Blogging was originally seen as a way to share stories with people online. However, in recent years it has become one of the best ways to market an online business. How is a blog different from a website? What is its purpose?

The goal of this article is to answer these questions by explaining what a blog is and what you need to know to start one.

What Is a Blog? 

A blog is an online publication or part of an online publication that publishes regularly updated content on a specific topic. Alternatively, the term means a website log. 

Blog posts are short articles published individually on web pages that make up a blog. One such article is the one you are currently reading.

What Is the Purpose of a Blog?

People used blogs to share personal information mainly for sharing their own experiences and interests when blogs first emerged. The web blogger Jorn Barger, for example, published essays on IT trends on his Robot Wisdom website. 

Today, a business blog still serves the same purpose, though its content has become much more diverse. Despite the fact that many people still start blogs for personal reasons, others blog for a specific purpose or to build a professional online presence.

Blogging is also used as a marketing channel by many organizations and businesses. Content on their websites usually consists of industry-related information that may appeal to their readers. The blog is usually run by a group of multiple writers, rather than by a single administrator. 

Structure of the blog

Today’s blogs include a range of items and widgets, and their appearance has changed over time. However, most blog structures and features remain the same.

Here are some features that you’ll find on most blogs:

• A navigation bar or menu in the header.
• Contains the latest blog posts or highlighted content.
• An additional sidebar with social media profiles or links to favorite content.
• An appropriate footer with links to disclaimers, privacy policies, and contact pages.

An average blog has the same basic structure as the example above. All items serve a specific purpose and aid visitors in navigating your blog.

Blogs and websites

Blogs and websites seem to be identical to many people, yet there are some differences. Today, it’s even harder to tell the difference between the two. Blogs are being integrated into more and more websites nowadays, so the two are becoming confused.

How are blogs different from websites?

A blog needs to be updated frequently. Food blogs that share recipes or companies that post industry news are good examples.

Reader engagement is also promoted by blogs. The community is given the opportunity to comment and express concerns and opinions. A blog owner updates their site regularly with new blog posts.

A website, on the other hand, consists of static pages that present content. Pages on static websites are rarely updated by their owners.

A blog post can be distinguished from a traditional web page by its publication date, author information, categories, and tags within the byline. The byline elements are not present in all blog posts; however, static website pages do not contain any of them. From the visitor’s perspective, a static website has no change in its content from a visit to visit. A blog owner’s publishing schedule will decide whether his or her blog offers new content every day, week, or month.