Wordpress or .com?

The ideal would be something like wordpress + phpbb, both under your domain ofc

I'm in the same boat.

It seems if it's purely wordpress, there are certain limitations and I'm trying to find out exactly what they are.

For example, I would like to sell amazon products on my site, promote a mailing list, accept payments through paypal, etc. But I'm not sure if I can do this with their free service, plus I'm wondering if they embed their own advertisements.

Thanks for your replies.

Thing is the wordpress upgrde (needed to allow the pbhh plug in) is quite expensive relative to just getting my own domain and just finding another forum provider.

Also the .com rather than wordpress.com would give the site better credability imo.

Anybody fully set up a web site on either of the above routes?

Wordpress works well (high ranking page rank, simple to use format for newbies)

GoDaddy's in-house website builder is fairly straightforward to use, and the best part about using them is they have tech support ready to standby to help.

I've used both personally and would recommend Wordpress for a simpler project, and GoDaddy if you will need more functionality...such as the forum feature you mentioned.

using wordpress.com as your main website is NOT a good idea if your planning on taking your business serious, use wordpress on YOUR OWN domian, using wordpress on your own domain has much more options and is just as easy to use + you can use all sorts of plugins for the things you want, all without any costs for the wordpress part, your own domain will costs a little money but 200% worth it if you are into this in a serious way, wordpress.com as your main site is for hobbyists, only use wordpress.com to support your main site for seo purposes, but that is advanced stuff.

buy a domain that is keyword targeted to your niche (reseaech this before doing anything) at a place like namecheap or simular, search for discount codes or coupons (google) to save money, get cheap hosting at places like hostgator (baby plan) and host UNLIMITED of your own domains for a low price with great service, upload and install wordpress, very easy (tutorials on youtube) and you are ready to roch and roll!

good luck

I would get a self-hosted wordpress blog. I would never build a business around a free blogging platform like Wordpress.com,they can terminate your account for any reason. Spend $10 a month with Host Gator and install wordpress on a server you own and control. Buy your domains from a domain registar like GoDaddy or NameCheap.

You don't need to use other website-building tools. If you want a WordPress blog, just download from www.wordpress.org (it's free) and install it on your own domain with your own hosting company. There are tons of free tutorials online which will show you how to set up your WordPress site. There are no restrictions - those only apply for blogs hosted on wordpress.com

Frank

I kind of see what your saying, but I really like the feel of weebly. I am still wondering....

If I continue to use the free version to build my site, could I then convert it to a proper .com address on weebly* and then take this page and self host it on to Hostgator where I pay the $10 a month?

*When I opted for the free version of weebly I could also have paid for a .com instead (rather than the .weebly.com I am currently using).

For long term online business success, it`s strongly recommended that you decide on your own domain name. Primarily choose your name as a domain name if it`s your first time to pick one.

Imo if you go with Wordpress use the self hosted version on your own domain and hosting

Your best bet is to stop using WordPress.com and especially Weebly. If you are serious get yourself a domain name and a reliable hosting plan. Setup a self hosted WordPress site and get down to business.

Ben you should go for a self hosted wordpress.. That is buy your own domain and a shared host. This is has better advantage than going for the wordpress.com

You can have your own optin form to build list, install any custom plugin you want, you do virtually anything you can imagine with your own self hosted wordpress.

If you need help setting up your own wordpress easily... You can PM for help. I will be glad to help you set it up easily and on time.

Wordpress hosted on your own domain would be the best way of doing this IMHO. There's no "advanced version of wordpress", just the regular one, which is updated frequently.

You'll need a forum plug-in, to make it interactive. There are a lot to choose from, this site lists a few of them (not an affiliate link) Best 5 WordPress Forum Plugins And Themes - WPMU DEV

Personally, wouldn't buy anything from GoDaddy except a domain name. If you use their proprietary software you're at their mercy if they discontinue it. WP is open source. There are also a TON of WP videos on Youtube as well as books on how to build a WP site.

Keep your hosting and domain reg separate BTW; then you can shop around for a better deal at renewal time.

You should definitely get your own domain and install wordpress on it. Later on, you can add a forum too, if you find it necessary.

Definitely go for WordPress. But if you're starting to build a forum/discussion board website, it's kindda difficult for beginners. And for WordPress, go for self-hosted instead of WordPress.com as having full ownership (via domain name) is important.