BLOG vs WEBSITE – What’s The Difference? [Explained for Beginners]

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BLOG vs WEBSITE – What’s The Difference? [Explained for Beginners]

I remember when I first entered the “world of blogging” way, way, back (don’t ask my age, please!), and it was on Blogger. Before blogging was just like an everyday journal that you’d like to share with other people.

But these days, blogging has a different “meaning” that sometimes leave people confused. And I was, 2 years ago, when I got interested in Affiliate Marketing. Should I use a Blog? or a Website? What the difference? If you’re a beginner stay because this article will explain it for you.

Blog vs Website – What’s The Difference?, although I will explain this two further more in this post, let me just answer the question in a simple way. Blog is a type of website that contains blog post or blog entries as its content, often updated, usually run by a single person or group of people, and uses conversational tone. While a Website contains organized related content, usually presents its products, frequently updated, less interactive, and has one-way communication.

Okay, so for better understanding, lets jump into it :

What Is A Blog?

Like what I said above, a blog is a type of website. The content that you’ll find in a blog are blog post or so called blog entries and presented in a reverse chronological order. Which means, the blog posts are set from the latest to the oldest.

Each blog post is actually a piece of writing that usually uses images or videos to give readers better understanding of the post. Blog entries are also presented in less formal voice and lets its readers to comment as well.

Lastly, a blog is usually run by an individual or small group of people.

Got it? Well, if not you can just think of it as :

“A Blog is a website that primary focus on written content. With the aim of sharing information, express thoughts, and ideas. And those informations is targeting a specific topic which can be about lifestyle, health, relationship, money, pets, gardening, etc.”

So normally when you go to Google search to look for answers on your query, you’ll most likely end up with a blog.

Blog Sample

Just to give you an example, and I’m not going to go further. What you are reading now is a blog. My website is a blog.

And here are other 2 examples :

DTheDoggo.com is a sample website that talks about dog’s behavior and basic training. The owner of the blog was inspired by her newly adopted dog named D. With the purpose of understanding her dog better, she decided to compile all the information she gathers, and put in one blog hoping that people like her would find it helpful.

Roads & Kingdom is dedicated to simple idea : “The more you know, the better you travel.” They use talented local journalists, deep storytelling, and the good things in life – food, music, booze, – to inform and inspire about destinations around the globe. Winners of 2018 Primetime Emmy and 2019 National Magazine Award for Best Website, and 2017 James Beard Publication of the Year Award.

When Did Blog Started?

I can’t move forward without discussing the History of Blog briefly. When did Blog Started?

Blogs started out as an online diary in the mid-90’s where people are just writing mostly about their personal lives, thoughts, and sometimes social commentary.

Although the term “weblog” was introduced in the 90s, it made its way till early 2000 (when I started blogging) until it was changed into just “blog”.

Because there was an increase in numbers of people who are “blogging”, several tools started to appear which made it more easy to create online journals.

Until, in 1999 Blogger.com and WordPress were launched. But it Blogger that became the popular blogging website during that time and was acquired by Google.

Although Blogger was the popular back then, today, WordPress is reigning the world’s most popular blogging platform that used by over 30% of all websites on the internet.

What Is A Website?

On the other hand, Website, the typical ones is not regularly updated. It contains pages that are interlinked and organized. Websites are normally built to present about the business’ information and like what I mentioned, it is more on a one-way communication and less interactive.

Wikipedia defines website as a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Notable examples are Wikipedia.org, google.com, and amazon.com. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web.

Although some parts such as home page, about page, and contact page are can be found generally on websites, some blogs, depending on its purpose, has those pages as well.

And here is why, remember when I said earlier that a Blog is a type of website? There are other 2 Types of Website (and a few more).

• A blogging website – Which I explained earlier
• A website that includes blogs – This is somehow kind of opposite to the blog type website because its focus is not their blog posts but to showcase their products or services.
• A plain website – A standalone website.

To understand it even better, just take look at the examples below :

Website Sample

So, this is an example of a Website that includes blogs.

This AWeber website. AWeber is an email autoresponder that offers the world email marketing solutions. It allows anyone to collect and store email addresses, and send out emails. So if you’re an online marketer, you probably heard of Aweber.

As you can see from the image above, you can immediately tell that although they have “blog” written on their top menu, it is very obvious that they are more focus on the services / products that they offer to their customers.

The image below is an example of Just a Website or a standalone website.

This is Pexel‘s website. It offers free images that can be used for blogs, posters, creating pinterest pins etc.It doesn’t have any blog at all, but who knows maybe later on, they’ll add one too.

Lern to make you own website by reading this post : 4 Easy Steps to Build Your Free Website [for Beginners]

What’s The Difference Between a Blog and a Website?

Blog vs Website : Which One Is For You?

If you are a newbie and thinking which one is good for you? A website or a blog? Then, just read again each characteristic I mentioned above. And start to evaluate and ask yourself what is your purpose and goal for having either a blog or a website.

Assuming that one of your purpose and goal is one of the following ;

• Share and organized your thoughts.
• Share your opinion on a certain topics.
• Help others by sharing your knowledge and expertise.
• Make money.

Then, going for a blog is right for you. And also, if your are thinking of going into Affiliate Marketing, blogging is one of the effective ways that you can do as your content marketing strategy

On the other hand, if your purpose and goal is one of the following ;

• Showcase your products and services.
• You are already established your business (online or offline).

Website is the one you should choose.

Blog & Website Combined

After weighing and evaluating your purposes and goals, you now have the idea on which one you should go for : Blog or Website.

But you might ask me : How about the combination of both? Like AWeber for example, actually even my blog is designed with a static homepage.

The answer is you could do both. Actually, to have a blog pages included in your website, or a company website, helps you to attract visitors more.

Let me show you an example :

BLOG vs WEBSITE – What’s The Difference? [Explained for Beginners] from Mina Kim on Vimeo.

See how it directed me to ConvertKit website? By the way, ConvertKit is not a blog type website, it is also a autoresponder like AWeber when you at check out their homepage it actually shows their services and products.

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CHECK OUT MY OTHER POSTS:

• 
  What is a Niche Website? – A Beginner Friendly Explanation
• 
  How to Build a Niche Website – Beginner Friendly Guide
• 
  What is Affiliate Marketing? A Beginners Guide

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Conclusion

To sum it up one last time the difference between a blog and website let me state it once again :

• Blog is a type of website that consist or filled with blog posts which are arranged in reverse chronological order. It’s frequently updated and usually run a single or small group of individuals.

• Website on the other hand consist of static pages such homepage, about us, contact us, policy pages and more. Its main purpose is to actually showcase the company’s products and services.
• A standalone website can include “blog pages” as well in order to attract more potential customers.

Which should you choose is totally up to your purpose, goals, and reason why. Don’t forget that the type of business model you are in also matters.

And yes, you can earn money with either blog or a website.

If you want to more about blogging and how can use it to earn money, then join me in this members-only training site.

Your Thoughts

You guys know, I just leave without asking your thoughts about this post. Is there anything you want to add? Do you define blog the way I define it? If not then, what is blog for you? What is website for you?

In your own experience how do differentiate blog and website from each other? Which one do you prefer to choose?

Please let me know in the comment, I’d love to hear your experience and your thoughts.

Lastly if you find this helpful, please do share it with your friends.

See you in my next post!