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There are essentially two types of websites: static and dynamic. However this can be confusing because there can be static elements of a dynamic site, dynamic elements of a static site… as we continue into the age of Progressive Web Apps and website personalization, the lines become blurred between what’s static and dynamic. What can be Static or Dynamic? When discussing whether a site is static or dynamic, half of the battle is determining what aspect of the site you’re discussing. The code of the page, delivery of the page, and the client browser can all be considered either static or dynamic. Code The code of a webpage can be either static or dynamic. This is fairly straightforward: static content is content that is hard-coded on a page. Dynamic pages are structured by referencing a CMS or some external database. Delivery The delivery of a webpage can also be either static or dynamic. Static delivery is pre-rendered pages that are typically cached and delivered via a content delivery network, or CDN. Dynamic pages are generated in real time at the time of the request by the server. Client Browser The browser can also affect whether a site is static or dynamic. Static sites remain the same for all who access it, regardless of browser. Dynamic pages can use client side Javascript to make pages dynamic in real time. Main Differences Between Dynamic (Server Rendered) and Static (Pre-Rendered) Sites As a rule of thumb, dynamic sites use server side languages to process requests at the time it’s made and generate a page and its contents in real-time. Static pages are pre-rendered, cached, and delivered to the user. When we think back to the beginnings of the internet, all web pages displayed the same content to every user. Over time, websites integrated with databases powered by languages like Python, PHP, ASP, Ruby, Java, and more. This enabled sites to be dynamic, and display relevant content to the user based on a setting or input. Before proceeding, it’s important to understand that for our purposes in this article, dynamic and static refer to how a page is being delivered to the user. Sites can be dynamically generated, cached, and served statically. Static sites can have dynamic components. What we’re referring to throughout this article is generally how a site is rendered, either by the server at the time of the request (dynamic) or pre-rendered and delivered via CDN (static). What’s a Dynamic Website? Dynamic sites use server side languages to process requests at the time it’s made and generate a page and its contents in real-time. This means that dynamic websites interact with the user accessing the site and render content depending on the user’s actions or settings. One example of a dynamic website is web apps. Take Twitter as an example: when you log in, it displays content just for you. While dynamic sites are extremely powerful they are also more complex. Along with this complexity are many advantages and disadvantages inherent to a dynamic site build. Dynamic Site Advantages Powered by Databases By connecting a dynamic site to a database, you’re able to easily request information in an organized and structured way to create and display content depending on how the user wants to view it. Connect to a CMS This ability to connect to a database means that you can also connect to a CMS. Content stored in the CMS can be a variety of things, from the text to the images that are displayed, page layouts, site settings, and more. This allows for extreme flexibility when building sites, and also allows for multiple users to be able to manipulate content as needed. Low Ongoing Maintenance Cost Since you can connect a dynamic site to a CMS there are little or no ongoing costs unless there is a change in the basic design or an extra capability is added to the site. Dynamic Site Disadvantages Design Limitations When generating content on a page from a database, you’re typically pulling in content and telling it to display a certain way, no matter what the content is. This can make design tricky, as you’ll likely opt for a one-size-fits-all approach. Depending on the CMS, it can be difficult to build multiple designs to display different types of content in different types of ways. With dynamic sites, you are forced into using templates for your page, or you are committing to building custom templates for every page. This is easier in some CMSes but harder to do in others such as WordPress or Drupal. Can Incur Upfront Build Costs When building a dynamic site, it can incur much more work upfront as you’re connecting the site to a database, building the foundation for the site to generate content, etc. Additional functionality may also cost more as you add features to your dynamic site throughout its life. While maintenance costs are low for a dynamic site, they can incur much higher initial build costs than a static site. What’s a Static Website? Static websites are pre-rendered, typically cached, and served by a CDN. The site is pre-generated by individual files that are delivered to all users in the same manner. There are advantages and disadvantages to choosing to build a static site. Static Site Advantages Flexibility The main advantage of a static site is the flexibility it offers. Every page can be different; designs can change, layouts can differ, and the designer doesn’t have to make one design fit the mold for multiple types of content to display on a page. Cost Cost can be lower upfront to build a static site than to build a dynamic site. Since pages don’t have to be connected to a database to generate content and render the view, they can be less expensive than a dynamic site to build. However, hooking up a headless CMS to a static site generator and then a delivery network can make a static site expensive to build. Load Times Since static sites

One of the most important decisions to make before having a website built for you is whether to choose a static website or a content management system, known as a CMS. There are advantages to both but choosing one over the other is a matter of determining what your needs are. What is a Static Website? Static or fixed websites are usually brochure type sites where the content does not need to change often or at all and where the number of pages is typically low. Updates can be made but will usually have to be done by a web developer or by someone with a rudimentary knowledge of how to use html and ftp. Disadvantages of having a static site potential difficulty in updating. Even a slight mistype within the code could disrupt the layout or operation of the web page increased cost paid to a web developer for changes. search engine optimization – or SEO – will not favor websites with static content over a similar site that has its content regularly updated. Advantages of having a static site Lower development cost. Static sites are usually built in a fraction of the time that a CMS will take. Simple web hosting needs. Static sites do not generally need a database to store their contents in and can be hosted with your local cable company which often gives around 5MB of space to users. Possible to build your own with WYSIWYG tools. There are many low-cost software packages designed to allow you to make your own website visually, without much knowledge of HTML. However, if your website is for your business, it would be in your best interest to have it look as professional as possible. What is a Content Management System? A CMS is a dynamic website which is designed to be scalable in at least its content, and most often its features. The user is empowered to update content at their leisure and usually without any concern for breaking the website layout as this is usually under tight control of the CMS itself. Frequent updates can be made to web pages, blogs, photo galleries and more. Google’s Blogger is a basic content management system which has no cost to setup and while it is useful for a personal site, it has limited value as a business site. A more advanced system is WordPress which is maturing quickly from initially being a blogging tool to a more fully featured CMS. Drupal is an example of a complete CMS, designed to be fully scalable, adaptive and feature rich. Disadvantages of a CMS: Greater cost of development. As it takes much more time to develop a database-driven CMS and as it usually requires specific knowledge of a particular CMS, it will require a greater investment. However, like is also likely to result in a greater return on investment (ROI). Learning Curve. To understand how to work with a CMS, you will need to learn how it is structured so you can control menus, naming, categories, etc. Slower bandwidth customers may have a slightly longer wait. Content Management Systems often include more media such as images and dynamic content. This is typically not a concern for most modern countries with high speed access but it should be stated nonetheless. Advantages of a CMS extensive or full control over the content of your site without the need for knowledge of HTML, CSS or other web languages. Changes can be made at your leisure. Depending on what type of CMS you choose, there can be a wide array of content types to work with beyond just text, such as photos, audio, video. SEO Friendly. Websites which update content on a regular basis gain more of a spotlight from search engines and will often rank higher in search engine results (SER) pages which is an important competitive factor for business websites.