Blog v Website: What's The Difference? (Find Out If You Didn't Know).

Many people who want to start blogging have asked this question a lot of times, and they want to know the meaning and/or difference between a blog and a website.

Now, this post today is just a quick read to make you understand what the two terms mean, now that you have shown some great interest in blogging.

And since I have also noticed that most people who are either starting up or planning to venture into blogging misunderstand a few things here and there when it comes to those two words. So I have therefore decided to do just the explanations bit for those who would want to know a little bit or even more about them in the blogging industry.

If you continue reading more related contents from this blog, you will realize that in most of my blog posts I have used the two terms (blog and website) interchangeably. Meaning they are more or less one and the same thing.

• Note: Anyone can start a blog and it doesn't matter who you are, what age, your industry, profession etc. Provided you can read, write, tell a story and/or advice or solve your target audience's problems; but most importantly you have access to the internet where you will be able to express all you can online, through your blog or website.

But before we go further let me draw your attention to the following statement.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and so that means, if you click and/or purchase any product/service through the links I may receive a commission at no cost to you, at all. The earnings only enables us to cater for our blogging expenses and to keep this site active by providing you with relevant information. Read full disclosure...

Ok, let's proceed, and keep on reading.

What is a blog?

A blog is basically an informational platform or web page on the world wide web (www) with a specific address i.e a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) through which you can be able to access where that page is located or hosted online.

Most importantly it is a platform where regular post(s) and communication updates are posted right on that blog page for the target audience on an hourly, daily or weekly. There is an aspect of chronology in the order of published posts, where latest posts appears on top of the other previous ones.

It also has some other identifiers like the frequent post publications log or update archives, related posts, the individual or corporate author(s) who most of the time happens to be the blog owner (webmaster) and they are the ones who contribute by posting those contents; date of blog posts; comments section etc.

Again like I said, I normally use the two terms - blog and website - interchangeably just like many other [bloggers] out there. But you will realize that there are some slight difference among the two.

So, What is a Website?

As I have mentioned above, that I commonly use the two terms (blog and website) and switch them up in most of my blogging activities or in the blogs posts. So that means the two platforms are more or less one and the same thing, serving the some informational and communication purposes when it comes to their functions.

But what is a website? A website is a static (not changing frequently) world wide web page(s) or site, that is meant to be used in dissemination of information or to communicate ideas, advice etc to the audience.

Contents of a website can be the same as those in a blog, but they are mostly guiding the audience about what a company does, where it is located (physical location), the email address, contacts, homepage etc. So you can also post or upload e.g articles, images, photo portfolio, infographics, videos, webinars, podcasts etc.

A website most of the time has a blog section for regular updates to the company's customers or audience.

So a website is a static web page without regular contents updates, unlike a blog that is updated frequently.

I hope you now understand what it is and how you can use it.

Now that you know what a blog or website mean, let us go a little bit further and understand a short history, and also the reasons for starting a blog or website.

Short History of a Blog and Website.

A blog became more common and active from the mid to late 90' where it was more used by larger organizations, governments and the military as a community platform.

It was first known as "weblog" which simply means "web" for website, and "log" that stands for logarithm(s).

It later metamorphosed into "web log", then again into "we blog" as some people thought it should be, then to its shortened form what is now known as a "blog".

Blog Iater in the late 90' (1996-1998) it became even more popular among the individuals themselves, where it would now be more like a personal dairy or journal that people would publish things about their personal or family life, travel, school, best ideas etc.

With time up-to date came the advancement of technology that propelled blog, bloggers and blogging to greater heights of what today's blogging industry encompasses or revolves around.

It is where now you can link your blog posts internally or externally, share posts, update within the blog, add or remove themes, advertise and make money etc, through the web technologies. And that is how it became to be.
Now, what are the reasons for people to start a blog or website?

Reasons to Start a Blog or a Website.

There are a number of reasons for that, and many people have different reasons too for starting a blog/website, but the most common ones are because they want to:-

• Start earning income from their contents.
• Most companies use it as news dissemination platform.
• Blog as a hobby just for fun or keep journals of important events that you want to remain as part of important history.
• For philanthropy to assist or uplift a certain good course.
• Use it for web presence and social media marketing as a strategy.
• For pure free advice to the audience in need, through showcasing of your expertise, experiences among others.
• Teach others about blogging etc.

If you decide now to create a blog or website, then I do hope you have a clear reason in mind why you want to do so. But whatever it is that you want to blog about make sure it is a legal thing.

What's the Difference Among the Two (Blog v Website)?

What separates the two is actually that a website is more or less a static web page with several categories or pages, including a blog category or page within a website.

Note: A website can house a blog page within it, but not the other way round. A blog can't house a website.

A blog has posts that appear in a reverse order in its publication, but a website is static with constant pages in it.

Similarities of Functions (Blog v Website).

A website is more static but a blog is dynamic (frequently updated) in nature. But both of them perform more or less the same functions, like for;

• Dissemination, distribution and/or display of information; and that is why you will find that most people in the blogging industry (bloggers) like to use the terms blog or website interchangeably.
• And both are run by an individual webmaster or a group of people as an organization, and who can decide to post or update the site as they so wish.

They all have some static elements or aspects in them, like the home page, contact, email address, physical location, social media pages, privacy policy, terms of service etc.

If you like you can call or refer to the two terms as (a blog site or a site), all are still acceptable.

Final Conclusion.

For some of you who are new or want to create a blog or a website but you are still confused between which is which, then the above is the simple explanation about their difference, slight similarities and functions.

If you want to start a blog/website now as a starter or you are someone just browsing and doing a little bit of research to know more, then this is the information that you need.

I hope this will help you as a beginner. So don't forget to share this post to a friend or colleague who may need it.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Also check out these other posts selected for you:

• The Beginners and Potential Bloggers: Here's What You Need to Know About Them.
• How to Create a Blog in Blogger in Just 5 Minutes (Here's 3 Easy Steps).
• How to Navigate, Write and Publish Your First Blog Post in Blogger.