WordPress itself is software that is freely available to use in any way you want but there are two sites: wordpress.com and wordpress.org.

WordPress.org is the home of the free software and the centre of the community of users and support.

WordPress.com is a site that runs wordpress software as a service. Starting with a free wordpress.com sub-domain, various monthly plans from AUD5 to AUD34 provide additional services such as the ability to use your own domain name for your site, add plug-ins, increase storage space, and monetise your site. All paid plans include email and live chat support.

If you want to try out WordPress then you can start out with a free wordpress.com site. You won’t be able to use your own domain name but you can become familiar with WordPress for zero cost and no commitment. Treat it as a learning exercise but set yourself a time limit, say three or four weeks. Add your content and get your friends and family to provide feedback. Migrating from wordpress.com to your own self-hosted or managed WordPress site will mostly be cut and paste from your free site so there is no need to hold back on producing good quality content and pushing your creative abilities.

If you decide that WordPress is for you then you can decide how to proceed.