Building an online business takes some planning. The better your plan the more successful your business will be. One of the most important decisions you need to make is to create a blog or build a website.
A blog is essentially a content management system (CMS) where you frequently add new content. It’s database driven and the design is separate from the content.
A static html website usually consists of html pages that are not as frequently updated as a blog. It consists of 5-20 pages.
Disadvantages of a blog
1. Needs to be constantly updated
If you don’t add new content on a regular basis your blog will join the 1000s of abandoned blogs on the net. A website may contain evergreen content that doesn’t need constant updating. For example a tutorial has timeless value for your visitors. Even if you don’t update the website the content is still relevant.
2. Content rapidly loses rankings
New content may immediately appear in the search engines however after a few hours or days it has lost its rankings. Content on a website maintains its rankings due if it has a themed structure. Blog content is not linked together but rather stacked on top of each other. Only the latest post can be seen and receives a temporary ranking.
3. Structure is not theme-based
Writing content for a blog tends to be based on personal opinions, lastest news or events whereas a website tends to be theme-based. The structure of a website allows all pages to be linked together so all pages relate to the theme of the website.
4. Difficult to view content
Only the latest post or the last few posts are displayed on the front page. To view older posts the visitor has to dig through the archives or site map. The themed structure of a website enables visitors to easily access and view all the content.
5. High bounce rate
Blog visitors read the newest post then leave. Theme-based websites tend to keep visitors longer as they explore the content more deeply. The content helps pre-sell the visitor.
6. Constant need to upgrade blog software
Blogs run on software like WordPress that constantly needs upgrading to fix security flaws. You’ll either have to learn how to do this yourself or pay someone to do it for you every time there’s a new upgrade. Websites are built with html pages that can be stored on your computer. If you lose your files on the server you still have a copy on your computer. If you lose your blog files on the server you’ll lose all the content stored in the database unless you constantly create copies on your computer..
7. Contains 100s of files
Blogs contain 100s of files stored in a database. These files need to be accessed from the server which often slows the loading time of the blog. if one of these files gets corrupted it may affect the entire blog. If your blog gets hacked you will lose all your files.
A static website only consists of html pages thus reducing load times. If it gets hacked you can quickly restore the files because they are stored on your computer.
Tips
Define the purpose of your online business first before deciding if you’ll create a blog or a theme-based content website. If you’re committed to frequently adding new content and interacting with your visitors create a blog. If you want to build an online business around a particular theme that has evergreen content and maintains it’s rankings in the search engines build a theme-based content website.
If you already have a theme-based website that gets a lot of traffic but want to interact with your audience consider adding a blog to it.
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Build a Blog or Static Website – My Case Study
Should You Blog Or Build A Web Site?
A Theme-Based Content Site serves your visitors better, builds more long-term targeted traffic, and monetizes greater than a blog.
