Is a Blog Site Separate from WordPress?

The Evolving Face of Blogging

The evolution of social media and blogging has caused many changes in the way we consume content online. As mobile technology has improved, so has the way users consume content on the go. This has forced bloggers to rapidly adapt their blogging platforms and writing styles to fit the new demands of their audience. If you are new to blogging or need a break from the traditional WordPress platform, this evolving guide will help you decide if a blog site is right for your needs.

What is a Blog Site?

Blogs are online platforms where users can post content and engage with other users through comments and social media posts. Typically, blogs are short in length with frequent updates. The most famous blogs around today can be found in the prestigious “blogger’s niche” including TechCrunch, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

These blogs were once considered authoritative and valuable enough to be included in Google’s index, supporting the assertion that blogs can be used to build a strong brand. In 2018, however, Google Panda and Penguin algorithms punish websites with high volumes of duplicate content, forcing bloggers to continually reinvent their platforms to keep up.

Why Should You Try A Blog Site?

Unlike a static website where content is simply stored on a server, a blog is a living, breathing entity that can grow and evolve with your needs and the changing landscape of your industry. A blog site allows you to tailor content to suit your target audience’s needs and desires while retaining the individuality that makes blogs so appealing in the first place.

Many big name bloggers now have their own standalone blog site due to the various advantages that this type of platform offers. For example, you can use a tool like WordPress to quickly spin up a blog in minutes that will look and function exactly like your website but without all the costs and complexity that comes with a fully-fledged website.

The Disadvantages Of A Blog Site

While the advantages of having a blog site are clear, the disadvantages can be just as great. First, because a blog is a dynamic entity that can evolve and change with your needs, upgrading to a new version can be complicated and time-consuming. This is particularly problematic if you are already operating a website with WordPress, as upgrading to a new version can mean losing your entire site’s content.

Additionally, because many blogs are focused on user engagement and finding ways to draw their audience into an interactive dialogue, frequent online users will find their blog sites’ responses to be somewhat limited. Even with well-written blog posts, you will find limited engagement because of the amount of content that already exists on the internet. For these reasons, a standalone blog site is not for everyone.

Why Should You Try A WordPress Blog?

While you should consider every type of blogging platform (including a standalone blog), WordPress is the most popular and most well-known content management system available today. It is a fairly straightforward platform to use that is extremely flexible and has a huge amount of content available for free. Most importantly, WordPress is incredibly versatile and can be used to create both personal and business blogs.

If you are looking for a blogging platform that will allow you to quickly and easily set up a blog for your business, WordPress is the perfect choice. Just make sure to read our key tips below before you begin your blog journey with WordPress.

Top Tips For Bloggers

Here are some top tips for bloggers who are looking to create a successful blog:

• Find your niche – Before you begin your blog journey, you must identify a specific audience and purpose for your blog. Once you do this, you will have a clear idea of what to write about and how to write to suit your target audience. For example, if you identify that your niche is millennial women, you may decide to create a blog around fashion tips or beauty advice. If your niche is digital marketing, you might consider creating a blog around online marketing.
• Curate content that is easy to understand – To ensure that your blog is as effective as possible, you must ensure that your content is easy to understand and valuable enough for your target audience to want more. To achieve this, you must use your unique voice as much as possible while presenting your material in a concise and compelling manner. Your content will be easier to understand if you take the time to write it in a way that is engaging and interesting.
• Use engaging headlines – To make your headlines stand out, use something that is intriguing, quirky, or just a little different. When someone reads your headline, they should be compelled to click on your content to learn more because they are interested in the subject matter.
• Include a call to action – Whether you are writing a personal blog or a work-related blog, ending a blog post without providing some sort of action or call to action is a mistake. Leaving your audience with only a vague feeling of hope that what they are reading is valuable is a disservice to your readers. Incorporate some sort of call to action in the form of a heading or a sub-heading that ends with a call to action such as ‘read more’, ‘get the scoop’, or ‘visit our website for more information’.
• Make sure to add value – When you are writing your blog post, you must add value to your audience. People are not always going to agree with you or your viewpoints, but that is the beauty of a diverse and unpredictable world – sometimes you will agree with something and other times you will disagree. However, in order to add value, you must back up your opinions with facts and evidence.
• Track your success – Once you start getting feedback from your blog post (either positive or negative), you must track how users are responding to your content. While you don’t need to be overly concerned about what others think about you (especially in the beginning), you must keep an open mind and track the results of what you are doing.
• Build a community – Like any other type of social media platform, blogging with a purpose builds a community. When you have built a small community around your blog, you can use your blog to engage with your audience and gain more traction. Consider using your blog to host forums where you can interact with users in a discussion-like setting.
• Use keywords in your headlines, descriptions, and urls – When someone is searching for a topic that you have covered, your blog post will appear high in Google search results because they are using keywords strategically throughout the content. To see the impact of keywords on search results, enter any two words in the Google search bar and observe how many results appear. If you want to learn more, Google provides a free online SEO tool called Keyword Planner that can be accessed from their Search bar. Simply enter a key word or phrase and hit enter to find resources that you can use to implement a keyword strategy.
• Have a clear purpose – A common mistake that new and experienced bloggers make is thinking that their blog exists for fun. While it is essential that you have fun along the way, you must always keep a clear purpose in mind – why do you blog? What is your purpose? To earn money? To make a statement? Whatever your reasons are, you must keep them in mind and make sure that your motivations match your actions.

The Differences Between Blogger and WordPress

The main difference between blogger and WordPress is that a WordPress blog is hosted by the system itself while a Blogger blog is stored in a Google account that you own. Additionally, if you decide to go with WordPress, you can take advantage of their free, open-source content management system which allows non-technical users to simply install and start using without any training wheels. With Blogger, you must install and maintain the blogging software manually which requires some technical expertise.

This is a fairly large reason why so many people choose to go with WordPress. Not only does it provide a safe and easy blogging experience for beginners (similar to a Tumblr blog), but it also offers numerous advantages to more experienced users. With WordPress, you can create and run multiple blogs from a single dashboard as well as make use of the large community of users and developers who are willing to help you improve your site.

Creating A Successful Blog

To create a successful blog, you must first find your niche and establish why you are writing in the first place. Once you have an idea of what you are going for, you can craft a compelling editorial calendar and begin to plan your content strategy.

From there, you can use your calendar to map out what you are going to write about and when you are going to write it. Just remember that you should only write about what you know and feel confident that you can back up with facts and research.