Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
People often ask what is a blog and what is the difference between it and a website. Understanding these concepts will also help you if you plan to start a blog or website.
In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explain in detail what a blog is and the difference between a blog and a traditional website. We’ll also discuss blog usage scenarios, real-world examples, and their benefits.
What is a blog?
A blog is a form of a website, and its content is displayed in reverse order in the form of a timeline (that is, the latest content appears first).
Blogs are usually run by individuals or small groups of people and present information in a conversational format. However, there are also many large companies that use blogs to distribute information and opinions to the outside world.
A typical blog post also has a comments section where users can comment on the post.
History of Blogging
Blogs evolved from online diaries and journals in the mid-90s. At the time, Internet users were already doing personal pages, where they regularly posted the latest content about their personal lives, thoughts, and social commentary.
The term “weblog” was coined in the late ’90s and became “weblog”, then “weblog”, and finally “blog”.
Due to the continuous growth of the number of web pages, many tools have appeared on the Internet. These tools can help users create online diaries or blogs more conveniently. It is also these tools that have contributed to the popularity of blogs, allowing users who do not understand technology to participate.
In 1999, the blogging platform Blogger.com was launched and was later acquired by Google in February 2003.
In May of the same year, WordPress released its first version of the blogging platform.
Today, WordPress has become the most popular blogging platform in the world, and more than 30% of the websites on the Internet are powered by WordPress.
What’s the difference between a blog and a website?
A blog is a type of website. The only real difference between blogs and other types of websites is that blogs are regularly updated with content and displayed in reverse chronological order (newest content first).
Traditional websites are static, and the content is written on the page and will not be updated frequently. But blogs are dynamic and are updated more frequently. Some bloggers update many articles every day.
A blog can be part of a larger website. Corporate websites usually have a blog section that is used to regularly update content to deliver new things to customers.
Both websites and blogs can be built with WordPress, so many small businesses use WordPress to build their corporate sites.
Simply put, all blogs can be called a website or a part of a website. However, not all websites can be called blogs.
You can also say that blogs are organized by articles through categories and tags to display content, while websites display content by pages.
Blog or Website – Which Is Better?
As a novice, you may wonder whether to start a blog or build a website, which is better? To be honest, this really needs to be decided according to your own needs.
Many small businesses around the world have traditional websites, which consist of several pages and do not have a blog system. The role of these small websites is generally only to display some information on the Internet for enterprises, organizations, or individuals.
On the other hand, more and more companies are beginning to realize the huge potential of blogging in marketing strategies. They will add a separate blog module to the traditional website, which can get more traffic from search engines.
Whether you’re a business, a non-profit organization, or a professional, adding a blog to your website can help you better achieve your goals.
What is the difference between a blog post and a page?
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform and a powerful content management system. It comes with two content types by default: Posts and Pages.
Because of its timeliness, blog articles are displayed in reverse order in the form of a timeline (the latest articles are listed first), so users need to turn back a few more pages to see the old articles.
Pages are static “one-shot” content such as “About Us,” “Contact Us,” “Products or Services,” “Home Page,” and so on.
Pages are usually used to create the structure and layout of a website, even a blog requires some pages to exist.
Why do people start blogs? What are the benefits of blogging?
Every independent blogger has his own reasons. Many people use blogs instead of journals, and blogs provide them with a platform to share their ideas with the world.
Premium brands and businesses create blogs to influence their users, share news, and reach a wider audience. Blogging is an important part of many businesses online marketing strategies.
Here are a few benefits of blogging:
- Provide a platform for you to showcase your skills, creativity, and talents
- Help you become an authority in the industry
- Allows you to interact with like-minded netizens on the Internet
- Many bloggers use various monetization methods to make money from their blogs
- Businesses use blogging to drive more leads to their website
- Nonprofits can use blogs to raise awareness, run social media campaigns, and influence public opinion
Are there any good examples of blogging?
certainly! Millions of individuals and businesses around the world blog, which means there’s a blog for just about every topic you can think of.
Here are some good examples of blogging for your reference. We’ve hand-picked some of the best bloggers in different fields, hoping to give you some inspiration for starting a blog.
1. Pinch of Yum
Pinch of Yum is one of the most popular food blogs on the web. The blog was started by high school teacher Lindsay, who quit her day job to become a full-time blogger.
2. WeTheParents
WeTheParents is a parenting blog run by Neve and Keane, a pair of parents. They share parenting tips on their blog but also make money by recommending products to users.
3. We Wore What
Started by Danielle Bernstein, We Wore What is a great fashion blog. With over 1.5 million followers, it covers everything from fashion to interior design to menswear.
4. Nerd Fitness
A fitness blog started by Steve Kamb, Nerd Fitness is dedicated to helping people stay in shape. It provides fitness advice, fitness motivation, fitness support, diet advice, and exercise tips.
A travel blog founded by Alex, she shares her travels in the blog and also provides some travel tips, advice, and guides for backpackers.
6. Tiny Buddha
Tiny Buddha is a personal blog created by Lori Deschene. The blog posts about happiness, love, relationships, mindfulness, spirituality, simplicity, minimalism, letting go, and more.
How do bloggers make money blogging?
Often, people think bloggers who start blogs do it as a hobby. Some of them are, but there are tons of bloggers out there making money from their blogs. This allows them to focus more on running the blog, quit their day jobs, and build a successful online business.
More and more bloggers can earn 6-figure, 7-figure, or even 8-figure income through their blogs.
The following are the common ways most bloggers make money:
The most common and probably easiest way to make money is by displaying ads. However, as a new blogger, you may not know how to contact advertisers or how to manage the display of your ads. So at this time, you need to use Google AdSense. It will be responsible for contacting the advertiser, displaying the advertisement, charging the advertiser for the advertisement, and paying you the proceeds.
Many bloggers also make money through affiliate marketing. They recommend products on the site, and they earn a commission once users purchase those products.
Other common ways to monetize include memberships, selling online courses, or adding an online store to your blog.
Can anyone start a blog?
That’s right, anyone who wants to start a blog can do so.
In the early stages of blog development, users even needed to write code to upgrade their blogs. And now, there are many tools that allow you to easily set up a blog without writing a single line of code. As long as you know how to use a mouse, you can set up a blog in minutes.
Choosing the wrong blogging platform is a common mistake beginners make. But now that you read this article, you won’t make this mistake again.
We recommend WordPress, the most popular blogging platform and website-building program in the world. Over 30% of all websites in the world are built with WordPress, so you can imagine its popularity.
Hopefully, this article has answered your questions about what a blog is and the difference between a blog and a website.
