Choosing a Wordpress Platform

There are three versions of Wordpress. Each version is designed to meet various needs of bloggers. The three different versions of Wordpressare the following:

The hosted version at Wordpress.com
The self-hosted version. (You can download self-hosted version of Wordpress at Wordpress.org)
The multiuser version, which is often referred to as Wordpress MU. It is available at http://mu.wordpress.org.

The difference of different versions of Wordpress, in terms of features, are stated in the table below.

Feature	Wordpress.org	Wordpress.com	Wordpress MU
Cost	Free	Free	Free
Software download	Yes	No	Yes
Installation	Yes	No	Yes
Web Hosting	Yes	No	Yes
Custom CSS control	Yes	$15 / year	Yes (MU administrator only)
Template access	Yes	No	Yes (MU administrator only)
Sidebar widgets	Yes	Yes	Yes
RSS syndication	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ability to install plugins	Yes	No	Yes (MU administrator only)
WP theme installation	Yes	No	Yes
Multiauthor support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Unlimited number of blog setups with one account	No	Yes	Yes

Choosing the Wordpress.com

Wordpress.com is a free service. At Wordpress.com, everything is done for you on the back end for you. No download, installation or server configuration is required. However Wordpress.com has some limitations. You can not install plugins or custom themes.

If you are new to blogging, Wordpress.com is an excellent starting point. Wordpress.com will create your very first blog for you. You can even start writing your first blog post upon in a matter of minutes.

Self-hosted Version of Wordpress

If would like to host your blog on your server, you can download the self-hosted version of wordpress from wordpress.org. The minimum software requirements for wordpress include:

PHP version 4.3 or greater
MySQL version 4.0 or greater.

With self-hosted version, you can install several plugins that extend the functionality of wordpress. You also have full control of the core files. You have full access to the template system within wordpress and you can create your own custom themes.

Multiuser Version of Wordpress

Wordpress MU lets you run thousands of blogs on one installation of wordpress on one domain. It is available here at: http://mu.wordpress.org.

Wordpress MU provides bloggers all the functionality of other versions of wordpress. However, the administration interface for Wordpress MU is different from wordpress.com or self-hosted version. It allows administrator to configure options and settings for multiple blogs across the network.

Wordpress MU is not for casual user or beginner. It is also not for blogger who want to run few blogs on one domain. It is for blog networks that have hundred of blogs.

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