What is a blog and how does it differ from a website? That’s a really common question in the content marketing world, and naturally so too is the phrase ‘blog vs website’.
Because many content creators eventually consider starting a blog, we decided to create a series of posts addressing how to become a successful blogger.
In this first article of the series, we discuss the differences between a blog and a website. And most importantly, help you decide which one is right for you.
You’ll find this article to be a straightforward and practical guide for carrying out the blog vs website differences comparison. Enjoy!
What is a Website?
A website is a set of related web pages located under a single domain name. Here are some examples of common web pages:
- Contact us Page
- About us Page
Unless today is your first day on the internet, you’ve likely encountered pages with these titles before. These are what are known as web pages.
Just like we did with the web pages, here’s a short list of domain names (some more popular than others) :
- prosites.co.zm
- facebook.com
- wordpress.org
You’re probably familiar with these too because domain names are what we type into search bars in order to get to specific websites.
In summary, a website is a set of web pages (About us, Contact us) in the same domain name (prosites.co.zm).
What is a Blog?
A blog is a regularly updated web page whose main focus is showcasing educational text-based content. A piece of content posted to a blog is called a blog post or an article.
These blog posts are commonly arranged in reverse chronological order, which means that they start from the newest posts to the older ones.
Blogs are mostly written in an informal or conversational style and are usually run by an individual or a small group of people.
There’s a common misconception that a blog is a website, which is not true. We see from our definition of a blog above that it’s a subset of a website just like the About us and Contact us pages.
This is why there are only two examples of web pages in the list above because the third one was hidden right here all along.
Which is better, a website or blog?
Now that we’ve dissected what both websites and blogs are, it’s time to look at what aspects differentiate one from the other.
Before we continue it’s important for you to understand that it’s possible to have a website without a blog but impossible to have a blog without a website.
So if your primary goal is to only have a blog, your website will only consist of one web page, which is the Blog web page. On the other hand, if you only want to have a website all you have to do is not create a blog web page.
However, picking which one of the two you want to venture into is a personal preference.
Websites are perfect for people who want to run a business that sells products and services. This would make it easier for future customers to find their business and information about it on the internet.
On the other hand, Blogs are perfect for people who want to share their opinions on a topic or a number of topics, share their creativity or expertise on a subject, or for people who want to make a little extra income.
Can You Have Both A Website and A Blog?
Websites and blogs have their own individual strengths. However, when used together they can be highly beneficial for you.
Below are some benefits of having websites with a blog on them:
- Companies with blogs generate more website traffic than those without them by 55%.
- Because blogs are regularly updated, whenever you publish a new blog post or article, WordPress will ping Google automatically and invite them to come and index your new content.
- Search engines like Google rank websites with blogs higher than those without them because these websites are more up-to-date and have fresh new content to show people.
- You can sell ad space on both your website and blog in order to make double what you’d make with only a website.
- Blogs allow you to promote other people’s products through blog posts for a commission (Affiliate Marketing)
- With commercial content for your products or services on both platforms, you increase your chances to convert web visitors.
Conclusion
It’s easy to see why many people get websites and blogs mixed up, and why misconceptions about them confuse everyone, even professionals.
In this post, we’ve seen how the differences between a blog and a website are subtle and significant. We now appreciate that a blog is a type of website with a specific objective different from a website in general.
We also went over some reasons you’d want to pick one over the other, before finally pondering benefits you can get from having both a website and a blog.
Hopefully, this article has made the blog vs website comparison an easier one for you.
The ball is now in your court.
If you decide that a blog is right for you, the second article in our blogging series is called How To Pick The Perfect Niche For Your Blog (With Ease).
And if you’re interested in learning how to create a high-converting website, check out the article Conversion Focused Web Design: How To Boost Website Conversions.
