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Pros and Cons of Static or Dynamic Websites

Author: John Ward
by John Ward
Posted: Dec 30, 2014

As a website user, you may not bother if a site you visit is static or dynamic as it is a sheer backend functionality. However, as the owner of a website, it is important for you to choose a static or a dynamic website. This is because the static or dynamic nature of the website makes a difference in your website functionality. Therefore, if you are going to get a website designed and developed, you need to have the basic knowledge of what a static website is and what dynamic one is. In this article, we will discuss static and dynamic websites and their pros and cons.

Static websites

  • Websites in the early years of the World Wide Web were built using simple coding language called Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and CSS. These websites were static websites.
  • Static websites look simple. Their coding doesn't include any scripts. Interactivity is possible only through hyperlinks in the webpages, which are created using HTML. These websites remain static until you make the changes manually. If you want to add some dynamic elements to your webpages, you may need to use Java Script. Many small businesses use static websites.

Following are pros and cons of static websites:

Pros

  • As static websites have a fixed number of webpages and a fixed format for each webpage, they are ideal for startups and small businesses that require fewer webpages.
  • To build these websites, you don't require much technical and coding knowledge. Code written for this kind of websites is very simple and easy to understand. Alternatively, you can directly download the required code for your webpages. Thus, a little amount of technical knowledge is enough to develop these websites.
  • As the code is simple, it becomes easy and simple for developing websites within a short timespan.
  • These websites load quickly because they are simple in design without too many interactive elements and with a few pieces markup content.
  • Hosting these websites is economical.

Cons

  • If you are planning to update content on the site, you need to take the help of professional web designers.
  • Static websites are not ideal for the e-commerce businesses as they require constructing each individual webpage uniquely.
  • Though the initial costs of construction of a static website is low, the cost may increase later when you update the site.

Dynamic websites

  • Building dynamic websites is not as simple as static websites. Building dynamic websites are not limited to HTML and CSS. It's more than that and involves using server-side scripting languages such as PHP, ASP, JSP, etc. However, HTML code is used in the header, sidebars and menu sections for all the pages of a website.
  • The objective of dynamic websites is to make sites interactive. This is the reason why they are called dynamic websites. Some of the interactive elements include contact information forms, search boxes, etc. At the initial level, the website owner can simply update the website and add new content to the site.
  • A dynamic website has the database connectivity through which you can store the information in the database in a structured manner so that you can retrieve the information whenever required easily. If you have a plan to change the website design and content, you can do it during the runtime.

Following are pros and cons of dynamic websites:

Pros

  • Dynamic websites offer greater functionality.
  • Dynamic websites allow users to interact and enable owners to update, manage data and incorporate the necessary changes in the design of selected webpages.
  • Dynamic websites are ideal for the e-commerce businesses, which require unique and interactive webpages.

Cons

  • Expensive when compared to static websites for all the additional functionality and for hosting.
  • To create, manage and test these kind of websites, you need the help of dynamic website developers.
  • As dynamic websites involve two-way interaction between the server and the clients, they are less secure.
  • Sometimes dynamic sites take much time to load because of more interactive design elements.

The information furnished in this article can help you decide whether to choose a static or a dynamic website for your business. Our suggestion is, if you require a small website with less user interaction and fewer webpages, a static website is beneficial. Else, you can opt for a dynamic website.

About the Author

4GoodHosting – the best among a href=http://4goodhosting.comCanadian web hosting companies offers Vps hosting, free domains and an impressive website builder.

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Author: John Ward

John Ward

Member since: Jul 24, 2014
Published articles: 19

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