Una de las preguntas más frecuentes de nuestros usuarios es: “¿Tengo que pagar por usar WordPress?”.
Les decimos que WordPress es un software gratuito y de código abierto, a lo que suele seguir “¿Por qué WordPress es gratuito?”.
En este artículo, hablaremos de por qué WordPress es gratuito, cuál es el coste de mantener un sitio WordPress y cuál es el truco.
WordPress es un software de código abierto. Es libre en el sentido de libertad, no en el sentido de cerveza gratis. Tal vez se pregunte cuál es la diferencia entre ambas cosas.
El software de código abierto le ofrece la libertad de utilizarlo, modificarlo, desarrollarlo y redistribuirlo como desee sin pagar cuota alguna.
Sin embargo, puede haber costes en otras áreas. Hablaremos del coste de utilizar el software de código abierto WordPress más adelante en este artículo.
Tutorial en vídeo
Si prefiere instrucciones escritas, siga leyendo.
¿Por qué no venden WordPress como software?
A menudo nos preguntan, ¿por qué la gente y las empresas que están detrás de WordPress no lo venden? Si WordPress es tan bueno como todo el mundo dice, es evidente que ganarían mucho más dinero vendiéndolo.
Al fin y al cabo, WordPress impulsa más del 43% de todos los sitios web de Internet.
Esto tendría sentido si WordPress fuera propiedad de una sola empresa o de un particular.
WordPress es un proyecto comunitario de código abierto al que han contribuido decenas de miles de personas con talento para convertirlo en el gran software que es hoy.
Un núcleo de desarrolladores dirige el desarrollo del proyecto, pero cualquiera puede contribuir con parches, corregir fallos, crear características, sugerir funciones, etc.
Además, los jefes de proyecto cambian de una versión a otra. Si te implicas a fondo en la comunidad, también puedes convertirte en un colaborador del núcleo de WordPress.
La filosofía del software de código abierto
La filosofía del movimiento del software de código abierto es que el software es distinto de otros productos tangibles. Una vez creado, puede copiarse muchas veces sin apenas coste.
Tomemos el ejemplo de una fábrica de juguetes.
Cada juguete fabricado tiene diferentes piezas, y cada pieza tiene un coste. La fábrica puede calcular el coste de fabricación de estas piezas para decidir un margen de beneficio razonable para el producto.
Por otro lado, el coste de crear software y hacer copias del mismo no es el mismo. Algunos grupos creen que con cada copia vendida, el margen de beneficio del software se hace más injusto.
Para entender más acerca de los ideales del software de código abierto, marque / compruebe la Filosofía de GNU.
¿Cómo se gana dinero con WordPress?
Las dos principales partes rentables de cualquier software de código abierto son los productos y servicios basados en el mismo software de código abierto.
La gente suele confundir WordPress con WordPress.com, pero en realidad son dos cosas distintas. WordPress (también conocido como WordPress autoalojado o WordPress.org) es una plataforma gratuita de blogs y maquetador de sitios web.
Matt Mullenweg, cofundador y desarrollador de WordPress, lanzó una empresa llamada Automattic, que ofrece servicios gratuitos “restringidos” de alojamiento de blogs en WordPress.com, y se puede pagar / actualizar para desbloquear características y eliminar anuncios.
Sin embargo, para desbloquear todas las características de WordPress, tendrías que actualizarte a un costoso plan de pago. Por ejemplo, no puedes crear una tienda online con WordPress.com a menos que pagues por el plan de comercio electrónico, que cuesta a partir de 45 € al mes.
Automattic ha recaudado más de 985 millones de dólares en financiación.(Fuente.)
Otros desarrolladores también han seguido adelante para crear con éxito negocios multimillonarios en torno a WordPress creando plugins comerciales, temas comerciales e incluso ofreciendo alojamiento para WordPress.
Algunos ejemplos de empresas multimillonarias de WordPress que han tenido éxito son:
- WPEngine – Una empresa de alojamiento gestionado de WordPress que ha recaudado más de 290 millones de dólares y que ahora también posee temas comerciales de StudioPress.
- Awesome Motive – Dirigida por Syed Balkhi, es otra empresa multimillonaria basada en WordPress. La empresa gestiona WPBeginner, OptinMonster, WPForms, MonsterInsights, SeedProd, AIOSEO, Smash Balloon y otros populares plugins de WordPress utilizados por más de 25 millones de sitios web.
- ElegantThemes – Empresa multimillonaria de temas detrás del popular editor de arrastrar y soltar páginas Divi y varios otros plugins.
Relacionado: Consulta nuestro anuncio / catálogo / ficha de las mejores empresas de WordPress.
Los buenos desarrolladores y consultores de WordPress también obtienen unos cómodos ingresos a tiempo completo creando sitios web, aplicaciones y plugins personalizados en torno a WordPress para sus clientes. Muchos de ellos están haciendo más de seis cifras en ganancias anuales por sí mismos.
¿Está WordPress libre de copyright?
No, WordPress no está libre de copyright. Tiene una licencia que permite a todo el mundo utilizarlo, pero cada contribución hecha al software tiene copyright.
La versión se publica bajo licencia GPL (General Public License). Esto significa que puede utilizar, modificar y redistribuir el código. Tendrá el copyright de las modificaciones que realice en el software, pero no de todo el código.
La GPL exige que toda obra derivada que usted publique o distribuya esté también bajo licencia GPL. Usted puede tener copyright para hacer lo que quiera. Pero su obra derivada hereda automáticamente la licencia GPL, de modo que otros son libres de usar, modificar y redistribuir su código como quieran.
¿Todos los temas y plugins Premium de WordPress tienen licencia GPL?
Según una entrada del blog oficial de WordPress.org, los temas también son GPL. Las imágenes, CSS y JavaScript utilizados dentro de los temas y plugins pueden excluirse, pero todas las partes PHP y HTML de los temas y plugins utilizan ampliamente la funcionalidad de WordPress. Por lo tanto, son obras derivadas y están bajo licencia GPL.
Aunque algunos no están de acuerdo, la mayoría de las empresas de confianza de WordPress siguen y acatan las directrices de la comunidad.
¿El contenido publicado con WordPress también hereda la licencia GPL?
No, usted tiene derecho a licenciar su contenido como quiera. A menos que el contenido que publique sea en realidad una obra derivada de WordPress o de cualquier otra obra con licencia GPL.
Por ejemplo, si comparte sus artículos, fotos o cualquier otro material gráfico en su blog, usted es el propietario de todos los derechos de copyright.
Sin embargo, si está escribiendo una entrada de blog en la que muestra a la gente cómo utilizar una función de WordPress con ejemplos, entonces esa entrada de blog en particular podría tener una licencia diferente. El código utilizado en los ejemplos es un trabajo derivado y automáticamente hereda la licencia GPL.
La marca WordPress
El código de WordPress como software se publica bajo licencia GPL, pero las palabras WordPress, WordCamp y el logotipo de WordPress son marcas registradas propiedad de la Fundación WordPress.
Para más información, consulte la Política de marcas comerciales de la Fundación WordPress.
Para distinguir entre un sitio o recurso oficial y uno comunitario, la fundación pide a los usuarios que no utilicen “WordPress” en su nombre de dominio.
Esta es la razón por la que nuestro sitio se llama WPBeginner en lugar de WordPressBeginner. Cualquier sitio web, curso de formación, o recurso que vea que tiene WordPress en su nombre de dominio está probablemente dirigido por alguien que no sabe lo suficiente acerca de WordPress. Esto significa que probablemente no deberías pagarles nada de tu dinero.
La mayoría de las empresas legítimas creadas en torno a WordPress conocen las políticas de marcas y respetan las normas.
Coste del uso de WordPress
WordPress es un software gratuito que puedes descargar y utilizar. Sin embargo, para utilizar WordPress en la web, necesitará alojamiento WordPress.
Puedes utilizar WordPress.com para crear un blog gratuito, pero ten en cuenta que existen algunas diferencias. Consulta nuestra comparativa WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org para más detalles.
El coste de usar WordPress es relativamente mínimo y también es válido para cualquier otro tipo de sitio web. El único coste real es el alojamiento web (7,99 $ al mes) y el nombre de dominio (14 $ al año).
Sin embargo, los usuarios de WPBeginner pueden obtener un nombre de dominio gratis y hasta un 77% de descuento en alojamiento web de Bluehost, lo que significa que puedes empezar un sitio web por tan sólo 2,75 $ al mes.
Bluehost es un proveedor de alojamiento WordPress recomendado oficialmente. Es fiable, viene con instalación de WordPress en 1 clic, ofrece soporte al cliente 24/7, y mucho más.
Relacionado: Cómo crear un blog en WordPress (Guía definitiva)
Los costes adicionales podrían ser los temas comerciales de WordPress, también conocidos como temas premium de WordPress. Sin embargo, no es obligatorio / requerido / necesario utilizarlos porque hay más de 10.800 temas de WordPress gratuitos que puede utilizar.
La gente suele usar plugins comerciales, pero tampoco es obligatorio / requerido / necesario usarlos porque hay más de 59.000 plugins gratuitos para WordPress disponibles.
Hemos creado una guía detallada sobre cuánto cuesta realmente crear un sitio web en WordPress, con instrucciones sobre cómo crear un sitio web con poco presupuesto y ahorrar dinero.
¿Es WordPress gratuito? FAQ
A continuación encontrará algunas de las preguntas más frecuentes acerca de si WordPress es gratuito o no:
¿Por qué cobra WordPress?
WordPress.org es una plataforma de código abierto de descarga y uso gratuitos. Pero hay costes adjuntos si quieres que tu sitio WordPress esté activo en la web. El coste principal es el alojamiento de WordPress y un nombre de dominio, que con Bluehost puede ser desde 2,75 dólares al mes.
También puedes ampliar las características y funcionalidades de tu sitio de WordPress con temas y plugins premium. Sin embargo, puedes mantener los costes bajos utilizando plugins y temas gratuitos.
¿Soypropietario de mi sitio web en WordPress?
Sí, puedes instalar el software de código abierto WordPress.org en un proveedor de alojamiento web para crear un sitio web 100% tuyo. Esto te da un control total sobre el funcionamiento de tu sitio.
Este no es el caso de otras soluciones como WordPress.com. Con WordPress.com, tu sitio puede ser quitado / eliminado en cualquier momento si viola sus términos de servicio. También hay opciones limitadas de personalización y monetización.
¿Puedo ganar dinero con WordPress?
Sí, puede monetizar su sitio de WordPress de muchas maneras diferentes. Por ejemplo, puedes crear un sitio de membresía, iniciar el marketing de afiliación, anunciarte con Google AdSense, vender productos digitales y mucho más.
También puede utilizar el plugin gratuito WPForms para aceptar pagos y donaciones en línea a través de Stripe directamente en su sitio web.
Esperamos que este artículo haya respondido a sus preguntas acerca de las licencias de WordPress, los costes de gestión de un sitio de WordPress y el negocio en torno a WordPress. Quizás también quieras ver nuestro anuncio / catálogo / ficha de ideas de negocio online fáciles de poner en marcha y que realmente generan dinero o nuestras recomendaciones sobre el mejor software de diseño web.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Syed Balkhi says
Hey WPBeginner readers,
Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
You can get more details about the contest from here.
Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!
Amogh Agrawal says
Such a awesome article and very well crafted!
Vince says
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 says
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. says
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 says
Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Administrador
Tonomoshia says
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 says
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 says
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.
Administrador
Azam ali says
There are wordpress free themes, I want to know that how much permission are we having to use them freely
WPBeginner Support says
Most WordPress themes are GPL Licensed, you may want to contact your theme developer for terms of service and support.
Administrador
ilayaraja says
i bought one copy of wordpress theme license(per user). can i apply it on my friend site?
WPBeginner Support says
Contact theme developer to learn more about their licensing terms.
Administrador
Adebayo idris says
How can I create free website with wordpress?
Shazia Kausar says
Thanks for great post.
Elyse Sokoloff says
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 says
Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Administrador
Elyse Sokoloff says
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 says
yes! you are right!!
Pete says
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 says
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 says
Glad you found it useful.
Administrador
Chidi Anslem says
Great and useful post. I found this very enlightening. It’s cleared most of my misconceptions.
Oge Brenda says
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 says
Hi Oge Brenda,
You may want to see our step by step guide on how to start a WordPress blog.
Administrador
one says
very informative post. It’s helps me to understand the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org.
Christian says
Yay! I hate TF too
I really enjoyed how the article “missed” mentioning TF heheh
Victoria says
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 says
If you don’t use WordPress on the web will people still be able to view your blog?
rayan says
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 says
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 says
Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Administrador
Daniyal Ahmed says
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 says
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.
Administrador
Saloni says
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 says
How good is wordpress for multi-vendor e-commerce site?
WPBeginner Support says
There are already many such sites built with WordPress, and they are doing great.
Administrador
jalil khan says
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 says
Please see our WordPress hosting guide.
Administrador
Sacha says
WordPress is truly is amazing!
Letala says
Thanks. This article was very helpful.
Serouj says
My entire business is based on WordPress. I can only say thank you!
Adeel Sami says
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 says
Hey WPBeginner, thanks a ton for sharing such insightful information about WordPress guidelines.
elisa says
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 says
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.
Administrador
eileen f says
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 says
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 says
You can begin from wpbeginner
Syed Balkhi says
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 says
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 says
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 says
excellent explanation…. i didn’t get it til now thanks WPBeginner!!
Debra says
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 says
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.
Administrador
ahsan karim says
You are a great man. bundle of thanks
Shane Chambers says
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 says
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 says
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.
Administrador
chris says
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 says
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.
Administrador
Grace says
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 says
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
Administrador
Adrian says
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 says
“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 says
Free doesn’t refer to the price, it refers to freedom. You can read more about it here:
http://codex.wordpress.org/License
Administrador
Ian Dunn says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Let us know if we could be of any help in your journey with WordPress
Administrador
Keller Coleman says
Great post, I love my WordPress site
Igor P. says
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 says
Yes Igor, it is truly remarkable what WordPress has done for so many.
Administrador
Caspar Hübinger says
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 says
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.
Administrador
Paul says
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 says
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
Administrador
Austin Gunter says
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 says
Hala GPL! Hala WordPress!
Haseeb Ahmad Ayazi says
These were also in my mind. Thanks to Syed Balkhi for this great information