Static vs Dynamic Websites
When starting a new web project, on of the most important questions to ask yourself very early in the process is static vs dynamic. Let’s start by defining these terms:
Static Website
With a static website, files are stored on the web server exactly as they are sent to the browser. The most common files for this are:
- HTML – HyperText Markup Language
- CSS – Cascading Style Sheet
- JS – JavaScript
A static web page (a single page on a static website) typically displays the same information to all visitors, though JavaScript may be used to customize the experience. The easiest way to think of a static website is to compare it to a print ad or newsletter. No matter how often you pick it up and read it the content is the same, unless the website owner makes manual changes to the files.
Editing static sites typically involves the following steps:
- Editing the page – This can be done with a text-based or WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. With a text editor, you edit native file language (HTTP, etc). A WYSIWYG editor is similar to a document program like Word or Pages and allows you to format the text and images and then convert them to HTML.
- Transferring the page to the site – This may be done with FTP or a web-based “file manager” or files can be edited right on the server depending on the configuration.
Dynamic Website
A dynamic website’s content is provided by software, usually using data from a database. The software uses a “template” or “theme” to build an overall look (headers, footers, sidebars, styles, etc.) and pulls the content itself from the database to build the web page. Most popular dynamic website software employ a caching system so that most of the work is performed only once when content has been changed.
Typically the software has a separate interface that allows the owner to enter the content using a web form, rather than writing HTML, making them much more user-friendly.
Some examples of dynamic websites include:
WordPress
WordPress started as “blogging” software but its use today goes far beyond that.
WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's "top 1 million" websites and as of August 2011 powers 22% of all new websites. – Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordpress
WordPress has grown into a full-blown content management system and is one of the easiest to use systems for maintaining a website. With thousands of themes, plugins and widgets available a WordPress site can be made as unique as one can imagine. It is also considered to be very “Google friendly”.
Some examples of WordPress sites:
Joomla
Joomla is one of the most complete content management systems available. Think of it as WordPress on steroids. It is extremely powerful and is fantastic for “group” oriented sites, such as an internal/corporate web server. The downside to Joomla is it’s complexity. The learning curve for Joomla is much steeper than it is for WordPress.
Some examples of Joomla sites:
Zen Cart
Zen Cart is a content management system designed for selling products/services directly from the web. While it can be used for other content, its primary purpose is for running online stores.
Which type is right for me?
Lets take a look at a few of the factors:
| Static Website | Dynamic Website | |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Cost | Inexpensive for small sites (a few pages). | Similar in cost to a mid-size static site. |
| Maintenance Cost | Expensive over time unless content never changes. | Little to none as no special skills are required for most updates. | Time | May be initially faster for small sites. Updates require scheduling time with your web designer. | A little work for the initial setup. Updates can be made any time. | Changing Content | Requires a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and possibly other languages. | Requires basic computer skills. |
| Changing Look and Feel | Can be very costly and time consuming. Often requires modifying every page. | Usually involves changing a single template. |
| Adding functionality | May require custom development. | Most good content managers have hundreds, if not thousands, of extensions. |
| SEO | Easily indexed by search engines. | Most modern content management systems are easily indexed if set up correctly. Many will automatically build and publish sitemaps to Googl and Yahoo as well as inform search engines of site changes. Since site is more likely to be updated regularly, rank is improved by “content freshness”. |
Static sites are the perfect choice for small, short term or temporary sites where the content is not expected to change. An event announcement, for example. For almost anything else a dynamic site is a must.
