Blog vs. Website
Have you ever wondered about the difference between a Blog and Website? Me too. So I did some digging and created a little infographic to simplify the answer.
In a nutshell, a blog (a type of website) is a digital magazine. A website is a digital storefront.
The difference between blog and website is its purpose. A blog is interactive. A website is transactional.
Blog and website are often combined to serve as one dynamic framework.
Difference between Blog and Website
Blog
A blog is informal and tailored to a small market segment (a niche).
The purpose of a blog is to provide fresh information on a regular basis within its niche.
The many types of blogs include news, food, health, product reviews, entertainment, sports, arts and personal blogs that are essentially online journals.
A blog’s homepage is usually the blogroll so the first information you are presented with is the latest published article (post) on top.
Blogs provide the service of free information. Blog owners are compensated when visitors follow affiliate links to websites and make a recommended purchase or purchase products developed by the blogger.
A blog is easy to set up because the heart of this type of website is the blog.
There is some menu navigation to provide information about the blogger, resources, policies, and disclaimers. But, most of the navigation is provided in the sidebar via a list of most recent and/or most popular blog posts.
The coding and set up for a blog is pretty cookie cutter and styles (themes) vary to serve a niche. This makes it easy for a provider such as WordPress to offer a multitude of free and affordable themes.
Website
A website is formal and tailored to serve customers of a commercial business or organization.
The purpose of a website is to service memberships, sell products, provide product support, and give and gather information.
A website is complex because it provides for e-commerce and is primarily comprised of static pages that are linked to databases.
Content is navigated via menus and sub-menus. The pages provide and collect information and process payments.
Websites require the specialized coding of an experienced website developer. A professional business website is tailored to meet the needs of the business. Continued support and maintenance by a webmaster are often necessary.
Blogs and websites can both be complex or simple.
There are blogs that are designed and managed by website developers. Blog owners can and often do hire writers to meet their need for fresh content.
Then there are websites that are simple and easily managed by the website owner.
Websites are often combined with a blog.
These are considered an all in one or hybrid approach and sometimes are referred to as blogsites.
The blog provides businesses a platform to market to and keep customers updated about their company and industry.
One reason blogs have become popular is SEO (search engine optimization).
This is the method search engines such as Google use to rank websites and their articles in returned search listings. Healthy SEO practices provide blogs non-paid organic traffic generated from search results.
Search engines prefer fresh regular content. Google rewards blogs with top listings in their search results that offer value to their readers and penalize those that do not.
A WordPress platform is a preferred choice because it is search engine friendly.
Keywords are used to enhance SEO.
Keywords are words or phrases that are strategically included in websites to connect with searches performed in search engines.
You can easily create your own blog or website.
Moz has a good article The Beginner’s Guide to SEO for more about SEO.
Thank you for reading Difference between Blog and Website. Do you have some information to share or a question? Leave it in a comment below!
Hello again, Gina! 🙂
Very nice post, along with a very well put together blog.
This is very good information for individuals new to the online world, and will help those individuals understand the major differences between blogging and websites used for selling services or products.
I wish I had more time to allow for fresh content on a consistent basis, as it is very important! Perhaps someday WA will guide me to that point. 🙂
Thanks for the good read. Good luck to you, all the best!
CoryZ
Hi Cory,
I appreciate your kind words. My blog is primarily for people who want to learn how to make their own blog or website and learn affiliate marketing. I was recently asked what the difference is between a blog and website and realized I could not entirely answer the question, so this post was created from my own need to fully understand.
As for content, posting often is the challenge for every blogger. Even long-established bloggers struggle with content. That is why they have guest bloggers and when they are large enough, hire writers. Also, when you are learning to write and writing to learn the process can seem slow, but persevere and keep learning at WA. I chase my tail a lot when I am not plugged into the community and using the resources there.
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment!
Gina
I was fascinated by the difference between a blog and a website and how you delivered this information. I easily followed the informaiton on what a blog is. A blog is interesting and fun. But challenged my brain a little when reading about what a website is.
That’s because I see now that a website requires more work, skill and knowledge in how to operate it and maintain it. This is clear when you said. “websites require the specialized coding of an experienced website developer”. So it would take someone with a background in devleoping to run a website.
I like the picture you have with what a blog is on one side and what a website is on the other. It clearly and easily delineates between the two.
I have enjoyed reading this post. It’s helped me understand the difference between the two. I look forward to reading more from you. Thank you.
Hi Rawl, I am so glad you enjoyed the post. I do want to clarify that while a traditional website would most often require a professional, a simple website could be managed by an individual. Likewise, blogs can be complex and require the help of a professional. My presentation outlines both correctly in their most traditional forms. Wiith all of the themes available these days individuals can create professional blogs and websites and also combine them. Thank you so much for reading and commenting! ~Gina
Hi Gina.
You did a great job explaining the difference between a blog and a website.
I guess what I am looking to create is what you would call a blogsite.
From what you say, this sounds a little more difficult than just a blog, but I would really like to be able to sell things from my own site, especially since I have a product of my own that I would like to sell.
I see that you mentioned Wealthy Affiliate. Do they show you how to accomplish this also?
Thanks you ~Jeremy
Hi Jeremy, WA focuses on website building, search engine optimization, and affiliate marketing. They do not specifically teach eCommerce, but there are many members in the community that have eCommerce websites. The community will help you with eCommerce themes and any plugins you might need. The WA community is filled with successful entrepreneurs that have all types of websites and they are eager to share what they have learned with you. Thank you for leaving a comment and your question! ~Gina
Thank You for turning a complex answer into one thats is for every learning type. I’m a visual person but how you laid it out was interesting to my Pictorial mind. Thanks
Hi Amy, Thank you for leaving a comment to let me know you liked it.:) ~Gina