WordPress History
WordPress began in 2003 as a fork of the b2/cafelog project, led by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. It quickly evolved into an open-source content management system focused on ease of publishing and extensibility. Milestones include the introduction of a robust plugin system (2004), theme support (2005), custom post types and a unified codebase with the MU merge (2010), and the block-based editor known as Gutenberg (WordPress 5.0 in 2018). Today, WordPress powers a significant portion of the web across blogs, business sites, and applications.
WordPress.org (Self-Hosted Software)
WordPress.org is the home of the free, open-source WordPress software. You download the software and run it on your own hosting. This gives you full control: install any theme or plugin, edit code, export/import data freely, and manage performance, backups, and security on your terms. It’s licensed under the GPL, developed by a global community, and is ideal when you need maximum flexibility and ownership.
WordPress.com (Hosted Platform by Automattic)
WordPress.com is a hosted service provided by Automattic. They manage the servers, updates, security, and backups for you. You choose a plan (from free to business/ enterprise tiers) and start publishing immediately. Lower-tier plans limit custom plugins and themes, while higher-tier plans allow more customization. It’s ideal for users who want convenience and managed hosting without server administration.
Summary
In short, WordPress.org is the self-hosted, fully customizable software you control, while WordPress.com is a managed hosting service that trades some flexibility for convenience. Both use the same publishing core, but differ in hosting, control, extendability, and cost model. Your choice depends on whether you prefer hands-on control (org) or hands-off simplicity (com).