Molti sono sorpresi di sapere che WordPress, la più popolare piattaforma per siti web, è gratuita. È uno strumento potente che chiunque può utilizzare senza pagare il software stesso.
In questo articolo analizzeremo i motivi per cui WordPress è disponibile a costo zero, gli aspetti per i quali è necessario spendere soldi per gestire un sito WordPress e se c’è qualche fregatura. Utilizzeremo i nostri anni di esperienza in WordPress per cancellare ogni confusione e fornire una spiegazione chiara.
Comprendere i costi associati a WordPress può aiutarvi a stanziare un budget più efficace per il vostro sito web. Vi spiegheremo tutto, dalle spese di host agli aggiornamenti facoltativi.
Il nostro obiettivo è quello di fornirvi le conoscenze necessarie per prendere decisioni informate su chi siamo e sull’utilizzo di WordPress per il vostro sito web o blog.
WordPress è un software open-source. È libero nel senso di libertà, non nel senso di birra gratis. Potreste chiedervi che differenza c’è tra queste due cose.
Il software open source viene fornito con la libertà di utilizzarlo, modificarlo, costruirci sopra e ridistribuirlo in qualsiasi modo si desideri senza pagare alcun costo.
Tuttavia, potrebbero esserci dei costi in altre aree. Discuteremo i costi dell’utilizzo del software open source WordPress più avanti in questo articolo.
Video tutorial
Se preferite le istruzioni scritte, continuate a leggere.
Perché non vendono WordPress come software?
Spesso ci viene chiesto: perché le persone e le aziende che stanno dietro a WordPress non lo vendono? Se WordPress è così buono come dicono tutti, è ovvio che vendere WordPress farebbe guadagnare molto di più.
Dopo tutto, WordPress alimenta oltre il 43% di tutti i siti web su Internet.
Questo avrebbe senso se una singola azienda o un singolo individuo possedesse WordPress.
WordPress è un progetto comunitario open-source al quale hanno contribuito decine di migliaia di persone di talento che lo hanno trasformato nel grande software che è oggi.
Un team di sviluppatori guida lo sviluppo del progetto, ma chiunque può contribuire con patch, correggere bug, creare funzionalità, suggerire funzionalità, ecc.
Inoltre, i responsabili del progetto cambiano da una versione all’altra. Se vi impegnate a fondo nella comunità, potete diventare anche voi un collaboratore di WordPress.
La filosofia del software open source
La filosofia del movimento del software Open Source è che il software è diverso dagli altri prodotti tangibili. Una volta creato, il software può essere copiato molte volte a basso costo.
Prendiamo l’esempio di una fabbrica di giocattoli.
Ogni giocattolo prodotto ha diverse parti, ognuna delle quali ha un costo. La fabbrica può calcolare il costo di produzione di queste parti per decidere un margine di profitto ragionevole per il prodotto.
D’altra parte, il costo della creazione del software e quello della sua copia non sono gli stessi. Alcuni gruppi ritengono che con ogni copia venduta, il margine di profitto del software diventi più ingiusto.
Per saperne di più sugli ideali del software open-source, consultate la Filosofia di GNU.
Come si fa a guadagnare con WordPress?
Le due principali parti redditizie di qualsiasi software open-source sono i prodotti e i servizi basati sullo stesso software open-source.
Spesso si confonde WordPress con WordPress.com, ma in realtà si tratta di due cose diverse. WordPress (spesso indicato come WordPress self-hosted o WordPress.org) è una piattaforma di blogging e un costruttore di siti web gratuiti.
Matt Mullenweg, cofondatore di WordPress, ha lanciato una società chiamata Automattic, che fornisce servizi di hosting di blog gratuiti “limitati” su WordPress.com, con la possibilità di pagare/aggiornare per sbloccare le funzionalità e rimuovere gli annunci.
Tuttavia, per sbloccare tutte le caratteristiche di WordPress, è necessario passare a un piano WordPress.com a pagamento. Ad esempio, non è possibile avviare un negozio online con WordPress.com se non si paga il piano e-commerce, che parte da 22,50 dollari al mese.
Automattic ha raccolto oltre 985 milioni di dollari di finanziamenti.(Fonte)
Altri sviluppatori hanno continuato a costruire aziende multimilionarie di successo attorno a WordPress, creando plugin commerciali e temi commerciali e offrendo persino un host WordPress.
Alcuni esempi di aziende WordPress multimilionarie di successo sono:
- WP Engine – Un’azienda di hosting WordPress gestito che ha guadagnato oltre 400 milioni di dollari e che ora possiede anche i temi commerciali di StudioPress.
- Awesome Motive – guidata da Syed Balkhi, è un’altra azienda multimilionaria basata su WordPress. L’azienda gestisce WPBeginner, OptinMonster, WPForms, MonsterInsights, SeedProd, AIOSEO, Smash Balloon e altri popolari plugin per WordPress utilizzati da oltre 25 milioni di siti web.
- ElegantThemes – Azienda multimilionaria di temi che si occupa del popolare page builder drag & drop Divi e di numerosi altri plugin.
Correlato: Consultate il nostro elenco delle migliori aziende di WordPress.
I bravi sviluppatori e consulenti di WordPress possono ottenere un reddito confortevole a tempo pieno costruendo siti web, applicazioni e plugin personalizzati su WordPress per i loro clienti. Molti di loro guadagnano da soli oltre sei cifre all’anno.
WordPress è libero da copyright?
No, WordPress non è libero da copyright. È concesso in licenza in modo da permettere a tutti di utilizzarlo, ma ogni contributo apportato al software è coperto da copyright.
È rilasciato sotto licenza GPL (General Public License). Ciò significa che è possibile utilizzare, modificare e ridistribuire il codice. Avrete il copyright sulle modifiche apportate al software, ma non sull’intero codice.
La GPL richiede che qualsiasi opera derivata da voi rilasciata o distribuita sia concessa in licenza GPL. Potete avere il copyright per fare tutto ciò che volete. Ma il vostro lavoro derivato eredita automaticamente la licenza GPL, quindi gli altri sono liberi di usare, modificare e ridistribuire il vostro codice in qualsiasi modo scelgano.
Tutti i temi e i plugin premium per WordPress hanno una licenza GPL?
Secondo un post ufficiale sul blog di WordPress.org, anche i temi sono GPL. Le immagini, i CSS e i JavaScript utilizzati nei temi e nei plugin possono essere esclusi, ma tutte le parti PHP e HTML dei temi e dei plugin utilizzano ampiamente le funzionalità di WordPress. Pertanto, sono opere derivate e sono concesse in licenza GPL.
Anche se alcuni non sono d’accordo, la maggior parte delle aziende WordPress affidabili segue e rispetta le linee guida della comunità.
Il contenuto pubblicato con WordPress eredita anche la GPL?
No, avete il diritto di concedere in licenza i vostri contenuti nel modo che preferite. A meno che il contenuto che state pubblicando non sia in realtà un’opera derivata da WordPress o da qualsiasi altra opera con licenza GPL.
Ad esempio, se condividete i vostri articoli, le vostre foto o qualsiasi altra opera d’arte sul vostro blog, allora ne possedete i diritti d’autore.
Tuttavia, se state scrivendo un post sul blog che mostra come utilizzare una funzione di WordPress con degli esempi, quel particolare post sul blog potrebbe avere una licenza diversa. Il codice utilizzato negli esempi è un lavoro derivato ed eredita automaticamente la licenza GPL.
Il marchio WordPress
Il codice di WordPress come software è rilasciato sotto licenza GPL, ma le parole WordPress, WordCamp e il logo WordPress sono marchi registrati di proprietà della WordPress Foundation.
Per maggiori dettagli, consultare la Politica sui marchi della WordPress Foundation.
Per distinguere tra un sito o una risorsa ufficiale o gestita dalla comunità, la fondazione chiede ai cittadini di non utilizzare “WordPress” nel proprio nome di dominio.
Questo è il motivo per cui il nostro sito si chiama WPBeginner invece di WordPressBeginner. Qualunque sito web, corso di formazione o risorsa che abbia WordPress nel nome del dominio è probabilmente gestito da qualcuno che non ne sa abbastanza di WordPress. Questo significa che probabilmente non dovreste pagargli i vostri soldi.
La maggior parte delle aziende legittime costruite su WordPress sono consapevoli delle politiche sui marchi e rispettano le regole.
Costo dell’utilizzo di WordPress
WordPress è un software gratuito da scaricare e utilizzare. Tuttavia, per utilizzare WordPress sul web, è necessario un hosting WordPress.
Potete usare WordPress.com per creare un blog gratuito, ma sappiate che ci sono alcune differenze. Per maggiori dettagli, consultate il nostro confronto tra WordPress.com e WordPress.org.
Il costo dell’utilizzo di WordPress è relativamente minimo e vale anche per la gestione di qualsiasi altro tipo di sito web. L’unico costo reale è l’hosting web (7,99 dollari al mese) e il nome del dominio (14 dollari all’anno).
Tuttavia, gli utenti di WPBeginner possono ottenere un dominio gratuito e fino al 77% di sconto sull’hosting web di Bluehost, il che significa che è possibile avviare un sito web a partire da 1,99 dollari al mese.
Bluehost è un fornitore di hosting WordPress ufficialmente raccomandato. È affidabile, offre l’installazione di WordPress in un clic, offre un’assistenza clienti 24/7 e molto altro ancora.
Correlato: Come avviare un blog su WordPress (Guida definitiva)
I costi aggiuntivi potrebbero essere legati ai temi WordPress commerciali, noti anche come temi WordPress premium. Tuttavia, non è necessario utilizzarli perché ci sono oltre 10.800 temi WordPress gratuiti che si possono usare.
Spesso si usano plugin commerciali, ma non siete obbligati a usarli perché ci sono più di 59.000 plugin gratuiti per WordPress.
Abbiamo creato una guida dettagliata su quanto costa realmente costruire un sito web WordPress, con istruzioni su come avviare un sito web con un budget limitato e risparmiare.
WordPress è gratuito Domande frequenti
Di seguito sono riportate alcune delle domande più frequenti sul fatto che WordPress sia gratuito o meno:
Che cosa fa pagare WordPress?
WordPress.org è una piattaforma open-source gratuita da scaricare e utilizzare. Ma ci sono dei costi allegati se volete che il vostro sito WordPress sia on line. Il costo principale è l’hosting di WordPress e un dominio, che parte da 1,99 dollari al mese con Bluehost.
Potete anche estendere le caratteristiche e le funzionalità del vostro sito WordPress con temi e plugin premium. Tuttavia, è possibile mantenere i costi più bassi utilizzando plugin e temi gratuiti.
Sono il proprietario del mio sito web WordPress?
Sì, potete installare il software open-source WordPress.org su un provider di web hosting per creare un sito web di vostra proprietà al 100%. In questo modo avrete il controllo completo su come gestire il vostro sito.
Questo non è il caso di altre soluzioni come WordPress.com. Con WordPress.com, il vostro sito può essere rimosso in qualsiasi momento se viola i loro termini di servizio. Inoltre, le opzioni di personalizzazione e monetizzazione sono limitate.
Posso guadagnare con WordPress?
Sì, potete monetizzare il vostro sito WordPress in molti modi diversi. Ad esempio, potete creare un sito associativo, avviare il marketing di affiliazione, fare pubblicità con Google AdSense, vendere prodotti digitali e molto altro ancora.
Potete anche utilizzare il plugin gratuito WPForms per accettare pagamenti e donazioni online tramite Stripe direttamente sul vostro sito web.
Speriamo che questo articolo risponda alle vostre domande sulle licenze di WordPress, sui costi di gestione di un sito WordPress e sul business di WordPress. Potreste anche consultare la nostra guida sui tipi di siti web più diffusi che si possono creare con WordPress e la nostra scelta dei migliori costruttori di siti web per piccole imprese.
Se questo articolo vi è piaciuto, iscrivetevi al nostro canale YouTube per le esercitazioni video su WordPress. Potete trovarci anche su Twitter e Facebook.
Amogh Agrawal
Such a awesome article and very well crafted!
Vince
Thank you for this information! I just started my own WP blog and this filled in many gaps of my knowledge that I didn’t find in my initial research of blogging platforms. This is definitely a great reference to pass along to others!
hope
I really learned alot from this website today and it is not the first time I wanted to compare WP.org and WP.com…I really liked everything about WP.org but my question is that what are host payment methods, im from south Africa PayPal and other methods are not easy for me…but bitcoins are always easy and cheap, is there any bitcoins payment method?
Brittany S.
Hello, I’m sorry to bug you with this question, but I tried asking it on the WP forums and got no response. Since this post mentions the costs of having a WP account, I hope this is an ok place to ask this.
I currently have a free wordpress.com account. I simply want the .wordpress gone from my domain name.
Every place I look in the help docs or forums, it states to look at the plan pricing, and of course, when you look at the plans, you see that a custom domain is free with any plan. Ok, got it.
However, this is why I’m confused. The site lets me go in and add a custom domain and private domain registration to my cart for $18/year and $8/year respectively. So $26/year total. It says nothing about having to buy a plan.
Now, if you stop and think about this for a sec, it doesn’t make sense. If you MUST have a plan in order to have a custom domain, and if a custom domain is FREE with a plan, then why would the system show pricing for a custom domain? See how that doesn’t make sense?
Essentially, I’m not brave enough (yet) to just say screw it and try to pay the $26 bucks and see what happens. I just wondered if anyone here knows. Any time pricing and such is mentioned on the WP forums, the same link to the plans is given and that’s the end of the conversation.
Thanks in advance!
WPBeginner Support
Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Admin
Tonomoshia
I bought the domain for the $26. It is separate from the plans. The plans have monthly costs (paid yearly I think) and include certain upgrades for each level. I did not get those upgrades, just the domain name and private registration for the $26 per year. You can definitely get the domain without worrying about a plan.
Sneha
Thank you so much for this information.
I have a query.I am meaning to shift from wordpress.com to wordpress.org in order to run an e-commerce store.I already had bought the personal plan from wordpress.com.While exporting,will my plan and the subsequent amount go down the drain?
Regards
WPBeginner Support
Plans and other purchases on WordPress.com can be canceled and refunded with in 30days of purchase. Domain registrations can be canceled and refunded during 48 hours after purchase. Please contact WordPress.com support for more help.
Admin
Azam ali
There are wordpress free themes, I want to know that how much permission are we having to use them freely
WPBeginner Support
Most WordPress themes are GPL Licensed, you may want to contact your theme developer for terms of service and support.
Admin
ilayaraja
i bought one copy of wordpress theme license(per user). can i apply it on my friend site?
WPBeginner Support
Contact theme developer to learn more about their licensing terms.
Admin
Adebayo idris
How can I create free website with wordpress?
Shazia Kausar
Thanks for great post.
Elyse Sokoloff
True beginner, semi-luddite here. I thought I had things figured out but now I’m confused again. I started a blog through Wordpress and I’m assuming it was wordpress.com. I bought my domain name, so does that mean I’m self hosted? If I upgrade my blog to a Genesis or Headway site, how does that change how I’m hosted, or does it? Your site has been very helpful thus far, thanks for all your work.
WPBeginner Support
Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Admin
Elyse Sokoloff
Ah, got it. I had read it but was still confused. Re-reading I think I get it, I’m NOT self hosting. And if I want to do something like Genesis or Headway I’ll need to become self hosted, say on Blue Host for example. Correct?
Mahesh Rajamani
yes! you are right!!
Pete
Nice read. I am currently a duda pro but costs are becoming too high. I have 30 websites and pay £330 per month to duda. I do charge my clients a monthly fee but would rather keep the £330 by using wordpress instead. Can even use that saving for themes or plugins.
Am i correct in thinking that I can construct 30 websites on wordpress and host it with godaddy for around £6per month? Or am I missing something?
Unfortunately we cannot transfer websites from duda to another platform but where there’s a will there’s a way??
Joel Silverman
Great article! Thanks for helping me understand some of the things to consider. The article on the differences between wordpress.com and wordpress.org was good too.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you found it useful.
Admin
Chidi Anslem
Great and useful post. I found this very enlightening. It’s cleared most of my misconceptions.
Oge Brenda
Hi Chidi. I need your help please, I want to launch a fashion blog on a free host. Which of the word presses do I use? I have read through and in all honesty found it hard to understand the terms and I don’t really know how you go about it. Can you break it down for me?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Oge Brenda,
You may want to see our step by step guide on how to start a WordPress blog.
Admin
one
very informative post. It’s helps me to understand the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org.
Christian
Yay! I hate TF too
I really enjoyed how the article “missed” mentioning TF heheh
Victoria
I am about to head off on an amazing holiday overseas & wish to keep a blog to email to family & friends of all the highlights & experiences of our trip. WordPress was recommended by a friend who has a blog through you. I just wanted to double check that what I set up will be free, that I will be able to email what I write & that I can do all this from the Macbook Air (running Mac OSX 10.9.5) that we will take with us? Thanks.
Willow
If you don’t use WordPress on the web will people still be able to view your blog?
rayan
Tell me about famous e-commerce websites using wordpress. I am a web designer using wordpress, and i want to convince my customers that wordpress is good enough to have your online store running perfectly.
Nina
I am starting a blog and was wondering if it is a good idea to start with the free Wordpress as I gradually add content. Right now I have zero content.
Since it is possible to transfer to Wordpress.org in the future, is it worth it to take advantage of the traffic that the free Wordpress provides in the meantime? Or would it be too much of a hassle/inconvenience to my future readers to transfer over?
I read that Wordpress.org does not help you gain traffic… what do you suggest? I want to do everything right from the beginning so I can establish a good foundation for my blog/business. Please help! Thank you!
WPBeginner Support
Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Admin
Daniyal Ahmed
Thank you so much for this great article. I need to ask, is WordPress plugin author (free plugin those available on wordpress.org) also consider as WordPress contributor or not ? Actually you didn’t mention about those in article as a contributor.
WPBeginner Support
Basically anyone working and sharing the work with rest of the WordPress community is considered a contributor. One can contribute by answering support requests on forum, helping with documentation, organizing WordPress meetups and WordCamps, and so on. However, only those users who contribute to the development of the WordPress core are credited as core contributors.
Admin
Saloni
I am a beginner. I created my site in hubpages few days ago. Now I am bit confused. I want to know which is profitable wrt making money online. It’s self hosted(myname.com) or like the one I am currently having.
Secondly, if I create a website in Wordpress(myname.com) will It be entirely self hosted by me or will that be hosted by others and not me?
Can you plz suggest which one I need to create? How much I need to pay yearly fee? Also, can you plz provide link to create?
Monir
How good is wordpress for multi-vendor e-commerce site?
WPBeginner Support
There are already many such sites built with WordPress, and they are doing great.
Admin
jalil khan
this is best site for information about Wordpress..I want your advice about my plan that is I wanted to run a video site not self hosting and which Host is best for me in low Cost..
Thanks
WPBeginner Support
Please see our WordPress hosting guide.
Admin
Sacha
WordPress is truly is amazing!
Letala
Thanks. This article was very helpful.
Serouj
My entire business is based on Wordpress. I can only say thank you!
Adeel Sami
Hey WPBeginner guys,
Now I know what involves to run a self-hosted WordPress blog.
No doubt this is the best blogging open-source software who gets contribution from hundreds of developers who are good at making WordPress a free software for the people like me.
Being said, I love it over any other software that give ability to run a blog or a forum. And being free is just our good luck.
Thank you once again!
~ Adeel Sami
Darshan Gajara
Hey WPBeginner, thanks a ton for sharing such insightful information about WordPress guidelines.
elisa
How will other people be able to see my blog??Can I use facebook to attract traffic for my blog?Is it allowed? If no then can u suggest otjer ways to attract readers for my wp blog??please help i am totally a newbie
WPBeginner Support
Facebook does allow promotion of your blog using your Facebook page. But it also limits the reach of your page’s posts so you will have to boost each post for more reach. You can also use Twitter and other social platforms to promote your blog.
Admin
eileen f
Hi I am very new to blogging not new to writing but the entire blog thing. I successfully downloaded the android version of wordpress to my note 3 but I wanted it on my laptop. I downloaded wordpress from wordpress.com to my laptop and opened up a plethora of malware and other applications that obviously weren’t expected. I finally cleaned my pc of the infection but still really want to find the safest wordpress app to run on my laptop. Can you let me know where I can find such an app or from the correct website to find the true free uncompromised version? Just the application not the extra apps that came tumbling down like before. I would greatly appreciate
WPBeginner Support
There is no official WordPress app for desktop. There are plenty of third party blogging clients that you can use, like Windows Live Writer.
Ali Khan
You can begin from wpbeginner
Syed Balkhi
You would need to follow this tutorial:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-properly-move-your-blog-from-wordpress-com-to-wordpress-org/
Nsquared
Help! I just paid $18 on Wordpress.com for my own domain thinking I was self-hosting. After reading this article…apparently I am not. How do i self-host even i’ve already bought my domain on Wordpress.com?
Afzoon Rampal
I am a learner about wordpress. But dont know lots of places to learn about it. Here i found just a discussion about it. Anyone know where should i begin?
bri
excellent explanation…. i didn’t get it til now thanks WPBeginner!!
Debra
I don’t know anything about code or themes or much of anything else you spoke about — GNUs, which I assume aren’t animals, and other acronyms—– I just want to write about what I want to write about and make some honest money as I go. If WordPress has the tools and I can easily understand how to use the tools, and I don’t have to pay a lot of money upfront to use the tools, I’m overjoyed. Somebody told me that if I used web hosting at WordPress, I’d have to shell out a couple thousand dollars a month minimum. I’m guessing now that I have read what you’ve written here and found out that I can understand what in blue blazes you are saying enough to stumble through the process without screwing up too badly, that it really won’t cost be a couple thousand up front to get started?
WPBeginner Support
The costs of hosting your own WordPress site depend on how popular your site becomes. Hosting could be expansive but there are plenty of options available to choose from. We would recommend you to take a look at our list of recommended WordPress hosting providers.
Admin
ahsan karim
You are a great man. bundle of thanks
Shane Chambers
Very helpful article! My concerns have been exploring how viable WordPress would be for an initial startup product. I’d like to potentially take a WordPress Theme, modify it for an initial launch of my web startup, and integrate custom code from there as I go along. I’ve been concerned about scalability, etc. of WP as an overall platform. After reading your article, I’m now concerned about this GPL under GNU. It sounds like any innovations I built on top of a theme or code I inherit from WordPress would not necessarily be protected under my IP? If so, that’s a huge problem for me and would completely rule out me using WP as a platform. What would be the point if my competitors or anyone can just take all the hard work I’ve done and replicate it immediately? Obviously, I need to research this myself.
More details: my startup is initially building a niche job board with all the modern features (profile, job match, applicant mgmt., social integration/authentication, xml job pull, etc.), and eventually integrating future innovations which might include things like integrating another open source functionality like CRM or recruitment tech. Having “open source” availability is important to me so that I can modify algorithms if need be (such as the job matching), integrate new code features as I scale, and so I can have access to the underlying customer database for analytics, etc.
I would appreciate any helpful feedback. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!!
Jessica Santos
Editorial Staff,
I’m currently using Blogger right now but I have recently been informed that the material I submit onto my current blog is not neccessarily mine. I have read that WordPress is a better site for a blog because it is not only free but I have full ownership and full abilitiy of what to do with the material published on my blog. However, I am still questioning whether or not it is safe for me to post/submit my work onto a blog from WordPress. I am a writer, poet and photographer and I would not appreciate the knowledge of someone, even a blog site, to take my material from me, alter it or claim it as their own. Do I have full ownership? If so can I post/submit material/content with reassurance that it will not be taken and considered someone elses or considered to belong to WordPress?
Jessica
WPBeginner Support
Content you create on your website, on your own, is yours and you have complete ownership of it. However, if the content you are posting is someone else’s work then they can claim the copyright infringement. In that case they can file a complaint with search engines to deIndex your content, or contact your web hosting service provider to take down infringing material.
Admin
chris
im none the wiser-what a load of waffle.is it free or not????
its still impossible to know how to log in to word press and impossible to get help. i have no time to spend days siftting through hours of forums to find out hhow to sign in or some other stupid simple thing
is this the level of inane stupidity humanity bhas come to? Everyones time is being stolen by computer inanitys. Everyone reading this would be far better off going out and buying a typewriter. Within second syour awy- no impossibly complicated systems,silly anal codes or password-just words on a page. Better still, pick up a pen and write on a piece of paper
WPBeginner Support
Yes it is free. However, WordPress needs WordPress hosting service, like a typewriter needs paper, a desk, and ink. You can always pick up a pen and paper, but it will not make your written word instantly accessible to everyone in the world. Signing in to WordPress is not difficult type your website address with a /wp-admin to access the adminstration area. Like if your web address is example.com you would go to http://www.example.com/wp-admin to login. As for help, you can search WPBeginner Archives for help and you are always welcome to post your questions here. You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter and ask your questions there.
Admin
Grace
Great post! I arrived at this article after reading a comment you made elsewhere on the site that you don’t recommend Themeforest because they “do not follow the spirit of GPL”. Could you explain what you mean? I thought reading this post might help me understand what you meant, but it didn’t.
So happy I discovered your site, Syed!
Editorial Staff
Grace,
Up until recently, Themeforest forced their authors to sell their themes under a proprietary license. I’m not going to explain what GPL is, you can read about it on GNU Public License page. But long story short, Themeforest has recently gave their authors the freedom to sell their work under the GPL license.
However that wasn’t the only reason I don’t recommend them. The quality of most themes there are not very good (at least from the best practices standpoint). The themes might look great aesthetically, but usually cause a lot of bugs with numerous plugins.
-Syed
Admin
Adrian
Many thanks for this article Syed – incredibly useful. I’ve been using Weebly Pro for a good year now and, while there have certainly been benefits for me in terms of time to launch, I have always found it very restrictive, sometimes painful and invariably I’ve ended up having to massage the code anyway – although the “free” hosting certainly helps (and it’s great for very small businesses to launch quickly).
I’ve been planning to make the jump to WP for some time now, and you article has inspired me to finally put some time into it -especially as I am confined to bed for the next 10 days – perfect opportunity.
Thanks again, please keep up the great work!
– A
Ian Dunn
“WordPress is an open source software. It is free in the sense of freedom not in the sense of free beer.”
Actually, WordPress is free-as-in-speech AND free-as-in-beer. The two concepts aren’t mutually exclusive.
Editorial Staff
Free doesn’t refer to the price, it refers to freedom. You can read more about it here:
http://codex.wordpress.org/License
Admin
Ian Dunn
Free can refer to both the price and freedom, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre. When you say that “WordPress is not free in the sense of free beer”, you’re implying that people have to pay in order to obtain a copy of WordPress, which isn’t true. WordPress is free-as-in-speech because the GPL gives you the freedom to modify it, but it’s also free-as-in-beer because you don’t have to pay for it.
Editorial Staff
Thanks for the clarification. I went and re-read the entire article to make sure that it reflects an accurate meaning and it does. It says there might be costs involved somewhere while using WordPress, and there is. We never implied that you have to pay for WordPress. If you read the whole article, then you will see under the section Costs of using WordPress, it says “WordPress as a software is free for you to download and use. However, to use WordPress on the web, you will need WordPress Hosting.” << which costs money.
Ian Dunn
I think maybe the problem is just in the way that sentence was phrased.
“WordPress is an open source software. It is free in the sense of freedom not in the sense of free beer.”
I’m guessing you meant to say something like, “WordPress is an open source software, which means that it is free. ‘Free’ primarily refers to freedom to modify the software, as opposed to obtaining the software without payment, although it is also free in that sense.”
But the way it was worded, it literally says that WordPress is not free-as-in-beer: “…not in the sense of free beer.”
And that’s where the problem is. WordPress IS free-as-in-beer, in addition to being free-as-in-speech.
Antonio Casella
How refreshing to find a person actually replying. That’s certainly a plus. I also like the philosophy/ethics that appears to be behind the WordPress concept. Thanks, Syed, for posting the training video above. I’m about to launch into the blog/website, partly to promote my novels. I’ll start with the free package at first to see how it works out.
Editorial Staff
Let us know if we could be of any help in your journey with WordPress
Admin
Keller Coleman
Great post, I love my WordPress site
Igor P.
It is great to know that such an open community like Wordpress powers millions of sites and feeds thousands of professionals. According to the WP survey conducted in 2012, around 74% of respondents where making their living from Wordpress. It is noble what this open source software can offer.
Editorial Staff
Yes Igor, it is truly remarkable what WordPress has done for so many.
Admin
Caspar Hübinger
This article gives a great overview on the monetary costs to run a WordPress site and on why and how WordPress as a software can be used free of charge.
There is, however, a “hidden” cost implied in running a WordPress powered site successfully, and that would be the gaining of knowledge (resp. the time and energy required to gain knowledge).
As with all great tools, WordPress won’t do the magic for you alone. You will have to learn how to use it right. Which themes and plugins are safe to use and abide the WordPress Coding Standards, so they won’t mess up your installation? How to test new plugins to make sure they behave well? (Ever tried WP_DEBUG true in a test environment?) How to backup your site and restore it from a backup if something went wrong.
All of that could be named a cost, too, because in order to succeed you will either have to do it yourself, or hire an expert (or service) to do it for you.
Editorial Staff
Caspar, you are correct. Time is very valuable, and you can/should put a dollar value on it. Despite the learning curve, anyone with dedication and motivation can totally accomplish what they need to do without spending $$$ on someone. There are sites like WPBeginner here to help. There are tons of amazing folks in the forums who are answering questions on a regular basis. WordPress StackExchange also has a great community.
Rest assured, experience is one of those things that you cannot buy. Gotta play the game like the rest of us.
Admin
Paul
Excellent post. This should be required reading for anyone who is considering or has already started a wordpress.org blog or site. The question about why wp is free was always in the back of my thoughts? Now I know.
Paul
Editorial Staff
Thanks Paul. Glad this article was able to help. It is making the rounds in social media. Share it with your audience and spread the knowledge
Admin
Austin Gunter
Great post. I get a lot of questions from larger companies who are using WordPress for their sites, and still more who are doing research into whether they should be using WordPress or another CMS. Having this post as a resource will help answer their questions
Imran Hunzai
Hala GPL! Hala Wordpress!
Haseeb Ahmad Ayazi
These were also in my mind. Thanks to Syed Balkhi for this great information