Faster, safer and almost free to maintain. For the majority of business websites, a static build is the underrated choice.
- Date
- Reading
- 5 min read
- Written by
- Nick Li
- Tags
- #Web#Engineering
Many company websites sit on top of a heavy content management system: a database, plugins, monthly updates, the occasional break-in. Step back, though, and the content on most of these sites changes a handful of times a year.
What "static" means
A static website is one where pages are generated as HTML files at deploy time and served to visitors directly from a global CDN. There is no server computing anything per request. When content changes, the site is simply regenerated.
Three practical benefits
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Speed: with no database queries, pages load almost instantly, which helps both SEO and conversion.
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Security: there is no admin login page or plugin vulnerability to attack.
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Cost: hosting is extremely cheap or free, and there are no monthly system updates.
So how do you manage content?
Modern tooling makes this straightforward. Content can live in structured files (JSON or Markdown) with version control through Git, or connect to a headless CMS so non-technical colleagues edit through an interface. Either way, publishing triggers an automatic rebuild.
When it is not the right fit
If a site needs user accounts, real-time personalisation or data that changes every minute, you need dynamic parts. But that is usually a small slice of the site, which can be handled separately while everything else stays static.
It is exactly the approach we chose for 01S Tech's own website, including the page you are reading now.