It may seem like a strange question but we're seeing more and more companies using blogging tools to create the official/corporate web presence for their business.
There's a gamut of blogging tools out there and most of them are free. All are straightforward to use and come with a gallery of template layouts and styles to choose from. There's no software to load on your PC and you can manage your content from anywhere in the world.
So on the face of it you get a lot for very little. But if you do use a blog for your only web presence does it make you look a bit cheap?
Well done properly I don't think it does make you look cheap. You have to think carefully about your content. You can't rant in the way most people do with blogging. You'll have to adjust your template to include links to blog posts that are important (about us, contact us etc.), so that they can be easily found but that's pretty much it.
So why do I think this is acceptable when only a few months ago I would have poo-pood the idea? Well I think surfers are changing. In many cases surfers are looking for substance over design. If the content is right then the colour schemes and imagery are almost secondary.
Also, the mindset of a blogger is to keep posting new content. We've built many, many websites with our content management system (Wirenet) that are updated very infrequently by the customer, despite having the tools to do so.
So where does this leave us? Should we all turn our websites into blogs? No, you need to look at what your website has to do for you. If it's eCommerce then a blog will not do the trick. But getting into the blogging mindset and updating your content frequently is a good idea. Allowing your customers to add comments to your site can also be a good idea - but I would recommend moderating the comments first!
The elves are back...