Is it better to start a blog or a website?

1. 87

   Victoria Lynnposted 12 years ago

   Is it better to start a blog or a website?
   
   If you're wanting to promote your writing or business, is a blog or website better? What's the difference and why is one better than the other?

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2. 71

   forlandaposted 12 years ago

   Here's how I see it....
   
   If you are trying to promote something, be it your writing or some product or service, then you may want to establish both a blog and a business web site.  Each can serve a purpose.
   
   The business web site can serve to get leads and/or sell what you have.  The blog can serve to keep you connected with your customers or potential customers.  The blog isn't there to sell your product, it is there to maintain connection with the user or customer base.  You can use it to get a feel for what your customers or followers need, or you can use it to share something related to your business.
   
   There are many other possible uses of blogs to reinforce your business web site.  Now-a-days a Facebook fan page may  serve the same purpose.  It's free and you can establish a good following if people are interested in what you have.

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3. 79

   Ronna Penningtonposted 12 years ago

   I think either is fine as long as it represents you professionally. The blog is free, but websites are pretty cheap. I think people stay away from websites because they are challenged in web design. If you need an idiot-proof design program, I recommend WebStudio. It's an easy drag and drop program that's so easy even I can use it. I tend to use blogs to do some creative writing, then use those blog links as writing samples on my website. I usually change my website once a year, just because I enjoy tinkering with it. The website allows for more creativity in design, number of pages, etc.

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   1. 87

      Victoria Lynnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Ronna, so WebStudio is for creating a website rather than a blog? Thanks for all the info. I really want to get into something--just trying to figure out what. I certainly would be challenged in web design, I think.

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   2. 79

      Ronna Penningtonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Victoria Lynn, I tried making a blog first because it's free. I never could figure out how to get links where I wanted them, etc. I got webstudio and it lets me do what I want...and I don't have to understand a lot. I'll send you links.

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4. 66

   Damodar Bashyalposted 12 years ago

   Blog is a website but website may not be a blog. http://learntipsandtricks.com/blog is a blog but http://coupongiftdeals.com is a website.
   
   Website can have blogs, question answer forums, search, deals, ecommerce etc but blogs have articles.
   
   So, if you want to promote your business and writing, you will create a website with business info etc and have a blog section within the website.

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5. 61

   Island Tropicalposted 12 years ago

   It is actually not much different, a website is as good as a blog.

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6. 60

   fpherj48posted 12 years ago

   Gosh Vee.......I was gonna ask you the same question!   I figure you would know the answer better than anyone else about what the difference between the 2 is!  Looks like we're both gonna be very interested in all the responses you get!!   Good question!!

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   1. 87

      Victoria Lynnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, effer! I'm actually just now learning about how to start a blog. I've been wanting to for a while, but I'm generally slow in getting something started until I know a lot more about it. I'm trying to learn! We will learn together!

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7. 61

   adam-kashposted 12 years ago

   Well, it depends on your needs, and the kinda business you want to start..
   I have a website. I've searched for answers to this question; as I had no idea which one to choose, especially if one of them is free! kinda makes you think " if blogs are free, why would I choose a website?!"
   I am not really experienced; but I'll tell you the answers I found for this question.
   
   1- people often forget long urls like 'mywebsite.wordpress.com" or "mywebsite.blogspot.com" .. i know it sound ridiculous but it is true!
   
   2- If you are planning for a big business with lots of content and long list of subscribers; then you need a website (choosing a website means; you'll need a hosting plan, which will give you domain name, disk space usage, bandwidth etc)
   P.s look for unlimited hosting plans as they will give you unlimited everything, and they aren't expensive!
   
   3-  websites rank higher than blogs!
   
   My advice, if you are planning to grow a business on the long run, then you should definitely choose a website,  but wait.., you'll also need a blog!
   in that case, blog will serve you well - to drive traffic to your website.. think of it as a back-link... am sure you already know, google loves websites with plenty of back-links..
   
   based on this information, I chose a website to start my business..
   P.S If you choose website, please choose your hosting company very carefully, as most of them are rubbish.. read reviews, they will help you decide.
   
   hope that helped
   Good luck!

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      urmilashukla23posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Very good answer.

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   2. 61

      adam-kashposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you!

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8. 0

   calculus-geometryposted 12 years ago

   The distinction between the two is not so clear, a blog can easily be made to look like a static website with the right CMS.  A website can have a static portion that contains articles and an interactive portion that includes a blog or a forum. Not every type of business really needs a blog, but it's a good idea to have one if you do events and want to keep people updated about changes.
   
   Whatever you do, do not use a free platform for a business website or blog.  Blogger, Weebly, Webs, Wordpress.com, etc. will make you seem less professional.  Get a domain name and a basic hosting package.  Don't use a free webhost with a paid domain name or a paid host with a free domain name, since those are often scams or have some hidden limitations.  Buy both separately.
   
   I know that the free way is the easy way, but in the long run it's not good for business. People will see your url with "blogspot" or whatever at the end and think "If this person's business is so great, why can't they afford their own website?"
   
   Plus, a lot of free hosts and free sites can just up and disappear, poof! When you buy something, you get a little extra protection and customer support.
   
   http://paxwill.hubpages.com/hub/Startin … First-Time

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9. 38

   securityproducts3posted 12 years ago

   A blog is very easy, and user friendly to set up, therefore it is something that almost anyone can do in the matter of weeks. It does have some downfalls though, because the credibility of a blog is not as profound as that of a well built website. and you are restricted in some of your design efforts.
   
   In the long run, if you want to start a company, a website is what you are looking for. I am in college right now, and never had any experience with building webpages, but after about a year or so of researching and learning, I was able to build a website dedicated to selling security products. Check it out if you'd like http://www.securityproductsolutions.com/
   
   Also if you ever decide to start a website, and get stuck on some stuff, feel free to ask me for some help. I'm still No pro, but  I know my way around!

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10. 64

    Duchessoflilac1posted 12 years ago

    Start with a blog, then go to a website. I've been blogging for a while now. My blogs get more hits than my website ever did.

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11. 76

    bernard.sinaiposted 12 years ago

    They both have their limitations.
    
    Blogs are naturally SEO friendly so visibility is great. However, if you are thinking of promoting and selling online then I suggest getting a website. While blogs are great, they are limited.
    
    Websites are open for you to tweak, add, remove etc. However, you have to work on SEO to get visibility and traffic. Fortunately, there are many tools available for that.
    
    In the end your decision should be based on what you want.

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12. 60

    Eric Mulfordposted 12 years ago

    Over the last few years this answer has changed. It once was the best means to promote was to have a website. They had more features, were easier to monitize and appeared to rank well. That has changed as blogs have added more features. There are very few advantages today of having a website over a blog. I personally have gone with the blog format today as I can do everything I want with a blog.

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13. 57

    quizbombposted 12 years ago

    For the most part the best combination is to use a cms blog platform AS a website. Blog technology has lots of advantages over html css driven websites such as ready made template designs, plugins and the fact that blogs are SEO friendly.

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    Free2writ3posted 12 years ago

    If you have all the means to start a website you should definitely go through with it because there are many benefits to owning your own site. However, if you feel that starting a website is complicated for you then a blog is definitely the way to go.

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    remanikiposted 12 years ago

    As far as I know it is like this: A website is static whereas a blog is not. I can have a website and build say ten or twenty pages of content. I can get my site indexed and build some links to increase my site's web presence.
    
    In addition to this, if I have a blog within my website or one independently of my site linking to it, I keep updating my blog with fresh content. This attracts Google bots to visit my blog that increases my website's rankings on Google.
    
    It is not possible or feasible to update my website regularly, so I will have to have a blog so as to keep updating it every now and then with fresh information relevant to my website's content.

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16. 52

    shariff347posted 12 years ago

    Well, as a beginner it would be easy for you to start with a blog because of the simplicity to create a blog likewise the creation of a website needs alot of techniques which a beginner actually cannot do that or may find it difficult.

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17. 70

    KarenCreftorposted 12 years ago

    I've covered different ways to write online in this hub:
    
    http://karencreftor.hubpages.com/hub/Ho … g-Platform
    
    Hope this helps!
    ~Kaz x

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18. 60

    kanakeakposted 7 years ago

    Initially there are no difference between an website and a blog. But as a product seller you could wants to show your visitors the products at first when they landed on your site. So, for a business its always good to maintain an website in front with all of the products and their details. And you should maintain a blog in some sub domain or sub directory like blog.example.com or example.com/blog to write some reviews about products to maximize your exposure in search engines. Which is really helpful to gain higher ranking in search engines also.

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