WordPress

WordPress.com is a hosted website builder, like Wix or Squarespace — you pay monthly and they run everything. Its cheaper plans are limited, though, and the plugins WordPress is famous for mostly need the higher tiers.

WordPress.org is free software you install on your own hosting. This is what developers usually mean by “a WordPress site”. Far more flexible — but you, or someone you pay, manage the updates, plugins, and security patches yourself.

Why it matters: people sign up to WordPress.com expecting the full WordPress experience, then hit the limits. Or they inherit a self-hosted site nobody’s maintaining — outdated plugins are one of the most common ways small business sites get hacked.

If someone quotes you for “a WordPress build”, ask which one they mean and who handles the ongoing maintenance.