Website or Blog?

The decision to build a website or blog is a difficult one.

When I first started blogging, there really was no question for me. I did not know html or how to use a package like Dreamweaver or Komposer. I really just want to get online and Google Blogger was the easiest route. It even took me a while to muster up the courage to try WordPress.

Things have changed a lot in the past few years – and it is even possible to create a “standard” site with WordPress software. Creating a static main page can be done directly from the settings panel. And instead of creating new posts, just create new pages. A blog can then added as a supplement to the WordPress website.

But does it really matter? What is the difference? Why choose one over the other?

Well, a blog is chronological series of posts. The author writes something new on a regular basis, and the new post takes the place of the old on the front page. The older posts get pushed into second and third position etc.

A website is more stationery. The author creates a page and links to it from another page. The main page generally stays the same, unless it is edited or updated.

Both structures work well on the internet.

The advantages to blogging are this:

• content is fresh
• easy to set up
• search engines seem to pick up and index new posts faster than webpages
• writing a quick post here and there is easy and fast.
• Social networking is easier. Bloggers tend to support other bloggers.

The disadvantages to blogging are as follows:

• A blog can start to look “stale” if a blogger doesn’t post regularly.
• Once a blog reaches a certain size – it can become disorganized, making it difficult for readers to navigate and find older information.

And to counterbalance the above, the advantages of a website are:

• Doesn’t appear “neglected” if author doesn’t post for awhile
• Content can be managed and structured following a master plan
• A blog can be added to supplement the site
• Readers can find information easier (if structured well) because the front page is not always changing

And the cons are as follows:

• more difficult to set up
• more difficult to build a social following
• more difficult to engage readers

I am sure that many readers here have strong opinions on one structure versus the other – and I would love to hear them!

Personally, when it comes to building a website or blog – I have tried both. This site is set up as a weblog. As it is a new site I am trying hard to organize my posts into categories and groups that will be easy to navigate as the site grows. Despite the newness, I have already experienced one of the downsides of blogging. I had family visiting last week – including the members of my household, there were eleven of us in my small home. Needless to say, posting was not happening. And IMO the site started to grow a few weeds around the edges.

However, my traditional site kept it’s regular look. Because the homepage doesn’t change regularly, it was not apparent that I had left it unattended for a week plus.

One of the organizations for which I am an affiliate is called Site Build It! – which is basically a website building program. Some people love it and some people don’t. But – keeping in mind that their perspective is to sell their website packages (what I’m saying is read this with a grain of salt) – they do have a good analysis of the pros and cons of building a website or a blog.

When I am creating a site – at this point I will have gone through the first few steps of the process that I have outlined in my How To Build A Website series. First I will have defined my blogging goals (see How to Start A Blog). Then I will have chosen some possible topics (see Blog Topics – What is Yours?). After which I would have pared down the list (see Blog Topics – Narrow it Down). And finally, I would have brainstormed some ideas for monetizing my site (see Website Monetization Planning).

Once I decided on the structure – I move on to choosing a domain name.

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