On May 27, 2003 Matt announced the availability of the first version of WordPress. It was well-received by the community. It was based on b2 Cafelog with significant improvements. The first version of WordPress included a new admin interface, new templates, and generated XHTML 1.1 compliant templates.
You can download the WordPress source code for free and upload it with a hosting provider of your choice. Going this route is also called ‘self-hosting’ WordPress. As this option doesn’t include hosting, you’ll need to find and pay for separate hosting and be more involved on the technical side to build and maintain your website effectively.
Includes managed hosting, which helps optimize your website for speed, security, and performance. Managed hosting takes care of many technical aspects of your site for you. WordPress.com has many plans with increasingly powerful features for different site types and budgets.
Both WordPress.com and WordPress.org let you utilize the powerful WordPress software to build and manage a website. The main difference comes down to your specific site needs and if you’d prefer to take advantage of WordPress.com’s award-winning managed hosting or host your website on your own with a third-party hosting provider.