Want to test drive WordPress without spending money on a domain or web hosting? As a WordPress expert with over 15 years of experience, I‘m going to walk you through the best options to try WordPress 100% free.
This detailed guide will save you time and money as you evaluate whether WordPress is the right choice for your website. I‘ll share insider tips to help you get the most out of your free WordPress trial.
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Why Try WordPress Without a Domain or Hosting First?
Let me start by explaining why it‘s smart to try before you buy with WordPress…
WordPress now powers over 41% of all websites on the Internet according to WordPress News. The software runs millions of sites from personal blogs to enterprise websites.
But before you join the WordPress movement, it‘s wise to give it a test drive first.
Here‘s why:
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Buying a domain and hosting requires an upfront investment. You want to evaluate WordPress before spending money.
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Each WordPress site needs regular maintenance like updates, security, backups, etc. Trying WordPress out will give you a feel for the commitment required.
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With open source software like WordPress, you have lots of freedom but also more responsibility. It‘s not as simple as services like Wix or Squarespace.
The official WordPress.org platform doesn‘t offer a free trial version. So you can‘t easily "kick the tires" before you install WordPress.
Luckily, I‘m going to share expert techniques to use WordPress 100% free without needing a domain name or web hosting account.
Let‘s look at your options…
1. Try WordPress Risk-Free with Refundable Hosting
The easiest way to try the full WordPress software in a live environment is using refundable WordPress hosting.
Here‘s how this works:
- You sign up for managed WordPress hosting and pay upfront.
- You get access to install and use WordPress on your hosting account.
- Build a test website and try all of WordPress‘s features.
- If you decide WordPress isn‘t for you, cancel within the refund period to get your money back.
This gives you a risk-free way to evaluate WordPress on a live server with your own domain name.
Your hosting account acts as a sandbox where you can experiment with:
- Installing themes
- Testing different plugins
- Building your site design
- Creating content
- And more
If you end up liking WordPress, just keep your site online. If you don‘t, cancel for a full refund.
I recommend these 3 leading managed WordPress hosts for trying WordPress risk-free:
1. Bluehost
- 30 day money back guarantee
- Free domain name included
- Pre-installed WordPress
- 24/7 support
2. SiteGround
- 30 day refund policy
- Superfast web hosting
- Free CDN and SSL
- 1-click WP installer
3. DreamHost
- 97 day refund window
- Free domain registration
- Optional managed WordPress hosting
- 100% renewable energy
Out of these, I suggest going with Bluehost as your temporary sandbox. Here are a few reasons why:
- Large $200+ million dollar company with over 2 million customers
- Recommended by WordPress.org itself
- Over 15 years experience with WordPress hosting
- Their servers are optimized for WordPress performance
- They offer 24/7 live chat support in case you need help
Here is a step-by-step walkthrough of using Bluehost to try WordPress 100% risk-free:
Sign Up and Pay
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Go to Bluehost and select their low-cost Basic shared hosting plan. Make sure to decline any optional addons.
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At checkout, skip domain registration. We don‘t need a custom domain for testing purposes.
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Enter your credit card information to pay for hosting access. One month of Basic should be around $3-7 depending on current discounts.
Install WordPress
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After signup, Bluehost will automatically install the latest version of WordPress for you.
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You‘ll get an email with credentials to access your hosting account.
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Log into your Bluehost dashboard and click "Log in to WordPress" to access your site.
Test Drive WordPress
- Congrats, you now have a live WordPress site for free! Start experimenting:
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Try installing themes like Astra to change the design
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Add plugins like WPForms for forms/surveys
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Create test pages and blog posts
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Make it feel like your own site as you evaluate WordPress
Get a Refund
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If you decide WordPress isn‘t the right fit, cancel your hosting account within 30 days.
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Bluehost will refund the full hosting amount you paid initially.
This lets you try WordPress risk-free on your own live site. You can tinker with features before deciding whether to continue.
2. Use WordPress Locally on Your Computer
Another excellent (and unlimited) way to try WordPress is by running it locally on your own machine.
The benefit of using a local WordPress environment is:
- 100% free – No domain or hosting needed
- Works offline – Develop sites without an Internet connection
- Fast – Local sites load much quicker than live sites
- Privacy – Keep your test site private on your computer
The downside is that local sites are not publicly accessible online to others.
But for testing purposes, a local install allows you to try WordPress indefinitely for free.
Here are two simple ways to setup a local WordPress website on your computer:
Local by Flywheel
Local by Flywheel is the easiest WordPress local development tool. It‘s free for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
To get started:
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Download and install the Local app on your computer.
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Launch Local, click the "+" icon, and create a new local site.
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Enter a site name and admin credentials.
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Local will automatically install WordPress for you locally.
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You now have a full WordPress site accessible from your machine.
Local handles setting up the local web server and database for you. You don‘t need to configure anything manually.
WAMP / MAMP
Alternatively, you can use a manual local server stack like WAMP (Windows) or MAMP (Mac). These require a bit more technical setup.
The process is:
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Download and install WAMP/MAMP on your computer.
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Open the control panel to start your local Apache server.
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Create an empty database in phpMyAdmin.
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Download WordPress and manually install it on your local server by extracting the files to the web root folder.
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Complete the famous 5-minute WordPress installation process by visiting your local site in the browser.
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You now have WordPress running locally for free without needing hosting or a domain.
So while a bit more complex than Local, WAMP and MAMP also let you run WordPress on your own machine for learning purposes.
3. Use WordPress.com‘s Limited Free Plan
You may also come across advice suggesting you try WordPress.com if you don‘t want to pay for hosting and a domain.
Let me explain the major limitations with WordPress.com:
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
| WordPress.com | WordPress.org |
|---|---|
| Hosted by WordPress.com | Self-hosted on your own hosting |
| Limited themes/plugins | Use any themes/plugins |
| Ad-driven business model | Control your monetization |
| Can‘t customize much code | Full code access |
As you can see, WordPress.com is very restricted compared to a self-hosted WordPress.org site.
You are locked into WordPress.com‘s ecosystem and rules. Lack of customization and freedom.
Their free plan is very limited. And the upgraded paid plan with unlimited features costs $25+ per month.
For these reasons, I only recommend using WordPress.com for minor testing. Not as a full WordPress trial.
If you do want to try it, here‘s how to use WordPress.com‘s free plan:
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Go to WordPress.com and create a free account.
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WordPress.com allows you to make a site directly from your account.
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Start creating posts, pages, and adding images. But you will be limited by WordPress.com‘s restrictions.
Overall, I suggest skipping WordPress.com and instead using one of the better options covered already. Those give you a much more open WordPress experience.
Evaluating WordPress: Key Things to Test
You now have WordPress up and running for free either:
- On refundable web hosting
- As a local install on your computer
So what should you try out with your WordPress sandbox site?
Here are some key things I recommend testing during your free trial:
Experimenting with Design
One of the best parts of WordPress is customizing your site‘s design through:
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Themes – Installing free and premium themes to change your overall design, layout, fonts, colors, etc.
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Page builders – Using a visual page builder plugin like Elementor to create custom page layouts via drag and drop.
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CSS – Tweaking your design further by adding custom CSS code.
Take time to play around with different themes and layout options. See how you can make your site look.
This flexibility is a major benefit of WordPress over more rigid solutions like Squarespace or Wix.
Adding Functionality
What brings WordPress sites to life is plugins. The plugin repository contains over 50,000+ free plugins for WordPress.
Plugins allow you to easily extend WordPress‘s functionality in nearly any way imaginable.
During your free trial, test adding features like:
- Forms – WPForms, Contact Form 7
- Galleries – Smash Balloon Instagram Feed
- Live Chat – Tidio Chat
- SEO – Yoast SEO
- Security – Wordfence Security
- Ecommerce – WooCommerce
Install some plugins to get a feel for how they can enhance your site with additional capabilities.
Creating Content
Don‘t forget to also use your free WordPress sandbox to create test content.
Some ideas:
- Write sample blog posts
- Create important pages like About Us, Contact, Services, etc
- Add sample images or videos to your content
- Use tags and categories to organize your posts
- Try setting up an author profile and author page
Populating your site with content will help you evaluate the overall WordPress editing experience.
Migrating Your Site Live
When you‘re ready to launch your site for real, you‘ll need:
- A custom domain name
- Managed WordPress hosting
- Migrate your site from local to live
I recommend using Bluehost to check off the hosting box. The process works like:
- Register your domain name (Bluehost offers one free)
- Sign up for shared WordPress hosting starting at $2.75/month
- Use a migration plugin like All-in-One WP Migration to move your site:
- Install the plugin on both sites
- Export your site as a .wpress file
- Import the .wpress file into your new Bluehost install
And voila! Your site is now live on your own domain.
Migrating a site is simple. But be sure to back up your site before moving it just in case.
TL;DR – Quick Recap
Let‘s recap the top 3 recommended options covered to try WordPress for free:
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Refundable Hosting – Sign up for Bluehost to get free hosting for 30 days. Try WordPress risk-free on a live domain.
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Local Install – Use Local or WAMP to run WordPress locally on your computer. Unlimited WordPress testing.
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WordPress.com – Create a free WordPress.com account. Very limited functionality.
The best free trials use either refundable hosting or a local install. This gives you the full WordPress software to evaluate.
Want a PRO Tip?
Here is an advanced tip from a WordPress pro:
Along with a staging site, I recommend installing a plugin like SeedProd on your local WordPress install.
SeedProd lets you build full WordPress sites using a drag and drop page builder. It‘s easier for beginners than starting with a blank slate.
You can quickly create nice looking pages and get a feel for WordPress without needing to be an expert designer.
Conclusion: Try Before You Buy
I hope this detailed guide gave you a better idea of your options for testing WordPress 100% free.
Trying before you buy is smart to avoid buyer‘s remorse down the road. WordPress does have a learning curve.
Your free WordPress trial lets you:
- Evaluate the software hands-on
- See if the platform is right for your needs
- Determine if you can handle the committing to running a site
- Minimize risk of wasting money
You now have a few excellent methods to get started with WordPress at zero cost.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m happy to offer guidance to ensure your WordPress experience starts off right.
