What Is Self-Hosted WordPress? (Expert Explains)

You’ve heard of WordPress. Maybe you even know there’s more than one kind of “it.” But when someone says “self-hosted WordPress,” it doesn’t sound even remotely clear. More like a buzzword. This post clears that up. No fluff.

I’ll explain what self-hosted WordPress actually is, where you can get it, how it works, and what it costs. I’ll also break down how it’s different from WordPress.com…because yes, they’re not the same thing.

If you want control over your site, real ownership, and the freedom to build it your way, this matters. You don’t need to be a developer. You just need to know what you’re getting into. Let’s make it simple. 👍

What exactly is self-hosted WordPress

Self-hosted WordPress means you run the WordPress software on your own web hosting account. You get the software for free, then install it on a hosting service you choose and pay for.

You own the setup. That means more control, more freedom, and more responsibility. You can use any theme or plugin you want. You can change the code. You can move your site anywhere.

Pro tip: most of the mainstream web hosts offer handy helper tools that will actually handle the installation for you – so that you don’t have to do any downloading yourself.

When you choose to self-host WordPress, you:

• Get to select your own web host: You can pick a hosting provider that fits your specific needs and budget, whether it’s shared hosting for simplicity or something more powerful for maximum performance.
• Have full control over your site: You have access to all your site’s files, allowing you to install custom themes and plugins, modify code, and tailor your site exactly how you want it.
• Own your content completely: All your website’s content and data are stored on your server space, giving you full ownership without any third-party limitations.
• Monetize freely: You’re free to run advertisements, sell products, and generate revenue without restrictions imposed by a hosting platform.

However, this level of control also means you’re responsible for:

• Maintenance and updates: You’ll need to manage WordPress updates, plugin installations, and regular backups yourself. That being said; many hosting providers offer tools to help simplify these tasks, but as it always is with these kinds of things – you get what you pay for; meaning that in most cases, all those extra perks will cost you additionally.
• Technical troubleshooting: If any issues arise, it’s your responsibility to resolve them, either on your own or with assistance from your hosting provider’s support team. In other words, no errors will fix themselves.

In my opinion, “self hosting WordPress” is still the best way to “own a WordPress website.” It gives you the most control and the most customizability. These benefits far outweigh the costs of having to be a bit more hands-on with your site management and admin tasks.

Differences between self-hosting WordPress and hosted WordPress

The no.1 most confusing element of the WordPress ecosystem is that there are basically two “versions” of WordPress. There’s the software you get at WordPress.org – this is what becomes self-hosted WordPress – and then there’s the commercial hosted solution at WordPress.com.

👉 If you’re interested in a more in-depth explanation, we have a whole resource on the topic here: WordPress.com vs WordPress.org. Here’s the shortened version:

An overview of how self-hosted WordPress works

Most guides on the web say that you can “get WordPress from WordPress.org” (before installing it on a host of your choosing). While this still works, what actually happens in most of the cases these days is that you tell the host to install the WordPress software for you. So you don’t actually have to “get WordPress” from anywhere.

With self-hosting WordPress, the standard user workflow goes something like this:

• You install the WordPress software on a third-party host
• You get to use the WordPress software however you wish
• You can even add custom code to your site, not to mention all the plugins and themes available on the web
• You can monetize your site without restrictions (ads, products, etc.)

However, all this freedom comes with the responsibility of sometimes having to manage technical tasks like updates, backups, or security tweaks.

An overview of how hosted WordPress works (aka WordPress.com)

Hosted WordPress is what you get through WordPress.com. This path provides an overall more streamlined experience. All the hosting and technical maintenance are handled for you, allowing you to focus solely on creating content.

While this convenience is appealing, it comes with lots of limitations:

• Customization options are restricted, especially on free or basic plans
• You will face constraints on available ways of monetization
• You also don’t have full access to your site’s code, which limits advanced customizations
• And, most importantly, you have only a limited library of plugins and themes at your disposal

So, which one should you choose?

It really depends on what you’re looking for:

• If you want maximum flexibility, control and don’t mind visiting the hosting admin panel from time to time, self-hosting WordPress is a fantastic choice. You’ll have the power to build the site of your dreams.
• If you prefer simplicity and a hands-off approach to site management, hosted WordPress could be the way to go. It’s user-friendly and takes care of the technical heavy lifting.

Personally, I love the freedom that comes with self-hosting. Sure, it requires a bit more effort, but the ability to customize every aspect of my site makes it totally worth it for me.

The costs of self-hosting WordPress

Okay, so here’s the thing; even though the WordPress software itself is free and open source, there are still several expenses you need to consider to get your site up and running smoothly:

The big one: web hosting fees

The most significant cost is web hosting.

Hosting providers offer various plans to suit different needs. Most users, however, will opt for shared hosting. This is a budget-friendly option where your website shares server resources with other sites that are on the same server. Prices typically range from $3-$10 per month.

Another, a bit more premium option, it’s what’s called managed WordPress hosting. In this model, the hosting company takes care of all the technical aspects of the setup, and you just get to enjoy WordPress. This one’s usually in the $20-$30 per month range.

Domain name registration

A domain name is your website’s address on the web (e.g., yourwebsite.com). Registering a new domain typically costs between $10 and $15 per year. There are specialized companies that will handle the registration for you – called domain registrars.

That being said, some hosting providers offer a free domain for the first year when you sign up for a new hosting plan (Bluehost and SiteGround both offer free domain names for new sites).

Premium themes and plugins (optional)

Just to make it clear out the gate, you don’t have to pay anything for plugins or themes if you don’t want to – there’s more than enough free options available out there. However, in case your type of website requires premium or custom solutions, those will also cost you. Usually:

• Premium themes: The most popular themes out there are free. However, even those often offer premium upgrades to unlock more designs or more features. Prices usually range from $30 to $100 as a one-time fee or annual subscription.
• Premium plugins: Those add specialized functionality to your site, such as advanced SEO tools, additional payment methods (for ecommerce stores), or membership systems. Costs vary widely, from $15 to several hundred dollars, depending on the plugin.

Summary of costs

The above is just a rough summary of what it cost to build a website on WordPress. If you’re like a more in-depth breakdown, we have that as well 👉 here.

How to get started with self-hosted WordPress

The following process is just a general summary of the steps involved. It will get you in the right direction just fine, but if you need more guidance, feel free to check out this detailed guide of ours: 👉 How to make a WordPress website.

1. Choose a web host

First, you’ll need to choose a web hosting provider. This is where your website’s files will reside and from where your content is going to get delivered to your visitors.

Picking the right company is not always the most straightforward thing, but we’ve spent some time to create resources that could help you out.

I encourage you to read this comparison of ours. It goes through the top hosts for WordPress. When putting it together, we consider things like user opinions, our months-long performance tests, and also our own experimentation with each platform. Here’s a short excerpt of the top hosts from there:

2. Get a domain name

We’ve talked about domain names a bit in this post already.

You have two options here basically:

• If your host offers domain name registration while setting up the hosting account, it’s going to be the easiest for you to take them up on that offer. For example, Bluehost does will give you a domain name for free for the first year. They will then automatically connect that domain to your hosting account. In other words, no need to worry about making the domain and host communicate with each other.
• You can also get your domain name elsewhere – from a third-party domain registrar. Here’s a list of the top registrars. If you go this route, the setup will be a bit more complex – you’ll need to connect the domain to your web host. It’s best to refer to the host’s docs to find out how to do that exactly (the procedure differs for each host).

3. Install WordPress

Once you have hosting and a domain, it’s time to install WordPress.

Many hosting services actually offer a one-click installation feature, which simplifies this step significantly. Actually, I shouldn’t say that many hosts offer it, but rather that every self-respecting web host in 2025 should offer this feature (every host on our shortlist does)!

Here’s how it works with Bluehost, for example:

After you’ve signed up with Bluehost, you’re going to receive an email with the details on how to log into your account. Then, Bluehost provides a simple setup wizard that walks you through installing WordPress. It’s basically just a couple of clicks through various panels of the user interface.

To get started, in the Bluehost panel, go into Websites and then click on ADD SITE:

Bluehost will also ask if you’re creating a new site or transferring over an existing one. After that, Bluehost needs just a site name that you want to set and the username/password that you want to use when logging into it later on.

Once you’ve completed the wizard, your WordPress is installed and ready to go!

4. Log in to WordPress and customize your site

With WordPress installed, you can begin to customize your site.

First, log in by visiting YOURDOMAIN.com/wp-admin/

You’ll get redirected to the main WordPress dashboard. Spend some time exploring the dashboard to familiarize yourself with its features and settings.

From here, you can go to Appearance (screenshot above) to install a theme, or to Plugins (also screenshot above) to get some new functionality onto your site.

Start with the theme. Choose a theme that fits your vision.

You can browse themes directly in your dashboard by going to Themes → Add New and using the search function.

The great thing about themes is that they essentially provide you with everything you need for a fully functioning site. And you can even choose them based on your needs. There are themes for online stores, blogs, news sites, and more.

Or, if you don’t have the time to look through all that, you can pick a multipurpose theme like our Neve FSE. Check it out!

Finding and installing plugins works very much the same way. Just go to your dashboard and select Plugins → Add New. From there, you can use the search feature to find the plugin you need.

Not sure which plugins to get? Check out this list of the 👉 must-have plugins + why you actually need them

5. Start creating content

Once you’ve picked a theme and plugins for your site, you can start designing your main pages.

WordPress itself comes with a couple of pages already: Sample and Privacy Policy. Plus, many themes come with their own set of template pages. Most commonly those are: About, Contact, Services.

To customize a page, simply navigate to your dashboard and hit Pages in the left-hand menu:

Here, you’ll find any pre-existing pages your theme includes. You can hover over any page and click on Edit beneath it.

Alternatively, you can select the Add New button at the top of the page to create totally new pages. Just make sure to save your changes as you go and hit Publish when you’re done.

Conclusion 🧐

You can use it to create almost any type of website you can think of. But, if you want to do that on a self-hosted setup, you need to be ready to do a lot of the work yourself – but that’s the fun part!

Do you have any questions about self-hosting WordPress? Let us know in the comments section below!