Wordpress.com launches paid upgrades

Wordpress.com, the free blog hosting platform from Wordpress, has launched paid upgrades.

The first add-on under the scheme allows users custom control over the layout of their site via the ability to edit the CSS stylesheet. Previously, users were limited to a predefined set of site layouts.

Upgrades can be purchased in exchange for credits, which cost $1 each and can be bought in quantities of $15 or $25 through PayPal. The Custom CSS upgrade costs 15 credits.

Matthew Mullenweg, lead developer on Wordpress, stressed that while some new features would be paid upgrades, any features currently available would remain free.

"We’re not going to charge for anything we’re currently giving away for free, " Mullenweg wrote on the Wordpress.com blog.

Mullenweg also confirmed that not all new features added to the service would require payment to use.

"I think some folks got confused by the 'upgrades' language and assumed every future enhancement to [Wordpress.com] would be paid," Mullenweg wrote.

"Of course not! We want to give away as much as possible, and just charge what we have to to keep the service running and continue providing great support."