Even if you are not a regular user of the web, words such as “blog”, “blogger”, and “blogging” must sound familiar. As for those of us who know something about a blog, we often get confused about the difference between a website and a blog.<\/p>\n
To put it simply, a blog is a type of website<\/a>, where the most recent content is displayed, first. In technical terms, the content is often displayed in reverse chronological order so that the newer content is always visible to the visitor. As evident by this order of entries on the blog, blogs are mostly used to offer new information.<\/p>\n Whenever the blogger adds new content, the information is displayed as a new “blog post”. Sometimes, these blog posts are also called “entries”. Accordingly, the new “blog post” is automatically displayed at the top of the blog page, which is a way of providing fresh information to the reader.<\/p>\n The order of the blog entries can be changed depending on the requirement. For instance, it is also possible to pin a specific blog post at the top of a page so that it remains there until it needs to be moved. Therefore, it is not uncommon for bloggers to pin a blog post at the top of a blog page if it contains important information. As new entries are created, the pinned blog post remains at the top, and newer entries are added to the bottom of the first entry in chronological order.<\/p>\n To keep track of the order of a blog post, most blogging platforms automatically add a “date” and “time-stamp” to each entry. Perhaps, “date” and “time-stamps” are the easiest method to maintain a correct sequence of entries. As new blog posts are published, they are automatically categorized in the order they were created.<\/p>\n Your blogging software may also offer a variety of options to organize the blog. These options can include changing the sequence of blog posts to show posts in a certain category on top of the page. Similarly, the order of entries can be changed to show specific blog posts for a particular amount of time on the first page.<\/p>\n After reading previous paragraphs, it should be obvious that the main difference between a blog and a website is the manner in which the information is presented to the reader. Whereas the main page of a website remains static without any frequent changes to the information, the main page of a blog continues to change on a regular basis. Accordingly, a blogger can write several blog posts every day.<\/p>\n Another major difference between the content of the website and a blog is the writing style. A blog is usually written in an informal conversational style. Many of the popular blogs use a variety of jargons and slangs to engage the reader. Some bloggers feel that natural expressions and informal attitude is important to build strong bond with the audience.<\/p>\n The informal style seems practical because popular bloggers usually have a lot of fan followings who keenly follow the blog. In contrast, a website is mostly geared towards a wider audience and customer base; therefore websites are usually characterized by formal writing techniques. It will not be an overstatement to suggest that some blogs are informal because they reflect the individual identity and style of the blogger.<\/p>\n If you have ever written comments after reading an article on the Internet, chances are that you have commented on a blog. Perhaps, the most visible difference between a website and a blog is the ability to post a comment under the article. As blogs are noted for their unique identity, bloggers like to engage visitors by allowing them to post their views about the topic. Next time, you come across an article that allows comments, see if you can notice any difference between the blog page and a typical website page.<\/p>\n Sometimes the difference between a website and a blog are not apparent at first sight. It can happen because some bloggers turn off the ability to comment on a blog. There may be multiple reasons for this action such as avoiding harsh comments on a controversial topic. Other reasons may include annoying comments posted by readers. In addition, some bloggers don't feel comfortable answering questions.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the ability to control the comments also makes a blog a powerful tool that is often used by bloggers in a variety of ways. For instance, blocking negative comments from readers will yield a positive image of the blog if most of the other comments are positive. On the other hand, the strategy can also backfire, as some readers may continuously interfere by writing comments with a different username. Overall, it is obvious that blogs are dynamic; therefore fresh comments and writings can be more powerful communication tools compared to a static website.<\/p>\n If you are still confused about the purpose of creating a separate blog, think of a blog as an information page, which is often categorized in different categories and tags to find pertinent and fresh information. A good example of the need to create a blog is a travel blog for a travel brand to offer different deals to customer.<\/p>\n For a travel website offering different travel deals, it does not make sense to make tens of different web page categories reflecting travel deals in various months. Hundreds of such pages will often mess up things and offer jumbled information with lots of fuzzy tags. By creating tags and categorizing deals, a blog can also provide a sense of order<\/p>\n To present the travel deals in a streamlined order, it is practical to build a blog inside the main website. The travel blog can then be customized to include hundreds of different tags, which can be used to offer information on discounts. As such, it will be easier for visitors to navigate literally hundreds of different tags because the blog is designed to offer information in a chronological sequence.<\/p>\n Website Blog<\/i><\/p>\n If you are a potential blogger, remember not all websites can be called a blog, but every blog can be a website. To illustrate the anomaly, it should be noted that website owners can easily build a separate page for blogging. For example, WordPress offers the ability to design a webpage that also contains a blog.<\/p>\n A blog incorporated into a website allows website owners to post new information for their readers without disrupting the original content. Often, advertising companies have a separate blog section on their website, which is easily accessible through the website navigation menu. While the main page of the advertising company shows their current promotions, the blog is used to keep follower engaged with the brand. Hence, blogs can also be a part of a larger website making them a powerful marketing tool for the website.<\/p>\n Independent Blog<\/i><\/p>\n There are many blogs that also function as an independent website. In this scenario, the main page of the website is a blog; whereas, the other pages, reflected in the navigation menu, are supporting pages. These supporting pages usually provide information about the blogger; their contact information; and their work. Just as a normal website, the navigation menu may include links such as “About Us”, “Contact”, and “Portfolio”.<\/p>\n There are many blogging platforms designed to create a stand-alone blog. Some of the popular blog platforms<\/a> include WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, and Wix, among others. These platforms offer easy-to-use tools enabling bloggers to start an effective blog, quickly.<\/p>\n Further Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n These days, there are variety of software and tools to create a blog. However, the structure of most blogs have not changed, which is a testament to the strength of the original theme of blogging. Almost all popular blogs follow a basic structure.<\/p>\n The basic blog structure consists of four elements, which are header, main content, sidebar, and footer. The header contains the title and vital information on the overall theme of the blog. Unlike websites, good blogs are able to provide enough information in the sub-title, which is enough to inform visitors about the purpose of the blog. Apart from the title and sub-titles, the header contains menus, navigation bar, contact and links to past blogs.<\/p>\n It is also worth mentioning that bloggers often put special emphasis on “About Me” link inside the header, which allows them to introduce themselves and their skills to the potential reader of the blog. Often, the mobile versions of blogs only contain one or two visible navigation menus on the header, making it easier for readers to navigate.<\/p>\n The main section of the blog is under the header. This section highlights the main content of the blog comprising of the latest blog posts. Just like a good byline, bloggers try to attract readers using catchy and often controversial headlines, forcing visitors to read the entry. It is also not uncommon for bloggers to pin a popular blog post to the top of a blog so that it is the first post seen by the visitor. It is an effective strategy because any popular post with lots of shares will definitely arouse the interest of first-time visitors. As for regular visitors, they are already accustomed to reading the blog; therefore, it should not be difficult for them to navigate around the blog. Most often, the latest entries are under the “pinned” blog post.<\/p>\n Depending on the layout and theme of a blog, the sidebar mostly contains shareable social buttons. These include favorite contents, bookmarked entries, and a call to action. Due to relatively smaller screen size, the sidebar is more prominent in the mobile versions of a blog. These sidebars are used to create a buzz by giving readers an opportunity to share the blog entry. Overall, sidebars are associated with the marketing intent of the blogger.<\/p>\n The footer of a blog is the fourth basic element of a blog design. Just like a normal website, it also has relevant links to disclaimers, privacy policy, and contact page. Sometimes, bloggers use the footer to incorporate links that could not be included inside the header of the blog.<\/p>\n As with any blog, the layout and structure of the blog varies according to the taste of the blogger. Still, most popular bloggers like to keep their blogs as simple as possible because a variety of elements on the page will likely distract readers from the topic. Since blogs are created to create relationships and build strong bonds with readers, keeping the blog as simple as possible is helpful and practical.<\/p>\n According to experts, blog started as a mix of what was happening on the Internet, and what was happening in people's life. As it became easier to share information, people started to share their experiences with like-mind people on the Internet. As the community of these writers grew, new words such as web and logs were introduced to describe their writing. Later, the word, “weblog” was shortened to “blog”.<\/p>\n There were many self-proclaimed bloggers in the heydays of the Internet. However, blogs and blogging became a worldwide phenomenon with the introduction of blogger.com, which allowed almost everyone to write and share their information, stories, and thoughts easily without writing a single word of computer code. The experience was enhanced by the introduction of WordPress because WordPress provided added functions and lots of flexibility for bloggers.<\/p>\nOrder of a blog post: How fresh information is displayed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What is the Difference between a website and a blog<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Website Blog vs Independent Blog<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Structure of a Blog<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How blogs started?<\/strong><\/h3>\n