Have you ever wanted to start establishing a presence online for your ministry, organization, cause, or simply for yourself but you were unsure whether a website or a blog is best for you? You’re not alone. Many people are unsure what the key differences are and easily choose the wrong one.

Bottom line, a blog is a type of a website (Web log= Blog). A website is a general term(site on web=website).

To help you discover the differences, and similarities, between the two, we’ll define each one and mention some typical components of each.

What’s a Blog?

A blog is a web log and is typically organized with a chronological listing of blog posts. A blog normally has the most recent content (post) shown first followed by the previously updated content (posts). You can easily start your own blog with services like WordPress, Blogger, etc. which provide you with the basics to start such as home pages, menu links, and design templates.

[Related: How to Start a Website or Blog in 20 Minutes or Less]

A blog is composed of new content and the more that it is updated, the more online attention it will get. The content should be of high quality and regularly updated.

Blogs have posts

Every post has it’s own unique URL that you can share, embed, etc. This is typically generated automatically after you enter the post title.

The main page of a blog lists the series of latest posts in reverse-chronological (newest to oldest) order. Bloggers often show no more than 12 recent posts on their blogs main home page.

Typical components of a blog:

• A chronological listing of blog posts.
• A commenting system that invites readers to participate in the communication and leave behind comments. Although, some bloggers decide to disable the commenting option.
• Regular updating known as “posting”
• Blog posts are archived by:
  • Date
  • Category
  • Author
  • Tags
  • Sub-categories

What’s a Website?

A website can essentially be anything on the Internet. Just like with blogs, you can easily start your own website with services like WordPress, Dreamweaver, etc. which provide you with the basics to start such as home pages, menu links, and design templates.

[Related: Why Start a Website for Your Organization or Ministry Work?]

Websites have pages

A website may have a blog component, but the home page would be for browsing other pages and not just posts. In the example below, this is Shaping Destiny’s home page that allows the viewer to browse other pages. The About Us is a page all of its own; it is static and doesn’t change unless new staff members are added, the mission or vision statement are updated, etc. Typically, it remains the same. The Donate page is one static page that leads straight to an online donation form hooked up to PayPal for the payment platform.

A blog can be a part of a website, in the form of  a separate page and linked to the homepage. A website is bigger than a blog and could be anything from a single page to an entire online store. Shaping Destiny, for example, has a blog as part of their website.

Typical components of a website:

• A home page that shows content from several internal pages.
• A blog might be a part of a website, but not the entire thing.
• A FAQ page readers can browse to get more information.
• A page of client testimonials and feedback.
• Company’s terms, privacy statements, mission, vision, values, etc.
• A Contact form.
• A services/products page that displays what they are offering.