There are many people who are using blogs as a replacement for a website.

A blog can make up your entire web presence, and has many benefits. Blogs are easy to update regularly, which means you can keep your content fresh. The most recent “post” comes up at the top. You can use it for text, images, video and audio and it takes very little time to put content online.  Blogs are also brilliant for search engines as varied and frequent content means search engines will visit your site more often and this will mean higher rankings. Blogs are also less expensive than a full website. And by having a blog you can build on your credibility because you can continue to showcase your skills, knowledge, expertise and work. And blog posts are more easily shared amongst people on social media, which means your post will have many more views than without a blog.

So, we really love blogs!

For those with a limited budget – having a blog instead of a full website is something we regularly recommend.
In many ways this is better than the other way around – having an out of date website without any social presence or blogging can nowadays look static and old fashioned.

But for optimum usability and to really showcase your business, there are some things that are more easily navigable on a website.

What makes more sense as part of a website

• A section called”Case Studies” where you can tell some stories about work you have done in the past
• Specific pages for each of your Services which can explain to people what they can expect
• A “Meet the Team” section with pictures of the staff and brief bios (we recommend links to their LinkedIn pages)
• Contact Us page with possibly a form, a map to where you are, and all your main contact details
• A really clear proposition of what you are actually selling – so people can see what your business is!

Note: Testimonials are good to have everywhere – within each page, on your homepage, and on pages with related content.

What makes more sense as part of a blog

• Recently launched projects
• Events and workshops you are running, attending, have run
• Video blogs reviewing events
• Video testimonials from clients
• New partnerships, new deals, new hires within your business
• Interviews with people in your industry
• Guest blogs from people who would be of interest to your audience
• Tips, Step by Steps, and How tos for your clients and contacts
• Collections and Roundups of things within your industry
• Reviews of software or tools which are relevant to your audience.

In addition, a standalone blog can have an “about this blog” type area and a blog can often be designed to even look like a website, with the categories placed horizontally across the top.

So the best option is to?

The ideal scenario is that you would have a website with a blog. This is something we specialise in here at Top Left Design. It allows you to have the best of both worlds – showcase your expertise and be as clear as possible about who you are, what you do, how you add value to your clients/customers.

Below are some examples: