I’m using the free plan for WordPress right now. I got it to gain some understanding of the very basics of it. However, I find it difficult to really make anything, especially through the “Design your own” feature given design limitations. I also can’t integrate any plugins (I’m not complaining about these limitations, as I understand that it is the free version, so of course they are only going to allow the very basics).
What I’m curious about is what would allow me the most flexibility while also being affordable. WordPress charges a lot for anything above free relative to Hostinger. However, I’m not sure what level I need for Hostinger to get what I want (design flexibility in designing my own theme and use of plugins like google analytics). What should I get?
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There is flexibility but there is also responsibility that you don’t have with wordpress .com. You will also be responsible for ensuring your installation is secure, and if something in your installation breaks, you will be responsible to either fix it yourself or hire someone to fix it. With wordpress .com that is taken care of for you.
“Free plan for WordPress” – you’re referring to [Wordpress.com](https://Wordpress.com), not WordPress – they’re two different things.
Hosting anywhere that isn’t [Wordpress.com](https://Wordpress.com) gives you FULL access to all of WordPress, any plugin, and any theme.
You’re on wordpress.com plan, which has a lot of stuff locked up behind a paywall.
Hostinger is a hosting company, where you set up wordpress.org system, and get to edit it any way you want, be it the core files, plugins, themes, builders, etc. The minimum plan I’d recommend from Hostinger is their Cloud Startup. I heard that one’s ok. Anything below that is probably not worth it. You can even find a coupon for an additional 5-10% off if you’re paying for 4 years in advance. The price is pretty good, considering most cheap shared hosting is around $200/year now.
Alternatively you can try either rocket.net or siteground, which are also good for the “lower-cost” hosting providers.