Ranjeet Sharma
Head, Digital Solutions Delivery
When building a new website, choosing to build a static or dynamic website is one of the first decisions that web designers make.
To make the right decision, you need to understand the difference between the two.
In web design, static and dynamic websites refer to the way they display content. A static website offers the same content to all visitors, while a dynamic website can tailor content per individual visitor.
Let’s explore the concepts of static and dynamic websites, learn the pros and cons of each, and discuss what concept is better to follow when you build your website.
The word "static" is typically used to describe something that is lacking in movement, action, or change. A static website is a website made up of a collection of static pages, or pages that don’t change, created by HTML, CSS, and javascript. In its simplest form, each web page is represented as an HTML file visitors access while browsing a website. Static websites appear the same for every visitor who accesses them, and the only way to change this is to modify the source files.
Though the term “static website” might give you a false impression that this kind of website doesn't have any interactive elements — static websites can have interactive elements like web forms, although those elements cannot be tailored per individual user.
Static websites generally work for smaller websites with a limited number of pages and don't require frequent content updates. Examples of static sites include a personal portfolio, a company brochure site, and a product promo page.
Most avengers of static websites come from their relative simplicity:
But static websites have a few downsides, too:
The word "dynamic" is often used to describe something that constantly changes or progresses. Dynamic websites generate content on the fly, loading it from a database. The dynamic content on pages can be tailored to the visitor's needs (based on visitor behavior). This means a dynamic site can present different information to different visitors. Dynamic websites typically have a content management system like Wordpress, Wix (CMS) etc.. or a web framework like Ruby, Laravel (PHP), Java and they work best for websites that require frequent content updates.
Examples of dynamic websites include content-heavy portals (i.e., news resources like CNN), websites with user-generated content (i.e., social media platforms like Twitter), and various online services with user-driven content (i.e., online entertainment platforms like Netflix that offer recommendations based on viewing habits).
The list of advantages of dynamic websites include:
Difference Between Static and Dynamic Websites:
Static Website | Dynamic Website | |
---|---|---|
Content of Web pages can not be changed at runtime | Content of Web pages can be changed | |
No interaction with database possible | Interaction with database is possible | |
It is faster to load as compared to dynamic website | It is slower than static website | |
Cheaper Development costs | More Development costs | |
No feature of Content Management | Feature of Content Management System | |
HTML, CSS, Javascript is used for developing the website | Server side languages such as PHP, Node.js are used | |
Same content is delivered everytime the page is loaded | Content may change everytime the page is loaded |
Because dynamic websites are more complex than static websites, they also have disadvantages:
Performance and security problems. Dynamic websites can be affected by various performance and security issues. Since dynamic websites have more technical components, each component can affect the performance and be vulnerable to a security breach. Maintaining and updating a website based on CMS like WordPress is required to ensure its security, performance, and functionality.