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What Is the Difference Between a Blog and a Website?

People often ask, “What is a blog and how is it different from a website?” If you are thinking about starting a blog or a website, then understanding these terms will help you meet your goals.

What is a blog?

A blog is a type of website where the content is presented in reverse chronological order (newer content appears first). Blog content is often referred to as entries or blog posts.

Blogs are typically run by an individual or a small group of people to present information in a conversational style. Typical blog posts also have a comments section where users can respond to the article.

History of blogs

Blogs evolved from online diaries and journals in the mid-90s. At that time, internet users were already running personal web pages, where they published regular updates about their personal lives, thoughts and social commentary.

The term web log was first used during the late 90s, which later became “weblog”, then “we blog” and finally just “blog”.

Due to the growing number of such web pages, several tools started to appear, which made it easier for users to create online journals and personal blogs. These tools helped popularise blogging and made the technology accessible to non-technical users.

Today, WordPress is the world’s most popular blogging platform, powering over 43% of all websites on the internet.

What is the difference between a blog and a website?

Blogs are a type of website. The only real difference between a blog and other types of websites is that blogs are updated regularly with new content, which is displayed in reverse chronological order (new blog posts first).

Typical websites are static in nature, where content is organised in pages and they are not updated frequently. In comparison, a blog is dynamic and is usually updated more regularly. Some bloggers publish multiple new articles a day.

Blogs can be part of a larger website. Often, businesses have a blog section where they regularly create content to inform and educate their customers. In simple terms, all blogs can be a website or part of a website. However, not all websites can be called blogs.

Blog or website? Which one is better?

As a beginner, you may wonder whether you should start a blog or publish a website. Which one is better? The answer to this question really depends on what your goals are.

Many small businesses around the world have traditional websites made up of just pages and no blog. Such small websites are often made to create an informational web presence for a business, organisation or individual.

On the other hand, more and more businesses are realising the potential of a blog in their overall marketing strategy. Business owners are adding a separate blog section to their traditional websites and using it to get more traffic from search engines. That’s because blogs are proven to improve search engine optimisation (SEO).

Blogs also come with an RSS feed feature, which allows users to stay updated with your latest posts. When a new post is published, the RSS feed is updated automatically. Smart marketers often connect the RSS feed with an email newsletter or web push notification to send their users a notification alert about recent posts, product announcements and more.

Whether you are a business, a non-profit organisation or a professional, adding your own blog to your website can help you attract your target audience, grow your email list and sell products.

Here are just a few benefits of blogging.

Provides an avenue to organise your thoughts and ideas
Allows you to showcase your skills, creativity and talents
Help individuals become an authority in their industry
Helps you socialise with interesting, like-minded people online
Many bloggers make money blogging using various monetisation methods
Businesses use blogging to bring more potential customers to their websites
Non-profits can use blogs to raise awareness, run social media campaigns and influence public opinion

How do bloggers make money?

Usually, people think of bloggers as hobbyists. While some people have lifestyle blogs, a large number of bloggers make money from their blog websites. This enables them to focus more on their blog, quit their day jobs and build successful online businesses.

The more successful blogs can make six-figure, seven-figure and even eight-figure incomes in a year. Below are a few ways that most bloggers use to make money from their blogs.

The most common and probably the easiest way to make money online is by displaying ads. However, as a new blogger, you will not be able to contact advertisers directly or manage them on your own. This is where Google AdSense comes in. It takes care of finding ads, displaying them, collecting payments from advertisers and sending you those payments for a small cut.

Many bloggers also make money through affiliate marketing. Basically, they recommend products on their websites and earn a commission when users buy those products.

Other common monetisation methods include memberships, selling online courses or adding an online store (eCommerce) to the blog.

Can anyone start a blog?

Yes, anyone who wants to start a blog can easily do so. In the early days of blogging, users needed HTML and PHP coding skills to even update their blogs. Now, there are plenty of blogging tools like WordPress, Tumblr, Medium, Blogger, Wix and Squarespace, that allow you to easily create your first blog without ever writing code. Basically, if you can point-and-click, then you can build a blog within minutes.

With that said, choosing the wrong blogging platform to start a blog is the most common mistake that beginners make. We recommend using WordPress. It is the world’s most popular blogging platform and website builder. Over 43% of all websites on the internet are built using WordPress, so that you can get an idea of how popular it is.

There are two types of WordPress: WordPress.com, which is a limited hosting service, and WordPress.org, also known as self-hosted WordPress. We recommend using WordPress.org because it is open-source, which means you get instant access to all the powerful WordPress features. It also allows you to easily make money from your blog without restrictions.