website or blog or both. whats more useful?

Now that I think I got my domanin name figured out, I'm on to the next step. I tried searching "website vs blog" or "blog or website", etc. and didn't really find anything. I recently scrubbed(but still have) my website(zenfolio) and am starting over.

I'm trying to figure out if I want to build a website or blog or both. If both, should I link the blog to the website, or the website to the blog. I guess this will be determined by what my end goal would be? Meaning the blog is more writting so do I want to write more and link to photos or other way around.

So what I'm asking is, what do you find more useful? Or should I just keep them completly seperate and have website for business/clients and blog for my writting?

In the end my ulitmate goal is have something people can see in hopes of picking up a few side jobs to bring in some extra cash. But I also want to start writing journalist type stuff (short articals) and how to's

I would build a blog as part of your website. They are incredibly useful from the perspective of SEO, and can give your web presence a more personal feel as well. Doing a main website, and a separate blog, you can lose some of your SEO effectiveness. I think both are important on the modern web, as well as making sure things are cross platform friendly with high quality media.

Depends what you are using it for. For my weddings, I have a blog only. For commercial, I have portfolio only with no blog.

I think both is most effective. However, I admit, when I look at another photographers work, I look at their blog...

Zenfolio has a blog feature.... If you're staying with them, try it out.

If you don't understand why you need both, you should look more into search rankings.

You will need both a website and a blog. A website is essentially a "handshake" which legitimizes your business. The blog on the other hand is the "voice" of your business. Update it daily to keep people updated as to what is going on with your business. You don't update website as frequently.

ktan7 wrote in post #15908747
You will need both a website and a blog. A website is essentially a "handshake" which legitimizes your business. The blog on the other hand is the "voice" of your business. Update it daily to keep people updated as to what is going on with your business. You don't update website as frequently.

This.
My website is my entry to who I am, and theres a portal to where you wanna go. That alone gets my main site more hits than just a portfolio on display.
I have my smugmug galleries for client proofing or for showing work or if someone wants to see more of the work that i have done in the past couple years.
Then my blog, which is also in my email signature for "keeping up with the latest news and updates" and whats happening with us.

Maximize your reach, and keep people wanting to come back to your website.

ktan7 wrote in post #15908747
You will need both a website and a blog. A website is essentially a "handshake" which legitimizes your business. The blog on the other hand is the "voice" of your business. Update it daily to keep people updated as to what is going on with your business. You don't update website as frequently.

Great advice. For a blog, something simple like a tumblr would be enough, with maybe a twitter account attached, which shouts when you've updated your blog.

For a website, I'd use something like http://website.1and1.c​o.uk/how-to-build-a-website for easy housekeeping.

Good luck!

1. You need to have a website to showcase your work and when it can work for you 24/7. Remember, your website is your best marketing tool.

2. Many photographers don't have a blog and that's a mistake and here's why : A blog let's you use keywords thus will get your website higher on search engine ranking. Through blog, you can post and talk about your specific photo shoot your ups and downs or discuss what a great day it was to do a photoshoot of John Doe and how great images turned out. When you talk about photography through your blog, your potential clients see you as "professional". You can also give tips to people how to take great photos and people will visit your blog thus they will remember your business name and when they'll need to turn to real pro? Your business name will be "embedded" in their minds.

I'd suggest build a website in wordpress it's also a great platform and very friendly with search engines and easy to modify/update. Good luck

I second the blog/web site together mentality. With googles search algorithms and rankings, it's nearly impossible for the little guy to be found unless you have written content on your site. A blog will allow you to be more personal and relaxed with potential clients and boost your seo significantly. For weddings for example, instead of just having photos, you can talk about the town and venue and all the other details of the day. Then when other couples are searching for wedding venues in (your town name,) your site might pop up. And again when they search for caterers, and flower shops. Because you posted photos of that stuff and talked about it. Before you know it, they are looking for a photographer and maybe your name will be on the top of mind. Websites are necessary but stories sell. It also gives you a platform to promote yourself as a master of your craft and every one wants to hire the guy that knows what they are doing.
Blogs can be a ton of work though so don't try to do to much and get burnt out. It's better to start slow and if you can produce quality content regularly and enjoy it, then you can increase your output over time as opposed to starting strong and then after a few months drop off the blog-o-sphere.