Static Website Development
A static website is one that is made up entirely of static web pages. It's locked and can't be changed unless source code changes are made. A static website can only display information that is written in HTML. When a web browser requests a static web page, the server sends the page back to the browser, and the user only sees the information found in the HTML code.
How Do Static Websites Work?
Flat pages or stationary pages are other names for static web pages. These web pages are classified as static since they contain objects that do not change and have set content. If the web page layout is complete, dedicated space or page segments are set aside for the page's fixed contents to be put. The HTML description code is usually used to create this web page, and the contents may be of any kind, including text, image, gif, video, audio, and so on.
Since the contents of static websites do not change frequently, the user does not need to update the web page frequently as part of a quality check or maintenance operation. This makes it easier to keep the website secure with less resources. Furthermore, the web page's stationary elements provide more continuity for website visitors. There is no connection between the machine and the database when the user wants to access the website. As a result, the web content loads easily, and caching makes more sense in this situation.
Advantages of Static Websites
- Security: Since there is no proxy, such as a database, the risk of code injection on a static website is low. The website is hosted without plugins or dynamic applications. When it comes to protection, static websites are a better bet than dynamic ones because they don't depend on CMS plugins. The dynamic functions of static websites are handled using APIs and JavaScript, which eliminates the possibility of being hacked. Active websites, on the other hand, are more likely to be compromised due to numerous content sources and plugins. According to a study by WP WhiteSecurity, 70 percent of WordPress pages are at risk of being compromised by malicious hackers due to the lack of upkeep and upgrades.
- Reliability: One might have probably encountered an error message that says, "The link could not be formed." The majority of the time, this is due to database errors. Serving only simple HTML files allows the developers to host them anywhere, including on a CDN. As a result, if the server is attacked, the static website is simply redirected to the next nearest node, as opposed to the dynamic alternative, which could go down for several hours.
- Speed: The static site is much faster and easier to load due to the lack of a middleman/database. A static site loads ten times faster than a CMS-driven dynamic site. Another advantage of a static website is that it can be served from the nearest node to the browser. According to a study by Kissmetrics, approximately 47% of people expect a website to load in less than 2 seconds, and a whopping 40% of people would not wait greater than 3 seconds for a website to load. As a result, having a static website will help you get more visitors by lowering the rate of abandonment caused by slow loading.
- Cost and Hosting: Static websites use standard HTML files that take up less space, making them less expensive to host than dynamic websites. Organizations with static websites save money by focusing their efforts on integrating Git or automating builds to keep up with the latest framework changes.
- Scale: What do you do now that your website is up and running? Managing large amounts of traffic on a dynamic website can be a difficult task, since it necessitates the execution of complex code on the server. By simply using the bandwidth, simple static websites with HTML files can be easily scaled up.
Some Disadvantages of Static Websites
Static websites have their own set of disadvantages, including the following:
- It can only have minimal functionality, as comprehensive functional features necessitate greater technical use.
- It's difficult to keep up with the modern-day technological advancements.
There had been a time when online marketplace websites had to rely on dynamic websites for organisation, which required them to incorporate complex coding and deal with time-consuming scripting.
It is possible to provide a static website for shop-centric companies using resources like Magento. Snipcart, a Java-script-based shopping cart, incorporates e-commerce site functionality into a static website, removing the need for dynamic websites. The Snipcart dashboard can be used to monitor sales and product inventories, and its API can be used to integrate with shipping services and inventory management tools.
Some static website hosting services and static website generators provide Github integration, a global CDN, SSL certificates, and free custom domains. Hosting companies like Netlify take things a step further and handle 404 errors, proxies, and even password protection.
Conclusion
It's safe to conclude that static websites have made a fantastic comeback and are here to stay, with much more benefits than disadvantages. Since a website is a company's digital face, companies must weigh all of the variables and requirements for their website, as well as evaluate all new technologies and platforms, before launching one.
Static Websites are a good choice for beginner level websites that have space to expand in the future, as the limitations of the static design can be used to make the website usable. It's best suited for managing blogs because small business websites, and it doesn't meet industrial standards.
