The advantages of a static site
I know how strange it sounds to write about the advantages of static sites in a time when most web designers are ready to “make” you an entire WordPress even for a miniature single-page website!
Though, that’s exactly what I’m planning to do. 🙂
Because it has long been known that if you fasten the first button incorrectly, all the others will fasten incorrectly. And believe me, I’ve seen a lot of wrong buttons in my career!
Before I continue, however, if you are not yet aware of what a static site is, it would be helpful to read the article that gives more information on the differences between static and dynamic sites…
What are the advantages of a static site?
High loading speed
A static site “bypasses” many of the phases that normally slow down the “opening” of pages on dynamic sites. Therefore, a static page, as a rule, opens significantly faster than a dynamic page with the same content.
Let me explain in a little more detail: with dynamic sites (using CMS), each page is generated dynamically, on each user visit. In other words, pages on dynamic sites are generated by the software and only exist at the moment a user wants to open them.
Unlike dynamic pages, static pages exist on the server in a completely “ready” form at all times, and when requested by a user, they are directly sent to his browser.
That is why a static page always loads many times faster than a dynamic page of the same volume.
Everything said so far wouldn’t matter so much if Google hadn’t officially announced that according to the standards defined in the document “Core Web Vitals” …
Starting in 2021, the loading speed of any site will now have a direct impact on its ranking in search results!
There can hardly be a more serious reason to think about whether it is better for your new site to be exactly static.
Unlimited optimization possibilities
In most cases (and specifically with us) static pages are built “by hand”. The programming code of languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or PHP is created in a simple text editor, and this allows web designers to really take advantage of the full power of these technologies.
On the other hand, with dynamic sites based on WordPress-type CMS, web designers are always forced to take into account both the features of the CMS itself and the “theme” (template) used for the project. And that always creates limits!
Therefore, the “manual” construction of each individual page gives web designers truly complete freedom to strictly apply all Google-prescribed standards and requirements for on-page optimization.
Unlimited design possibilities
For the same reasons described in the previous point, static sites give completely unlimited freedom to build both special functionalities and the general vision of the site.
Believe me, when a designer is not forced to conform to the capabilities of the content management system and is not limited by the requirements of the “template”, he can practically do anything.
Low vulnerability
As I wrote in the article “WordPress – pros and cons“, practically all content management systems have, to one degree or another, weak points in security, which are often used by hackers for malicious actions.
The reason for this is simple: both the kernels of these systems and the modules for them are the work of a huge number of programmers around the world, who sometimes make mistakes.
With static sites, due to the complete absence of a content management system, such a risk simply does not exist, and the only way for hackers to penetrate them is to break through the defenses of the server itself, which is much, much more difficult.
When is a static site not the best option?
Despite the many advantages of static sites, in some cases, building a site as static may not be the best solution.
Such are, for example, the cases in which the website needs some active functionality, such as the ability to filter or sort a series of products by a given attribute, something common in online stores.
Another case where a static site is not the best solution is when the site needs to be updated and supplemented frequently, and this needs to be done by a whole team of people. In such cases, a site equipped with a powerful content management system is definitely the best, and possibly the only solution.
In all other cases, however, you should not ignore the possibility of building your company site as a static one, because as it became clear, the advantages of static sites are not few, and most of them are substantial.
