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Static vs Dynamic Websites: What’s the Differences

August 03, 2022

Static vs Dynamic Websites: What’s the Differences

Will Your Business Perform Better on a Static or Dynamic Website?

So you’ve decided to create a new website for your business. You’ve chosen a web agency, and now they want to know if you prefer a static or a dynamic website for your business.

Before you choose, it’s best to know what each of these options means and which one fits your business better. Both have their pros and cons, but as the business owner, you have the final say on how you want your users to experience your site.

What is a Static Website?

Static websites, in a nutshell, are sites that have their content as part of the web design, meaning that all the descriptions, images, and videos have to be edited through the HTML code.

Just like its descriptor, static web design does not change from person to person – everyone who visits your site will see the same thing. This is why static websites are great for landing pages or announcements, or even informational pages that don’t require much user input.

What is a Dynamic Website?

Dynamic websites, on the other hand, are better with pages that involve a huge database that change often. Listings, e-commerce, and other interactive portals are best with dynamic websites, because it is easier to update details on a dynamic website rather than editing the HTML code on a static website. User-driven content also does well with dynamic pages, particularly because the website will have the capability to personalize the page according to the user’s location, preferences, or filters.

Differences Between Static and Dynamic Websites

The main difference between static and dynamic websites is that static websites are fixed & same content are displayed for every user. In dynamic websites, the content webpages is different for different visitors. Aside from their basic functionality, there are also other factors you can use to differentiate static and dynamic websites. Check out the pros and cons below and see which one works best for your business:

Scalability

It’s easy to build a simple static website that gives the basic details of your company, but if your business requires multiple pages that have to be updated regularly, it can quickly become cumbersome to edit the code for each page. Static websites are great when your business is starting out, but as your company grows, you might need to consider a dynamic website that can cater to your business and content expansion.

For example: you may start a business as a small-time furniture maker and your website could function as a way to advertise your services to potential clients. A static website would work wonderfully for this purpose, and you can even have your web design team upload a welcome video for your landing page.

However, after several years, when your range of products grows beyond ready-made furniture, e.g. bunk bed, and now includes custom furniture; a static website may be too unwieldy for your clientele. A dynamic website will now be more suitable for you to cater to two kinds of users — those looking for ready-made bed and those interested in custom bed.

Building Times

One of the biggest concerns when developing a business website is how long it takes. Static websites are easier and much cheaper to build, especially when your web agency has all the content they need from you. Dynamic websites may take much longer, mostly because they need to be constantly tested to make sure that every page responds as intended to different users.

Take a shoe design website for an example. A static website simply shows the pertinent information of the ready-to-wear footwear, and perhaps some behind-the-scenes shoemaking videos. Everyone who visits the website can see the same information the same way, so all your web design agency needs to do is to upload the company assets you’ve provided and make sure that they are all displaying as intended.

In contrast, a dynamic website would requires developers to code the behavior of each page according to the kind of information the user will most probably like to see: you can have interactive pages where users can pick and choose colors, designs, and materials, and compute its cost immediately for those who want a custom-made shoe. Your web agency has to dedicate manpower to ensure these custom pages with many variables work without impacting other parts of the site.

Loading Times

Another difference between static and dynamic websites is the loading times for the users. Static websites are much lighter in content, so they can load faster than websites with more complex coding.

Loading times are crucial for business websites – there’s nothing that puts off your clients more than a slow-loading page for something as simple as finding out your company address. Long load times can lead to high bounce rates, meaning that your website visitors don’t stay long enough on your site to convert into sales.

Optimizing your website for heavy content and traffic can ease performance issues and ensure that your customers experience a smooth and hassle-free transaction. This is especially crucial for dynamic websites, which rely on promoting relevant products to customers via an algorithm to increase sales. Dynamic websites need to be well-optimised and maintained to ensure fast loading speeds despite having large amounts of content to prevent potential customers from losing interest.

Security

Website security is an important feature in today’s websites. As a business owner, you want your customers to trust your page with their credit information, and that their data is in good hands when they transact with you.

Static websites, by nature of all content coming from just one server, has just a single point of vulnerability for hackers. Without the need for a database or the use of external extensions and plug-ins, static websites are at a lower risk of security breach.

This is not to say that dynamic websites are less secure, but the nature of dynamic websites means having to secure multiple potential points of entry with robust security measures.
Securing your website with SQL certifications, DDoS protection and multiple layers of security can help protect your customers’ information and your business integrity regardless of whether you have a static or dynamic website.

Content Management

Static and dynamic websites also differ in the way they handle content.

Whenever you need to change anything in a static website, it has to be done through the back-end coding of the page, because each item that displays on your site is housed through the HTML code.

For example, your shoe making company has moved to a bigger office and you want your website to reflect the new address. You now have to call your web design agency to change the address everywhere it appears on your site, a process that sounds easy in theory, but can be tedious and time-consuming.

This is why dynamic websites are better with databases and content that changes often or regularly. A content management system (CMS) makes it easier to update the site, whether you’re publishing a blog or creating a new listing, e.g. a new confinement soup product. You don’t even have to call your web agency to edit the code in order to change anything: you can do it yourself when you need to, allowing you to edit your content according to the needs of your business.

 

So Which Type Is Better For Your Business?

Both static and dynamic websites have their respective pros and cons. Over time, most web developers have found that a hybrid of both is best for many businesses. The hybrid approach allows you to leverage the pros of both in terms of performance, features, and scalability, and resolve cons like building and loading times by choosing which pages in a website would work best with a static or dynamic approach.

For example, some pages on your company website, such as your Company Profile, Milestones, and Contact Pages, can be designed as static pages, since the information on these pages are unlikely to change. Because these pages are often pulled up simply for informational purposes and are not subject to much user input, you can keep these pages static so they can load faster.

On the other hand, your Shop pages can make use of dynamic pages accommodate your inventory database, ensuring products displayed on your website are in-sync with your real-time inventory.

Creating a hybrid website is very much possible with Wix’s website building platform, and with FirstCom Solutions’ providing technical and content support, your business website will be generating record sales in no time.

FirstCom Solutions is an omnichannel agency proficient specialising in helping SMEs develop a profitable online presence using tried-and-tested industry best practices and effective digital marketing know-how. As an official Wix reseller, we not only help develop your ideal website quickly using the Wix platform — we also help scale your business by providing both technical and creative agency support whenever you need it.

Whether you need to design original banners for promotions or generate an organic online following through clever digital campaigns, we ensure your marketing efforts are translated into actionable leads and increased sales.

Learn more about our website development or digital marketing services or contact us to discuss what we can do for you!