Title: WordPress.org v WordPress.com Last modified: August 20, 2016 --- # WordPress.org v WordPress.com * [Despina](https://wordpress.org/support/users/despina/) * (@despina) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/) * I have already posted my message on another part of the forum, but did not receive a reply. PLEASE HELP! * I am totally confused! I set up a self-hosted site on WordPress.com ([http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com](http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com)– however when I go into it, there is no dashboard, just the blogs that I transferred from Blogspot.com a while back. * I was about to add a plugin and do some work to the site (I have been very sick for a while and not been on the computer for nearly a month), but there is nothing to work with. * It is suggesting I go to WordPress.org to build the site and go through a self- hosting company where the WordPress.org site can be downloaded instantly, but I have already done that. I am hosted through Hostgator, and downloaded WordPress. com from there. * I hope someone can explain what I am doing wrong, and if so, give me step by step instructions on what to do. * I have already got another site built through WordPress.com and never had this problem, all the interface/dashboard etc was already there. * Thank you in advance for your help. * Despina Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total) * [Pothi Kalimuthu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pothi/) * (@pothi) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456152) * Hi Despina, * You seem to have a bit of confusion on the terms used. You might want to start from [here](http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/) and see if that helps you. * Pothi * Thread Starter [Despina](https://wordpress.org/support/users/despina/) * (@despina) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456276) * Hi Pothi, * Thanks for your reply. I have read the ‘wordpress’ over, but it still doesn’t answer my problem. * I am using my site on WordPress ? .com/.org to promote products as an affiliate marketer, and as far as I am aware you are not allowed to post affiliate links on wordpress.com sites!! * Can you have a look at my site again and see what you think. As far as I am concerned I am doing it through wordpress.com self-hosted, but when I click on my site it is just like a blog site and there is no dashboard to help me build my site. It has me really confused as I said before, I already have another site I built through wordpress.com and all the extras that I needed for plugins, SEO etc were there. * If I was to do it through wordpress.org does it have the SEO pack, plugins etc. * What to keep in mind is that I need to put a link on the home page to link up with my affiliate product. * See what you think and let me know. I appreciate your help very much. * My site address is [http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com](http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com) * Look forward to hearing from you to enable me to move forward. * Thanks again. * D Wood * [joshuacarpenter20](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joshuacarpenter20/) * (@joshuacarpenter20) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456279) * Never occurred to me that, so I would recommend that you seek the opinion of a technician, because I would not like to give bad advice and bring you more errors. Because if you are doing a big job is important not to touch a lot and let someone who knows more. Well I hope someone can help you a bit more in this forum. Greetings. _[sig moderated as per the [Forum Rules](http://codex.wordpress.org/Forum_Welcome)]_ * [Pothi Kalimuthu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pothi/) * (@pothi) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456307) * > If I was to do it through wordpress.org does it have the SEO pack, plugins > etc. * By default, no. But, there are a lot of plugins available to do these. * You can install any of the plugins from [http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com/wp-admin/plugin-install.php](http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com/wp-admin/plugin-install.php) * You’ll be asked to login, if not done yet. * > I am totally confused! I set up a self-hosted site on ([http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com](http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com)– > however when I go into it, there is no dashboard * To access the dashboard and to install the plugins, please login to your site at [http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com/wp-login.php](http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com/wp-login.php) or [http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com/wp-admin/](http://www.stopsleepapneatoday.com/wp-admin/) * Once you logged in, you’ll be able to insert any links, as the dashboard should look almost like what you see in your other site at wordpress.com. * Hope this helps. * Pothi * Thread Starter [Despina](https://wordpress.org/support/users/despina/) * (@despina) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456399) * Hi Pothi, * I have logged in under the url you suggested, and YES, it has the dashboard, thank goodness. So is this where I can build a complete site or just a blog? * I have another question, perhaps you can answer, is it possible to have just a blog which can take affiliate links? When they refer to a blog (I have done plenty of them, but just short comments), if you made it with decent content about your affiliate product, can you insert a link to your affiliate site, and if you are able to add the affiliate link, where would I go to create the blog– WordPress.org or WordPress.com? One of these days I will finally be able to understand all this, but there is so much to learn to get you started. * One of the things that bothers me is, if I wanted to promote different products, I would need to get a new domain name for whichever niche I am promoting + hosting, so it could work out quite costly if I promoted a number of products – unfortunately my income is minimal as I am unable to work due to long term illness, so I have to think about outlay all the time. * If you wanted to create a number of products within the same niche, ie health– what would be the best way to do this – a blog, a landing page or whatever. If it was a blog you wouldn’t have any extras like SEO or plugins built in would you. Do you actually need SEO for a blog or landing page. Am I right in saying that a landing page is only one page, ie your ‘home’ page of a website where your visitors would arrive at if they clicked on your link. Can you create a landing page (one) to promote an affiliate product – this would cut down the length of time used creating the page (long or short), than creating a full website with say 5/6 pages + posts which I have at the moment. I am not being lazy, it is just the time factor, as I am unable to sit at the computer for more than 2 hours at a time. * I am sorry to bombard you with all these questions, but it would make such a difference if you could answer them and then I can actually get started doing more promotions. Believe it or not I have read so many PDFs and watched all the videos going, that my head feels like it is going to burst. I like to print off my PDFs and over the last few months I have used nearly 3 packs of A4 paper. * As a matter of interest, how did you know what url to use that gave me access to the full WordPress dashboard. I know I gave you my url, but how do you know about the extra bit, ie wp-login etc, etc. When I type in [http://stopsleepapneatoday.com](http://stopsleepapneatoday.com), why does it not take me to the complete WordPress site? * I had better stop now, I have quite a few unanswered questions yet, but these are my main concern. * Thank you so much for your help, it is much appreciated. * D Wood * [RichardWPG](https://wordpress.org/support/users/richardwpg/) * (@richardwpg) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456400) * [http://codex.wordpress.org/New_To_WordPress_-_Where_to_Start](http://codex.wordpress.org/New_To_WordPress_-_Where_to_Start) * [Pothi Kalimuthu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pothi/) * (@pothi) * [14 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456402) * The above link is the best place to start. * For the URL: any WordPress site with default installation will have this URL structure such as [http://anydomain.com/wp-login.php](http://anydomain.com/wp-login.php) or [http://anydomain.com/wp-admin](http://anydomain.com/wp-admin). For example, you can go to the sites at [WordPress Showcase](http://wordpress.org/showcase/) and can see that most sites have this structure. * For affiliate links: I’m sorry, I hardly have any experience with the affilate links. So, I can’t answer anything in that subject. * [rebecca anne tischler](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rebecca-anne-tischler/) * (@rebecca-anne-tischler) * [13 years, 12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456525) * hello, I have an existing account with wordpress.com and am wanting to switch it to wordpress.org. I am currently hosted through dreamhost, is this an easy thing to do? thanks! * [Pothi Kalimuthu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pothi/) * (@pothi) * [13 years, 12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456526) * > is this an easy thing to do? * It depends. Please see, if you are familiar with [moving a blog](http://en.support.wordpress.com/moving-a-blog/#moving-to-wordpress-org). If you couldn’t understand any particular point or if you need any help on the way, you are always welcome to post your question here (probably in a separate thread). If those instructions are hard to understand and if you are willing to pay for the services, please check out the [guided transfer from WordPress.com](http://en.support.wordpress.com/guided-transfer/). Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total) The topic ‘WordPress.org v WordPress.com’ is closed to new replies. * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/) * 9 replies * 5 participants * Last reply from: [Pothi Kalimuthu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pothi/) * Last activity: [13 years, 12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpressorg-v-wordpresscom/#post-2456526) * Status: not resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics