A blog is not a website - or is it?
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In many ways this is better than the other way around – having an out of date website without any social presence or blogging can nowadays look static and old fashioned.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:
Comments
Ros Astaire
Thanks Keren, as usual an invaluable post. I always make sure I read your posts as they are so helpful and informative.
Ros Astaire [WeightExpectations]
Tanya Rennick
What you say makes absolute sense. I believe the two need to go hand in hand. I’m just writing my blog as we speak! It clearly is the way forward and a great way of keeping things fresh. Equally the website is a must for all the reasons you have mentioned. Very well put, thank you.
Felicity Lerouge
Thanks, Keren, for pointing out the advantages of blogs versus websites and making it clear that, really, it is important to have both. It’s great, though, when you are first starting up to know that a blog will be a good start, allowing you to share your latest news with your target audience, which reminds me, I really need to write mine….
Alicia Cowan
Thanks for your clear explanation about the best uses for a blog and website. Something many business owners get confused about. Thanks for sharing, Keren, really useful.
Karen Haller
Hi Keren,
As a very happy client of yours and having followed your recommendation, I’m really pleased I have a website with an inbuilt blog for all the reasons you’ve given. I feel I have a great online presence.
Tamsin Fox-Davies
This is a great explanation of what works where.
I’ve worked with a number of clients who don’t set out the connection between their website and their blog in the right way to start with, and it always means they are losing out and sending a confusing message to their readers.
I especially like your point about having testimonials everywhere – it really works!
Anneka Mistry
I absolutely agree, finding the right way of combining a website with a blog puts your site miles ahead of static, out dated websites. However, I’ve seen sites which have a blog section but don’t actually use them, many people don’t understand the benefits of blogging and how it can improve your ranking…but blogging is only of use to certain types of businesses and individuals. You should consider how you want your site to benefit customers and whether your able to continually update it, before committing to a blog.
Amanda Vlahakis
I completely agree with everything you have said, it really is ideal to have both but when budgets are tight I’d definitely opt for a blog instead of just a website.
Great blog 🙂