WordPress is blogging software originally developed by a company named Automattic. Instead of charging people to use WordPress, Automattic made it "open source," which means that it's free for anyone to use or modify as they see fit. That fact is one of the main reasons why WordPress is so popular: Automattic's decision to make it open source allowed people to earn money by developing themes and extensions, which resulted in an incredibly customizable and powerful platform. Today, you can find an affordable (or even free) plugin to extend WordPress' functionality for almost any purpose you can imagine. Automattic owns and operates Wordpress.com, which allows users to create free or paid WordPress blogs without the need to sign up for external hosting (like a Flywheel or Bluehost account) or install software. Wordpress.com is the main way Automattic makes money from the software it created.Wordpress.org is where you go to download the free, self-hosted WordPress software (sometimes referred to as WordPress Community Edition or WordPress CE). Once you've downloaded it, you have to install it on a web server (which is why you need a hosting account).