The main advantage of a static site is its flexibility – every page can be different, allowing you to mix and match the layout to suit different content. Last but not least, designers are free to use as many special effects as they want to make your site stand out.

What is a Static site:

A static website consists of a number web pages with fixed content where each page displays the same information to every visitor. Static website pages contain fixed HTML code and the content of each page does not change unless manually updated by the designer or webmaster.

Static sites are the most basic type of website and are built by creating a few HTML pages and uploading these to a web server. This can work well for smaller websites or sites with a short life span and few content updates. However, for larger websites or ones where content is updated regularly, a dynamic website with a content management system would be the preferred choice.

Pros & Cons of a static site:

Advantages of Static sites

Flexibility is the main advantage of a static site – every page can be different if desired, to match the layout to different content, and the designer is free to put in any special effects that a client may ask for in a unique way on different pages. This allows theming – for instance an author may want a different theme for a different book and associated pages or perhaps for a series of books, in order to match the cover designs or the context of the stories.

Cost is generally lower up-front than a Dynamic / Content Managed website.

A static website is quicker to develop, which means also cheaper than a dynamic website. The hosting can also be cheaper depending on the need for server ressources.

Disadvantages of Static sites

The main problem with any static site appears when you wish to update the content as it requires web development expertise to update the site. Unless you are conversant with HTML & CSS coding, and the design methods used in the site, then you have to go back to the designer to have any content changes made. This may be perfectly ok when a new page is required which needs design input, but if all you want to do is change some text then it can be a nuisance for both client and designer.

The second main problem is scalability. If you wish to sell products on your site and you have a lot of them then you may have to construct individual pages for each one, which can take considerable time, effort and cost.

The static website is often not as useful for the user,  as the content can get stagnant.

Finally, a static website might perform less than a content managed website on Google.

Costs – there are ongoing costs for updating the content.