Static Web Sites

A static website contains Web pages with fixed content. Each page is coded in HTML and displays the same information to every visitor. Static sites are the most basic type of website. Unlike dynamic websites, there is no database to design.

Since static Web pages contain fixed code, the content of each page does not change unless it is manually updated by the webmaster. This works well for small websites, but it can make large sites with hundreds or thousands of pages difficult to maintain. Therefore, larger websites typically use dynamic pages.

Advantages of Static Web Sites:

  • Quick to develop
  • Cheap to develop
  • Cheap to host

Disadvantages of Static Web Sites:

  • Requires web designer to update
  • Site not as useful for the user
  • Content gets stagnant and needs to be manually updated

When to use a Static Web Site: 

  • Pages are not going to change frequently (text, graphics, photos and videos).
  • You won't change or add functionality to your web site in the next few years.
  • The list of products or services in your company don't change much over time.
  • The list of products or services is not very long and individual pages describing them can be easily constructed.
  • There is no need for a sophisticated online ordering system (don't plan to have online orders) and you use another service for ordering such as Pay Pal or an online store.
  • The web site itself is not offering any services to the visitors (visitors cannot interact with the web site).
  • You don't need to access the web site and make updates yourself. 
  • SEO is applied to your web site as you complete the exercises.