What is the Difference Between a Blog and a Website

Blog vs Website- Which one should you choose

Often you may have seen the words “blog” and “website” being used in the same sentence, but imply a different meaning.

What does this mean? Is a blog different that a website?

If yes,

• What is the difference between a blog and a website?
• What qualifies as a website and a blog?

If you are new to the blogging world and are struggling to understand the difference, then let me tell you this can be confusing at first. 

However, if you read this article until the end, it will clear the confusion and will help you decide if you need a website or a blog. 

So without further waiting, let’s dive into the article.

Difference Between a Blog and a Website

Let me begin this article by saying, “You can only compare apples to apples and not oranges”. This means these are both similar in some ways yet different.

Another good example to understand this is synonyms; words with similar meanings yet when used in a different context have different meanings, such as start and begin.

The same holds true for the relationship and differences between a blog and a website.

What this means is, blog and website are very similar. Technically speaking blog is a type of website. However, when put into context, there are noticeable differences.

Meaning of Blog

To understand what is a blog, I searched for meaning of word “blog” and here is the result.

It is a website that is updated regularly, be it adding new content or updating the old posts. It is generally run by an individual or small group, but this has changed now, even the large companies use the blog as a medium to communicate with their audience. 

It is an informal way of communication as blogging is the tool that can be used to

• project your thoughts and opinions
• Share information and experience
• Can be used as a daily journal

and much more.

Having said that,

A blog is also known as “weblog” which is a combination of two words website and log. In a blog, the focus is more on the content.

The content on the blog is referred to as the blog posts. And these blog posts are displayed in the reverse chronological order (the latest post appears first).

In case you are wondering why dates are a little messed up on Blogging Unplugged’s blog page then let me tell you, the first post you see is a sticky post.

This type of website is categorized as a dynamic website because the site or the content is updated on a regular basis.

As mentioned above, you can share anything to everything on a blog such as information, personal experience, opinions, use it as a journal, businesses can use it to update their customers about future events, plans and much more.

With that said,

The main purpose of using or creating a blog these days is to drive engagement as it offers a lot of opportunities for visitors to engage.

Example of Blogs

• TechCrunch
• Mashable
• Engadget
• Huffington Post
• Blogging Unplugged

Meaning of Website

What is a Website

A simple and straightforward definition, it is a collection of web pages under the same domain name.

To understand this, lets search for anything on the web, it will show you to a results page which is a collection of links pointing to various web pages/ websites related to the query you search for. 

What if you search for the term “Google”, “Yahoo”, or “Bing”?

Are these websites? 

Let’s find out.

I searched “Google”, using the address bar of the browser. Below are the results

As you can see in the screenshot above, the first 2 results will take you to the Google search and the links after that take you to Google accounts or news sites.

As we already know, SERPs show a list of websites or web pages related to the search performed.

This means Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, or anything else including blogs is a website.

In today’s time, whenever we talk about website, we relate it to something commercial. Although, there are a wide range of things that can be done using a website.

Also, in websites, the focus is given more to showcase products and services.  And if the website has a blog, the content is written to highlight the product and services.

Having said that,

It is important to keep in mind that not all websites are dynamic, some can be static. (It is the blog section of the website that is mostly dynamic rest of it is mostly static.)

Example of websites

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Amazon
• Google
• Wikipedia

Blog vs Website- What is the Difference

Once you have understood what is a blog and a website, I’m sure you have already figured out that there is a very thin line that separates a blog from a website.

In this section, I will explain the differences in detail using examples.

Platform

“use WordPress for blogging”, you may have come across this phrase frequently.

Before we move forward, it is important to know, there are 2 types of WordPress. The first one is hosted WordPress which is WordPress.com and the second one is the self hosted WordPress which is WordPress.org. 

Whenever someone recommends WordPress or says they have a blog on WordPress, it generally means they are referring to the self hosted WordPress or WordPress.org.

You can see our article on WordPress.com vs WordPress.org This is a detailed comparison of both platforms.

Moving forward,

What is WordPress? It is a CMS (Content Management System)

CMS is a tool that helps you manage your content easily. When you use a CMS you don’t have to think about the technicalities of creating a web page.

WordPress is a type of CMS. Also, there are other CMS platforms as well such as

1. Joomla
2. Magento
3. Drupal
4. Prestashop

and more. Here is the complete list.

It is important because blogs are content heavy, you need a CMS to run a blog. But when it comes to creating a website there are no such requirements.

As previously discussed, websites can be both static and dynamic. The static websites are built using HTML and CSS.

While we are discussing platforms for the website and blog creation, often you may have seen blogs using free blogging platforms such as Blogspot and WordPress.com.

The question here is

Can you create a website using free platforms?

The answer is no, these platforms are meant for blogging and give more priority to display and categorization/ organization of content rather than pages. Also, there are tons of restrictions in using these platforms. 

If you are a hobby blogger or just want to blog for fun, then these platforms are for you. 

If you want to take a professional approach to blogging, it is better you start a blog using WordPress self hosted rather than free blogging platforms.

Content and Layout

As discussed before, a blog is more content focused whereas a website is a showcase of products or services and if the website has a blog, the content is created to educate the people about the product or services or share the future plans. 

When it comes to content and layout, there is a noticeable difference between a blog and a website. Let’s understand it with the help of an example

Blog

For blog, let’s take the example of Blogging Unplugged. It is a blog where you can find information related to SEO, WordPress, blogging and related topics.

When you visit the website, you can see almost every section is created to highlight the content. Also, there is a separate section for recent blog posts. Here is a screenshot.

This takes me to the next question which is

Can blogs have a custom homepage like websites?

Yes, blogs can have a homepage. However, it is not a requirement. Often you will come across blogs that have a homepage that is not a blog post display.

And one such example is Blogging Unplugged. The site has a custom home page but still focus of most section is on highlighting the content.

And on the custom homepage, you can find

1. Opt-in forms
2. Lead magnets
3. Social media follow buttons
4. The latest blog post
5. Information about the blog and owner

and much more. The aim is again to build a one-on-one connection with the visitors.

Website  

To understand this we will be taking the example of Siteground. It provides affordable web hosting solutions for beginners. When you land on the Siteground website, you can see the focus is more on the products.

And the website is very different from a blog. You can visit the Siteground website and see it for yourself.

You can see the homepage is a display of various web hosting services offered by Siteground. 

Another important thing to note here is, the website does have a blog section which is under the about tab in the navigation. However, it is not the center of attention. 

Now, when you navigate to the Siteground blog, you will notice it is a collection of blog posts to educate the people about the product. Visit Siteground blog

With that said,

When we say “website is static and blog is dynamic”.

You can see in the above example, the pages on the website will not be updated until there is a massive change. However, when it comes to a blog you can keep on adding or updating content depending on the posting frequency or schedule.

This take me to the next point which is

Engagement

Have you ever seen social share buttons or comment box on a website.

The answer is no.

However, when it comes to a blog, engagement is everything. The content is written to generate engagement. 

On most blogs, you will find a comment box where people can leave their feedback, questions and much more. Also, you will find the social share buttons that visitors can use to share the content they like on various social media platforms.

This takes me to my next question which is

Can a website with blog not have these features?

Yes, websites that have blogs can have social shares and comment box and in most cases these features are present. But, you have to understand the website in this case is a combination of 2 websites.

One is the business website that showcases all the products and services and the second one is the blog which has the content.

You will find these features on blog section and on the rest of the website these features will be missing.

Organization

When it comes to organization, a website is very different from a blog. In a blog, posts can be organized or managed based on 

• Categories
• Tags
• Authors
• Date of publishing

You can find an example of this on most blogs where in the sidebar you can find all the categories. Visitors can click on any of these to find posts related to the category they have selected.

This also helps improve navigation.

On the other hand, on a website the organization structure is hierarchical as it is a collection of pages and pages can’t be categorized. There can be only sub-pages or sub-posts to primary pages.

Ownership

Another factor that differentiates a blog from a website is the ownership.

When it comes to blogs, yo can easily connect it with the name of the person behind it. 

How?

Blogs can be managed and owned by a single person. You do not need a huge team to manage a blog from the beginning. It offers a platform for self-expression. Often you will find people sharing their personal experiences, knowledge and much more using this tool.

When you land on a blog, you can find information about the person behind the blog on the sidebar, author bio, about page and similar places like this.

Also, the main purpose of starting a blog is to create a community of like minded people and build connections. And if you do not have information about you on the blog, then how will people connect with you and your stories.

People want to connect with real people. That’s why blogs are rarely anonymous.

Now, what about large online publications and multi author blogs,

In case it is a personal blog and has posts from multiple authors, chances are very high those posts are just guest posts and most of the articles are written by the owner. And if it is a large online publication, you can find the information related to the ownership under the about section and every post will have a author bio.

On the other hand,

As mentioned before, websites are generally associated with commercial activity and that is why there is always a brand or a company behind it.

Rarely you will find a single person running the company.

If a website has a blog, it is also a part of the brand and hence known as {company name} blog. Blogs on websites generally have multiple authors and cover wide range of topics related to the business.

Having said that

As the time is progressing, the answer to these questions keep changing. Earlier there was a clear cut distinction, but now quite a lot of things overlap.

The things you can do on a website can be achieved on a blog as well. The landscape of blogging has changed drastically, earlier what used to be a medium for sharing has now turned into a profession or a business.

Often blogs are started to build a brand name and authority first and later used for promoting products or services be it third party or in house. 

In this scenario, the established blog takes a back seat and is converted to a website with a blog. 

This takes me to my last point of difference which is the intention or intent. It totally depends on the future plans of the owner that define if it is a website or a blog.

Blog vs Website- Which is better?

This is a very tricky question to answer. It totally depends on what your plans are and what you are willing to achieve.

In today’s time, most online businesses be it small or large prefer having a blog on the website. It gives them the opportunity to connect with the audience and at the same time blog acts as a additional source of traffic.

Back in the day, websites rarely had a blog on them. But now things have changed and businesses understand the benefits of having a blog.

What are benefits of having a blog on a website?

Let me explain this using the example of Siteground again. Below is a screenshot from a blog post from Siteground blog.

As you can see they are internally linking to product pages from the blog.

What this does is improve the navigation, lets you target multiple keywords, redirects interested visitors to money pages, and most importantly improves the overall SEO

How?

As you already know, blogs are content heavy, dynamic, require regular updating and act is resources. These are some reasons why Google loves blogs.

Also, when you use internal linking, it gives search engine bots an idea about the linking structure. This helps establish a relation and hierarchy which helps search engine bots better understand the pages and posts.

Having said that,

Still a lot of times when starting out beginners are confused about what they should go for.

Which one to choose? – Blog or Website

Having discussed all the differences, it will be quite unfair to say if you should go for a blog or a website.

First things first, there is a very thin line of divide between both and what you can do with is website, can nowadays achieved on a blog as well.

The next thing is, today there are tools (CMS) available that you can use to create a blog and a website at the same time.

One of the most popular one being WordPress

However, what you need to start with- a blog or a website depends on what you want to achieve and what your plans are.

If you want to sell products or offer services, start with a website first and later on add blog to educate the people about your business, products, services, etc.

On the other hand

If you just want to share your experience, knowledge, or build authority and connections, then go for a blog first and once you hit your goal you can easily convert your blog into a website.

Can anyone start a blog?

Yes, anyone can start a blog

To build a blog, there are 5 steps

1. Selecting the right platform
2. Picking a niche
3. Getting a domain name
4. Buying web hosting
5. Setting up the blog

Back in the day, building and managing a blog required technical/ coding skills. However, time has changed now and there are tools available that can help you create a blog in no time. 

Out of the tools we recommend using WordPress. Why?

As mentioned before, WordPress powers 34% of the internet and it is such an easy platform to use for beginners. 

Now, if you are thinking why I’m not recommending free blogging platforms.

The answer is simple, these platforms are too limited. In the beginning you may think you have made the right decision by siding with the free platforms. But soon you will realize the restriction of using these platforms.

And I don’t want you to start your blogging journey on the wrong foot.

The next thing is selecting a niche. A niche is the topic that you will be writing about. It could be tech, fashion, food, recipes, travel, parenting or anything else you like.

It is important to keep in mind, you need to pick a niche that you like and more importantly you can write for a long time and not get bored.

Also, you don’t have to be an expert at it. to start writing. It important to understand blogging is a long term commitment and you will learn new thing on this long journey.

So pick a niche wisely.

Once you have selected the niche, the next thing you need is a domain name and web hosting.

A domain name is the name of your blog and it is the address that people will use to visit your website. Web hosting is the storage space or the home of your blog. In this space all the files related to your website will be stored.

For beginners one of the cheap and reliable option to purchase both web hosting and domain name is Bluehost. It is recommended by WordPress and also on our list of recommended blogging tools.

When you buy hosting from Bluehost, with every plan you get a free domain name and SSL certificate. And this will save you money as domain name can cost anywhere from $5- $15/ year

If you want to know more about Bluehost and their service you can read our in depth Bluehost Review

After you are done purchasing, you can see our guide on How to start a Blog on WordPress and in case you face problems let us know, and we will help you with the set up process.

Final Words

I hope you this article has answered all your questions regarding the difference between a blog and a website. And now you know which one to go for when starting out.

Do let us know what do you think about the blog vs website mystery.

If you have any questions regarding this feel free to contact us via the comment section and don’t forget to share it with your friends on social media.

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