What is the Difference Between a Blog and a Website?

Sometimes words like spritzing and drizzle can have nearly identical meanings. And sometimes they don’t. This is especially true with the words blog and website. These are two different things (sometimes), even though they’re often built with the exact same software.

A blog according to Dictionary.com is “a website containing a writer’s or group of writers own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other websites."

A website according to Dictionary.com is:

a connected group of pages on the World Wide Web regarded as a single entity, usually maintained by one person organization and devoted to a single topic or several closely related topics.

Blogs and websites are related to each other in a similar way.

Blog

Blogs are usually run by an individual or small group of people with posts that are presented in chronological order – the newest content goes first.

Blogs are also almost presented in a conversational style. They are typically fairly informal and with a little practice can be easy to run. Sometimes corporations also put out blogs in order to produce informational types of content or to be known as an authority in their area of specialty.

Blogs also often have a section where users can leave comments, although moderating comments can get a little cumbersome and time-consuming. People typically start blogs just to journal their thoughts, ideas, and hobbies or they start a blog with an intent to make money blogging.

Software Used to Build a Blog

There are several types of software that can be used to build a blog. The most popular is WordPress.

You can build a blog either at the WordPress site at Wordpress.org or on your own hosting account through the WordPress software which can be easily uploaded through almost any hosting account.

Website

A blog is a specific type of website. But blogs are regularly updated with brand-new content, while what people normally refer to as websites are typically static and aren’t updated very frequently.

Sometimes blogs are also part of a bigger website. E-commerce brands often have their own blogs to keep people up-to-date on developments within the brand.

Software Used to Build a Website

Websites can also be built on the WordPress platform although they are usually structured mainly with pages instead of posts. Sometimes people also use other platforms like Wix, Shopify, Weebly, and others.

Choosing Website or Blog

The answer to this depends a lot on what you trying to accomplish. If you have a business that doesn’t need a lot of frequent updating for your content – like a service business or a local brick-and-mortar store, then a website might work well for you.

If you have a business that requires developing strong relationships with your prospects and needs a lot of updating of information, the blog may work better.

Many businesses use a combination approach with their main website having static pages and a subdomain hosting a blog.

Why Blog

There many reasons why both individuals and companies host blogs. Here are a few.

• Blogging can bring more people to your website.
• Many individual bloggers make money from their blogs using different methods of monetization, such as affiliate marketing.
• Sometimes bloggers do it just for the fun of showcasing their creativity and talent.
• Blogging can help to create authority within the industry that you’re in.
• It’s a great format for getting your thoughts out to the world.

Bottom Line

These days there really is no difference between a website and a blog. Most blogging and website content management systems will allow you to create pages which are more static as well as create blog posts that get listed in reverse chronological order.

Most people will create more static pages (such as a home page, about page, contact page, and sales related pages) and regularly update their site with new content through a blog.