We have covered the WordPress Free, Personal and Premium Plans. Before moving on to the next one - Business Plan - ensure that you have gone through episodes 9 (Free Plan), 10 (Personal Plan) and 11 (Premium Plan) and have understood all the three plans since they form the prerequisite for this episode. To check the plans, go to WordPress.com and select See Plans link next to Get Started button on this page.
The WordPress Business Plan description suggests it to be the ‘Best for small businesses’ and is next to the Premium plan (and the highest) on upgrade hierarchy. It offers maximum features and allows to add maximum custom functionality to a blog or website.
BUSINESS PLAN
Being next to the Premium plan in the upgrade scheme of WordPress plans, Business Plan offers all the features offered as part of Premium Plan: custom domain, email & live chat support, premium themes, advanced design customization and WordPress Ads removed. It additionally offers the following benefits:Custom Plugins
The ability to implement plug-ins is the most important reason to go for Business Plan. I am contemplating it to implement my Email marketing strategy as part of which I need to embed e-mail sign-up forms on my website in the header, sidebar and footer regions. WordPress plug-in architecture allows to include the custom features for your specific needs. To quote from WordPress Codex, the online manual from WordPress.org, and a living repository for WordPress information and documentation:“Plugins are ways to extend and add to functionality that already exists in WordPress. The core of WordPress is designed to be lean and lightweight, to maximize flexibility and minimize code bloat. Plugins then offer custom functions and features so that each user can tailor their site to their specific needs. WordPress plugins are available from several sources. The most popular and official source for WordPress plugins is the WordPress.org's repository.”
(Link: https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugins)
WordPress repository hosts more than 50,000 plugins thus offering users plenty of ways to extend functionality of their blog or site. If you self-host WordPress by buying a hosting plan from a web-host vendor and installing WordPress software (which is free), as I mentioned in Episode 7 (WordPress.org Vs WordPress.com), you don’t need to do anything special or pay extra to install any of these plugins on your websites. Mind it though, plugin vendors may charge for their plugins or services rendered by their plugins.
Upload custom themes
If you are not happy with any of the standard themes provided by WordPress.com, you may upload your own theme with a Business Plan and customize it the way you like giving you complete freedom like a self-hosted website.Google Analytics Integration
Google Analytics allows you to monitor your blog or website traffic and analyze different kinds of reports to study the visitors’ statistics enabling you to act with deep understanding about your visitors, source of traffic, etc. Business Plan allows you to use Google Analytics on your blog or site.Unlimited storage space
You can upload more files, images and videos, if the other plans don’t suffice for your needs.Remove WordPress.com Branding
With all the other plans, the Footer displays WordPress branding (like ‘Powered by WordPress.com) and you didn’t have option to remove it. With a Business Plan up your sleeves, you can remove it and focus on your own brand.End Note
To unleash the full power of WordPress and benefit from its full functions and features, there are 2 options: (1) self-host your blog or site with a web-hosting service provider, or (2) go for WordPress.com’s Business Plan. With the first option, you have to manage the hosting technicalities, safety and security of your site while for a person who wants to refrain from investing time in non-productive technical activities and focus on her/his online business, Business Plan is justified. For a hobbyist, a Personal or Premium Plan may be sufficient.This brings our discussion on WordPress Plans to an end and you can see and compare them from use case perspective in the next Episode 13 of the series. Hope it clarified things for you and equipped you with the necessary know-how to select your plan and what to expect. Nothing is cast in stone. You can always upgrade to a higher plan or ask for refund within the first 30 days if you made a wrong choice.
Wish you ‘All the Best’ in your blogging journey! Pay it forward by sharing with others and spreading the message. Thanks for your interest in this space :)
✧ Disclaimer: My blog posts include reviews of products helpful for bloggers and have affiliate links. In this post, it is WordPress.com. I have purchased, used and tested it thoroughly. I earn commission if you buy a paid plan using the link. Rest assured, it doesn’t cost you extra and you pay the same price. It helps me to fund the costs and time spent on my blog and site. Thanks for using it.
✧Image courtesy of WordPress.com: taken from their Home Page.
Yup, agree. Go for WordPress. With the massive community of experts, there will be someone out there ready to help you, just like our partners in wordpress website support Sydney.
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