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static web page

{{Short description|Web page delivered to web browser as-is}}

{{Refimprove|date=February 2008}}

A static web page, sometimes which is called a flat page or a stationary page, is a web page that is delivered to a web browser exactly as stored, in contrast to dynamic web pages which are generated by a web application.

Consequently, a static web page displays the same information for all users, from all contexts, subject to modern capabilities of a web server to negotiate content-type or language of the document where such versions are available and the server is configured to do so. However, a webpage's JavaScript can introduce dynamic functionality which may make the static web page dynamic.

Overview

Static web pages are often HTML documents, stored as files in the file system and made available by the web server over HTTP (nevertheless URLs ending with ".html" are not always static). However, loose interpretations of the term could include web pages stored in a database, and could even include pages formatted using a template and served through an application server, as long as the page served is unchanging and presented essentially as stored.

The content of static web pages remains stationary irrespective of the number of times it is viewed. Such web pages are suitable for the contents that rarely need to be updated, though modern web template systems are changing this. Maintaining large numbers of static pages as files can be impractical without automated tools, such as static site generators. Any personalization or interactivity has to run client-side, which is restricting.

=Advantages=

  • Provide improved security over dynamic websites (dynamic websites are at risk to web shell attacks if a vulnerability is present)
  • Improved performance for end users compared to dynamic websites
  • Fewer or no dependencies on systems such as databases or other application servers
  • Cost savings from utilizing cloud storage, as opposed to a hosted environment
  • Security configurations are easy to set up, which makes it more secure

=Disadvantages=

  • Dynamic functionality must be performed on the client side

Static site generators

{{Main|Static site generator}}

Static site generators are applications that compile static websites - typically populating HTML templates in a predefined folder and file structure, with content supplied in a format such as Markdown or AsciiDoc.

= Implementations =

  • Jekyll (powers GitHub Pages)
  • Middleman
  • Hugo
  • Next.js
  • Astro.build
  • Pelican{{Cite web |title=Pelican – A Python Static Site Generator |url=https://getpelican.com/ |website=Pelican |publisher=Pelican |access-date=February 11, 2025}}
  • Franklin{{Cite web |title=Building static websites in Julia |url=https://franklinjl.org/ |website=Franklin |publisher=Franklin |access-date=February 11, 2025}}

References

{{Reflist|30em|refs=

{{ cite web | url = https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-dynamic-static-pages-69951.html | title = The Difference Between Dynamic & Static Web Pages | access-date = 2019-03-20 | last = Melendez | first = Steven | date = 2018-08-10 | website = Chron | quote = Static by definition means something that does not change. The first pages on the World Wide Web were largely static and unchanged, delivering the same information about a particular topic to anyone who visited. In some cases, sites may evolve slightly over time but are still largely static, meaning that they only change when manually changed by their creators, not on a regular and automated basis. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190320233700/https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-dynamic-static-pages-69951.html | archive-date = 2019-03-20 | df = dmy-all }}

{{ cite web | url = https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/42199/dynamic-web-page | title = Definition of: dynamic Web page | access-date = 2019-03-20 | website = PC Magazine | quote = A Web page that provides custom content for the user based on the results of a search or some other request. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170117040526/https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/42199/dynamic-web-page | archive-date = 2017-01-17 | df = dmy-all }}

{{ cite web | url = http://www.morphemzero.be/sujets/site-statique-dynamique/ | title = Site statique ou dynamique | access-date = 27 July 2019 | website = morphenZero | language = fr | trans-title = Static or dynamic site | quote = Ces pages peuvent présenter toute forme de contenu, animations flash, images, musique, vidéo etc... mais elles sont toujours présentées de la même façon. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160911171645/http://www.morphemzero.be/sujets/site-statique-dynamique/ | archive-date = 11 September 2016 | df = dmy-all }}

{{Cite news|url=https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5399/static-web-page|title=What is a Static Web Page? - Definition from Techopedia|work=Techopedia.com|access-date=2018-11-04|language=en|archive-date=2018-11-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104125930/https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5399/static-web-page|url-status=live}}

{{ cite web | url = https://davidwalsh.name/introduction-static-site-generators | title = An Introduction to Static Site Generators | access-date = 2019-03-20 | last = Bouças | first = Eduardo | date = 2015-05-20 | quote = A dangerous solution: There’s an easy exit for whenever you’re faced with the challenge of dynamically updating content on a static site: “I can do it with JavaScript”. Doing processing on the client-side and appending the results to the page after it’s been served can be the right approach for some cases, but must not be seen as the magic solution that turns your static site into a full dynamic one. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190626111742/http://davidwalsh.name/introduction-static-site-generators | archive-date = 2019-06-26 | df = dmy-all }}

{{Cite web|url=http://jekyll.tips/jekyll-casts/why-use-a-static-site-generator/|title=Why use a static site generator?|website=Jekyll Tips|language=en|access-date=2017-02-17|date=2017-02-06|archive-date=2017-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216215154/http://jekyll.tips/jekyll-casts/why-use-a-static-site-generator/|url-status=live}}

{{Cite news|url=https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/11/modern-static-website-generators-next-big-thing/|title=Why Static Website Generators Are The Next Big Thing – Smashing Magazine|date=2015-11-02|newspaper=Smashing Magazine|access-date=2017-02-17|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218065828/https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/11/modern-static-website-generators-next-big-thing/|url-status=live}}

{{ cite web | url = https://davidwalsh.name/introduction-static-site-generators | title = An Introduction to Static Site Generators | access-date = 2019-03-20 | last = Bouças | first = Eduardo | date = 2015-05-20 | quote = Less hassle with the server: Installing and maintaining the infrastructure required to run a dynamic site can be quite challenging, especially when multiple servers are involved or when something needs to be migrated. There’s packages, libraries, modules and frameworks with different versions and dependencies, there’s different web servers and database engines in different operating systems. | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150721063623/http://davidwalsh.name/introduction-static-site-generators | archive-date = 2015-07-21 | df = dmy-all }}

{{Cite web|url=https://wsvincent.com/static-vs-dynamic-websites-pros-and-cons/|title=Static vs Dynamic Websites: Pros and Cons|last=Vincet|first=William|date=9 October 2018|access-date=26 December 2018|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226084448/https://wsvincent.com/static-vs-dynamic-websites-pros-and-cons/|url-status=live}}

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External links

  • [https://staticsitegenerators.net/ The definitive listing of Static Site Generators], a community-curated list of static site generators.

{{Web interfaces}}

Category:Web 1.0

Category:Static website generators

Category:Web development