The submission deadline of an important business presentation is knocking at the door, and marketing intern Denise can’t stop biting her nails out of panic.

Amidst this rising tension, she forgot Bella’s advice on how to gain expert information from the web. “What was that, again? Was it a blog or a wiki? Never mind, why does it matter? What is the difference between a wiki and a blog, anyway?”

Well, here’s a bit of expert advice – Don’t be like Denise.

As Terry Pratchett had said, “A little knowledge can be a perilous thing.” And, as you must know, blogs and wikis exist at two of the most distinctive spectrums of the web.

On that note, let’s dive deep into one of the most asked questions on the internet – How are blogs and wikis any different?

What is a wiki?

Before we continue to explore the differences between a wiki and a blog, let’s check out what a wiki stands for. Wikis are a certain category of web pages consisting of information that can be edited or updated by the users as per their will.

Here’s a fun fact – did you know that the term “wiki” was actually derived from the word “wiki wiki,” which is Hawaiian for fast? Yes, that refers to one of the main advantages of a wiki page, as the users are allowed to edit the docs very quickly. Hear from the fans – the users are in love with how wikis enable collaborative authorship, which helps in establishing accurately informative content in the end.

Noteworthy to mention, Google has played a significant role behind the major uprise of wiki sites, which was supported by the Google sites wiki-web tool. Established in 2008, Google Sites was launched as a wiki-web creation tool that makes it a tad easier for numerous editors to co-run a simple website. Although it was initially a pay-and-use tool, it was unlocked for free by Google and didn’t require domains for page creation.

The main features that the users of Google Sites are allowed to enjoy are HTML source editing, page templates, custom domain name mapping, drag/drop editing, and automated multi-level menus. However, it also has its limitations – the users aren’t allowed to use CSS or Javascript openly, and the use of HTML coding is also limited.

What is a blog?

If you’re heavily dependent on the internet for informational assistance, the chances are very high of you coming across numerous blogs every day while surfing without even recognizing them. So, let’s jog your memory – what do you search for the most?

Are your most searched queries on the web related to food, travel, health care, hygiene products, or just anything you can think of? Yes, it’s true – if a thing exists, there’s most probably a blog about it.

It’s because weblogs (another word for a blog), are nothing but specific websites where independent authors post their content to share an expert opinion with a seamless audience. 

The most convenient feature of a blog, as per our opinion, is the reverse chronology pattern of their content. In other words, the recent content is always on the top section of the blog, so that you can access the most relevant info regarding the subject matter.

Blogs are usually well-decorated pages that consist of attractive images, music segments, or even video clips – basically anything that can capture the reader’s attention.

On that note, did you know that the relevance of a blog is dependent on how engaging it is? Yes, the fundamental purpose of a blog is to increase reader engagement and gain higher web traffic. That’s why more and more brands are incorporating blogs in their marketing strategies to generate potential leads out of the gathered web traffic.

What is the difference between a blog and a website?

It’s likely for someone who isn’t quite internet-savvy to get confused between blogs and websites. Even more so because they have some differences. So, what is the difference between a blog and a website? We’ve listed a few!

A website is a static page where the messenger spreads a particular message without the scope of dual-ended communication. Furthermore, these pages are very less likely to be updated and managed accordingly with time.

On the other hand, you have to keep updating a blog on the daily to increase your Google SERPs ranking. It’s because the relevance of a blog, as we said, depends on how well it engages the audiences. So, the higher you rank on Google SERP, the more you can use that platform for monetary benefits.

Also, blogs consist of the publication date and author reference, which isn’t the case with a website, so there’s that too.

What is the difference between a wiki and a blog?

Before we go any further, let’s not forget that both of these are, in the end, two versatile social platforms that are vastly used for research and educational purposes. Both of these are user-operated web pages, and allow the audience to share their opinion about the content through comments.

On that note, let’s have a final peek at the key features that distinguish a wiki from a blog!

Operation

A wiki is a set of numerous web pages that allow different authors to contribute their input to deliver factually correct information collectively.

But, blogs are journals administered by an individual, with the essential purpose of engaging the viewers with content.

Ownership

More than one author owns a wiki, or in most cases, even a large group. Wikis require multiple owners for collective authorship. Location isn’t a barrier for co-owning a wiki page, and so, the authors can be located in different geographical areas.

Now, a blog site is primarily owned by only one author. However, the author can have contractual contributors to the page that update the page on a scheduled basis without gaining co-ownership.

Structure

Wikis are structured in a form where the most relevant and updated content is displayed. There’s no automatic way to access the old information, but the viewers can always explore the page history to catch up.

Blogs, on the other hand, are popularly structured in a reverse chronological pattern, where a comment section follows every post.

Management

As wikis are user-operated websites, there’s no pre-scheduled time to update the content on its web page. There are no such management obligations associated with running a wiki page, but that isn’t the case with blogs.

It’s because the online presence of a blog is entirely dependent on how well it’s managed and updated. The author has to keep updating the web page with content on a regular, scheduled basis for it to maintain public engagement.

Timeline

Honestly, it matters very less when a particular content on a wiki page was published. It’s mainly because the contributors make sure to update the page with the latest information regarding the subject matter whenever it’s available. In this sense, one can say that a wiki page is, more or less, a constant work in progress.

And as we’ve said before, the content on any specific blog post isn’t updated, as the entire web page is updated with the most recent content. So, the relevance of a blog post largely depends on when it was published, as the audience is always in search of the most recent input.

Content

Wiki content usually represents consensus. However, numerous wiki pages are found to have discussion pages incorporated along with them, so there’s that.

On the other hand, a blog site is usually a tad more versatile on the grounds of content. These pages consist of information, news, or expert opinion that is contributed by a single, or in some cases, multiple authors. The main difference here is that though a wiki content is updated with the views of various authors, a blog consists of individual opinions.

However, to make it better, the blog pages comprise of comment sections for the audience to contribute their opinion as well.

Linking

Linking is highly imperative for wiki pages, as these help in establishing a connection with other web pages quickly.

Blogs also consist of links to similar blogs or to web pages; however, it’s not as crucial as wikis.

Our Verdict

Blogs and wikis are becoming a common trend of the new era. Did you know that 60% of the businesses are proactively incorporating blogs as a primary marketing strategy? Wikis, on the other side, are rapidly becoming one of the primary sources of information for research and educational purposes.

On that note, we hope that we could help you clear most, if not all, of your confusion between wikis and blogs with our guide. What else do you think differentiates a wiki from a blog? Did we miss out on anything? Let us know in the comments section below!

Also, stay connected with us for more exciting content, and we’ll see you soon!