Three Differences Between Blogging and Website Designing
A blog is an online discussion or written commentary posted on the Internet, usually consisting of informal, often personal diary style text posts. Blogs are usually displayed in reverse chronological order, with the latest post at the top, then posts past that in descending order of date. Some bloggers use tags to organize topics or ideas in a blog and to classify them by region, topic, or keyword usage. Blogs are also used to provide feedback or opinions to the writer’s associates or readers, and to promote products and services for which the blog receives a fair amount of exposure on the Internet. In some ways, blogs offer an informal social environment for those involved.
The first difference between a blog and a website is that blogs generally do not have a clear, uniform appearance. This is because the structure and design of blogs tend to vary from one blogger to another. While there is generally a home page on many blogs, other blogs may have a contact page or information about the blogger, a subscription form, or a page dedicated entirely to communications with other bloggers. Contact pages and blogs can also vary significantly in terms of functionality, including allowing comments to be posted, receiving and sending email, and publishing a blog to an outside site.
In terms of the Internet and blogging platforms, blogs function somewhat like websites. They generally take a similar layout, and they tend to display the same elements, such as links, text, images, and video. However, some bloggers make money with their blogs by selling advertising or other promotional materials linked to their blog. Other bloggers make money from the traffic their blogs drive to other blogs, creating a circular “feedback loop,” where the blogger receives recognition and feedback, and the other bloggers make money from the advertising or sales provided by the first blogger.
A blog, on the other hand, is a web page that is typically made up of static graphics, typically images, JavaScript code, or flash. In some cases, a static website can be combined with a dynamic blog post by adding a shopping cart feature or similar capability. However, most blog posts are written in an author/owner-authored format, where each post consists of one or more sentences, and the blog owner owns the copyright to the entire article.
A third distinction between blogging and website blogging is the audience. Most website blogs are for general public consumption; they may target a particular demographic, or niche market, or certain types of people. Blogs targeted for a particular audience are usually more informative, more formal, and often less “social” in tone, while the general public blogging is meant for general reading pleasure. Some website content sites, such as Slate, are aimed at specific readership groups such as college students, while some blog posts are more general, such as news and business entries.
All in all, blogging takes a lot of time. Blogging is also time-consuming because many bloggers do not want to spend all their time working on their blogs, and some bloggers will only put in the work on rare occasions. Blogging is also time-consuming because the blogging process requires one to research topics, collect information, and write about those topics in meaningful ways. Lastly, blogging can be a rather lonely business. When a blogger owns their own blog, it becomes harder for them to find others to talk to about their blog, or to generate income from their blog.