Cons
- Limited Customization: Depending on your hosting plan, some customization options may not be available.
- Higher Costs for Advanced Plans: Premium features and plans can become expensive, especially for businesses.
WordPress.com Performance Tests
When choosing a hosting provider, you will come across similar promises about their speed, reliability, and technology. In our hosting reviews, we dig deeper to learn about the actual performance.
How we test:
- We sign up for a hosting account and create a dummy website.
- We fill the website with dummy data created by WordPress.org’s theme review team.
- Next, we use a combination of industry-standard benchmarking tools to run different tests.
Here are the results of our WordPress.com performance tests.
Speed and Server Response Time
In our experience, website speed is one of the most crucial factors to consider. This is simply because it directly affects the user experience and search rankings. No one likes slow websites.
Our tests showed that WordPress.com offers great page load speeds thanks to its optimized infrastructure.
Our test site loaded in around 636 ms, and the result didn’t change much for different regions. On average, the page load time remained well under a second.
The platform uses caching and a content delivery network (CDN) to ensure fast load times for visitors from different regions. This means your website will load fast regardless of where your visitors are coming from.
Stress Test
To evaluate how WordPress.com handles traffic spikes, we ran a stress test to simulate heavy traffic loads.
For this test, we used Grafana Labs’ K6 tool to run the test. We sent up to 50 virtual users to our test site over 5 minutes. Here are the test results:
Our test site handled over 12 thousand requests and maintained a response time of 3.74ms without a single error.
The results demonstrated that WordPress.com maintained consistent performance without significant slowdowns or errors, making it reliable even during high-traffic periods.
Uptime and Reliability
Consistent uptime is very important to ensure your site is always accessible. We put our test site under the uptime monitoring test, and here are the results:
WordPress.com boasts an impressive uptime record, supported by its robust infrastructure and proactive server management. Our site didn’t show any downtime during the testing period.
Server Response Time
Server response time is a test that tells how quickly a hosting server responds to a request. This test helps assess the server’s responsiveness, which is crucial for maintaining good page speed.
Here are the test results for our WordPress.com site:
These results are excellent, showing high-performing and super-responsive servers around the world. This becomes possible due to the edge caching solutions used by WordPress.com, which ensure that users see the same high performance regardless of their geographic location.
WordPress.com Hosting Plans
WordPress.com offers a variety of hosting plans to suit different user needs.
The Free, Personal ($4/mo), and Premium($8/mo) plans are budget-friendly options that provide basic features but come with limitations.
Keep in mind that these lower-cost plans do not allow you to install custom plugins and are restrictive in features.
We recommend starting with at least the Business plan for more flexibility.
The Business Plan is priced at $10/month (billed annually). It includes advanced features such as installing custom plugins and themes, 50 GB of storage, advanced SEO tools, automated backups, and priority support. This plan provides a significant upgrade in functionality compared to the lower-tier options.
The Commerce Plan costs $22.50/month (billed annually). It includes all the features of the Business Plan, with additional eCommerce tools like payment gateways, integrations with shipping carriers, and support for unlimited products and services. This plan is ideal for users who want to run a full-featured online store.
Note: WordPress.com is offering a 50% discount to WPBeginner users. The prices mentioned above are the discounted prices you will get if you use our WordPress.com coupon code.
WordPress.com also offers Enterprise plans starting at $25,000/year for larger organizations with more complex needs. These plans include tailored solutions, dedicated account management, and enterprise-level support.
WordPress.com Customer Support
We all need help now and then. Knowing that you have access to a reliable WordPress support team makes a huge difference.
One of the standout features of the WordPress.com Business and Commerce plans is the 24/7 priority support.
The support team is knowledgeable about WordPress and can assist with a wide range of issues, from troubleshooting technical problems to guiding using platform features.
For users who like to help themselves, WordPress.com has an extensive library of documentation, tutorials, webinars, and more.
For customers on Enterprise plans, dedicated account management and premium support options are provided to meet the needs of high-traffic and large-scale websites. This level of support ensures tailored assistance and quicker resolution times.
Ease of Use
WordPress.com is designed to provide a seamless user experience, making it an excellent choice for beginners and experienced users.
The platform offers an intuitive setup process, allowing users to get their sites up and running with just a few clicks.
You don’t have to install any software. Once set up, you can instantly start working on your website.
The dashboard is clean and user-friendly, with organized menus and tools that are easy to navigate. There is a WordPress.com interface, which is where you will manage your hosting account.
Then, you can switch to the traditional WordPress admin dashboard, which gives you access to the familiar WordPress admin area.
WordPress.com also includes helpful features by activating them as individual plugins. For instance, it installs Gutenberg, Jetpack, CoBlocks, and other plugins, giving users more features in the block editor.
This ensures that users can build and manage their sites without needing advanced technical skills.
Unless you are on a low-tier or free plan, you can also install third-party plugins on your WordPress.com website.
WordPress.com provides detailed guides and resources to help users make the most of their hosting experience, further boosting its ease of use.
Conclusion: Is WordPress.com the Right Choice for You?
WordPress.com is an excellent choice for people who want a reliable, managed hosting solution without the technical overhead of self-hosted platforms.
It’s particularly well-suited for small businesses and eCommerce websites looking for a straightforward way to launch and maintain a WordPress site with minimal hassle.
While the Free, Personal, and Premium plans offer a good starting point, they come with feature limitations, such as the inability to install plugins.
For users who need more control and flexibility, the Business or Commerce plans provide significantly enhanced capabilities, including plugin installations, custom themes, and advanced tools.
Ready to start with WordPress.com? WPBeginner users get a 50% discount and a free domain name.
FAQs About WordPress.com Hosting
In this comprehensive WordPress.com review, we examined their services, performance, and plans in detail. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about WordPress.com that we hear from our users:
What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
WordPress.com is a managed WordPress hosting platform that handles updates, security, and server maintenance, while WordPress.org is self-hosted and requires users to handle these aspects themselves. WordPress.com is great for users who prefer convenience, while WordPress.org offers more customization and control.
Can I install custom plugins on WordPress.com?
Yes, you can install third-party plugins on the Business plan and higher. The Free, Personal, and Premium plans do not support third-party plugin installations.
Is WordPress.com good for eCommerce?
Yes, WordPress.com’s Commerce plan includes all the tools you need to run an online store, such as payment processing, shipping carrier integrations, and support for unlimited products. It is an ideal choice for small to medium-sized online businesses.
Does WordPress.com provide customer support?
Yes, but customer support options vary by plan. The Free plan offers community support, while the Personal and Premium plans include email and limited chat support. The Business and Commerce plans come with 24/7 priority support, and Enterprise plans include dedicated account management.
Can I switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?
Yes, you can migrate your site from WordPress.com to a self-hosted WordPress.org setup. WordPress.com provides tools and support documentation to help users make this transition smoothly. For more details, see our guide on how to move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.
Ready to start with WordPress.com? Click here to select your WordPress.com plan.
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