A Blog functions like an online diary. It can be updated as often as the creator likes by simply adding a new post. One of the main advantages is that most blogs are free. The potential domain name can be limited in that is normally must in the URL address the blog provider. For example blogger includes .blogspot.com on the end of any other domain name you choose for the blog. This can result in some very long domain names. The other advantage of a blog is the way in which it generates traffic. Because they can and often are updated on a regular basis, search engines spiders 'know' they are a good place to find constantly fresh content - something spiders hunger for. They also can 'ping' the net but I'll leave that for another article. Also at the moment blogs are very much the 'in thing' spoken about much online and also in mainstream media.

Blogs now have numerous templates available and there are millions of varieties on the internet. MyBlogLog is a great place to see the many blogs that are out there if your looking for design ideas. One of the disadvantages of blogs it that they are a single page, therefore are not always the best place to display information. It can also be difficult to display advertising in the way you would like as you are limited by the templates. If you put it in the main posting area it can going over the boundaries - particularly banners and if you are adding new posts on a regular basis the ad will eventually be lost to the archives. This brings us to another problem with blogs, if you regularly add new posts which you need to do to take advantage of the constantly fresh content option you will keep losing material to the archives. This can be found by opening up the archives but experience shows not many visitors will actually do this.

Websites on the other hand have the ability to display many pages and are a much better format to display information. Particularly long term displays. Displaying advertising, banners, special features and links are easy to achieve with good effect. However as the website is not constantly updated you don't get the 'fresh content' bonus of the blog. Websites are also better for presenting a serious business image and creating business. (Thats not to say blogs don't earn money, they can, but a website is a better option).

How do you can the best of both worlds? The traffic generation of a blog and the business of a website? Link the two. A lot of internet businesses now have a main website and have a blog with links to the website. The blog is the place they can constantly update material and information and the website is the place they conduct the majority of their business.