How do you know when a blog or a website would be better?

I've got several projects in the works all about topics I'm familiar with. I've purchased domains for some of them and got Blogger blogs for the rest.

What I'd like to know is, how do you know if it's better to start with a blog or a website? Is there a particular genre or style that would fair better as a website, or as a blog? For now, I'm planning to make websites for those topics that need to have a very organized presentation. I may add a blog for each site later on to post news items, links and quick updates. I'd rather use Blogger (or Wordpress) for topics that won't suffer from a chronological listing of articles. Additionally I will post more personal opinions and experiences in my blogs. What do you think?

 

There are a few cool SEO tools you can get for that.Another way is to
ask you target audience what THEY want to see improved.

Cheers.

 

erm....i think you should start with a website....
your idea is good and i hope you manage to do it well....good luck

 

To be honest,I don't think there is any essential difference between them.Maybe the blog don't have that requirement on the hosting configuration.
What's more,there are so many free blogging softwares for the newbie to build their personal blog.Some guys just use it to make friends and communication.
But website is usually used as the online brand of a enterprise.So,if you want to develop your business on the internet,you'd better build your own website
and then make it popular.

 

I think its best to go with both

 

If you want to make it cost effective then i will say go with wordpress blog, if there is no prob in investment then go ahead with website as you can build it in a more customized way.

 

I second that.
There is really not much difference these days as it pertains to presentation, unless you have some really detailed functions or display needs like a lot of flash or some kind of custom database function.

If you are doing it yourself and don't have a lot of experience or knowledge in design or code, then using Wordpress as your platform and buying a custom design is the way to go.

If you know how to code and design, then it really doesn't matter...you can do either and the sky is the limit.

If you know you are adding a blog, there is really no reason to start a static website and then add a blog later when you can do it all at once with many WP layout and design options.

WP is not just for blogs anymore.

 

The major difference is that in a blog sometimes it may be harder to get your meta tags because some themes make it more difficult.

But if your making your own theme then youll be ok.

good luck

 

I'd go with a website first and link it to a Twitter account to stay active with your users. That way, you can still update them on changes and updates, but focus your best efforts on the website initially. THEN launch a wordpress blog

 

You all seem to like Wordpress. I take it this is the Wordpress.org that can be installed on one's own server and works like a CMS. What about Blogger? Doesn't anyone here use it with considerable success? I've signed up for Blogger accounts because they work with AdSense and I don't need to configure a lot.

Also I have a limited web space account now. I don't know how much space my Wordpress.org blogs would eat up. Plus, how do I use a Wordpress.org blog without some kind of domain / hosting name, you know? Wouldn't it be something like "www.yourwebsite.com/yourwordpressblog"?

 

Wordpress has a little more freedom than Blogger in that you can set it up to look like a "regular" website with different pages, etc and have a static front page. From my own experience (and granted I haven't used Blogger for a very long time), the Blogger platform is meant for blogs that want to look like blogs and function like blogs and is not as customizable.

Incidentally, the website-v-blog debate isn't really a matter of which is better for your business or product. It is more a matter of the personality you want your product or business to have. If you want to look more like a professional enterprise, I'd go with a static website that has a blog component to it. If, on the other hand, you want to sell ads and build a reputation as an expert (especially if you are going to be updating your site often), you will be better off with a blog setup at the beginning.

 

General rule have salespages on websites.
Other content on blogs.

Although I have done salespages on blogs lol

 

Good insights! I don't have a business to incorporate for now. This is a hobby - writing about topics I enjoy and adding links and ads of relevant products. A lot of it will depend on personal knowledge and experience, so that's blogging material. But as for looking professional... I tend to think that when a website covers a niche topic that's also its domain name, and the info is very targeted and accurate, people tend to like that and it ranks well in search engines.

For example, a site about "adsense taxes" brings up a site about just that. If I find profitable keywords on favorite topic of mine, would it be better for me to get a domain + website for it? Or would a blog do just fine?

I could, of course, get a domain + blog and worry about websites later. But I just don't have the budget to buy domains for ALL my topics right now.

 

I won' t have sales pages. But I do plan to incorporate Amazon product links to my articles.

Seems to me blogging is a great way to get people to buy your affiliate products and links. If you give good reviews they may be persuaded one way or the other.

 

It sounds like you want to have a blog but are getting caught up in the profitability of it. Why not start out with a single blog and build your audience? Then, if you find that it is needed, you can branch off with a second (or third, fourth, etc) as the need arises. If you try to do too many sites too soon you'll burn out trying to keep them all updated. If you wait and start sites after you've built your audience, you'll have people to follow you to the new sites that you build

The hardest part about starting a new site whether it is a blog or a static site is to remember to take it slowly and build steadily. It is easy to get caught up and want to make all of it happen at once.

 

you should start with a blog(it's easer) - wright whatever you what, then u will see what should you do next after you get some exp

 

Some good thoughts in this thread. It's a question i've often wondered. I feel that a standard website is much better when it comes to SEO & ranking in the SERPs, but for ease of use & updateability, a blog is far superior.

 

Blogs are for niches that need to be updated every few days such as entertainment.
If you want to create a site about how AIDS affects the human body then a site would be better.

 

Build it, and they will come? The process of design and user interaction is best done separately from the process of server speed, database structure and uptime.

 

I would say go with both. If you base a website on the Wordpress platform you have have a few static pages (about us, contact, etc) and you can also have blog posts on your home page. Blog posts or news updates are key on any website because it gives readers interested in the site new content to come back and read, and that's really how you draw in traffic. Having anything dynamic on your site (blog, forum, flash games) that will allow user interaction is what you should be looking to add, so I definitely recommend basing the site on Wordpress and adding a blog into it along with the webpage.

If you're having trouble figuring out how to do that feel free to PM me and I'll link you to some articles about how to set up Wordpress as a site and a blog. It's really pretty simple, even if you don't know how to program or design websites.