What is the difference between a static and dynamic website?

The definition between static and dynamic web pages can be very complicated when a business begins to dig deep into the subject matter. Let's VNIS (VNETWORK Internet Security) analyze the difference between these two types of websites.

What is a static website?

Static web pages, sometimes known as static websites, are online pages with set content. Every web page is coded in HTML programming language and presents the same information to all users independent of application or place of origin.

Static websites are frequently built by web developers using HTML to set up the framework and CSS to add colors and other visual components. As a result, static websites are often developed separately, with no requirement to link to a database.

When a static web page is generated, it remains unchanged and does not respond to changes in user activity. You must manually update the HTML source code on each website if you wish to see something different. This might take a long time, especially if the company wants to update a huge website.

What is a dynamic website?

Dynamic web pages (Dynamic) are websites that are backed by the database software. Dynamic websites will also have extra data retrieval and information processing components. The aforementioned will assist dynamic websites in having a very high interaction between businesses and users.

Some dynamic websites examples are E-commerce websites, e-commerce websites, and huge information websites.

Furthermore, developing a dynamic website frequently necessitates knowledge of a server-side programming language such as PHP, C#, or Python. As a result, dynamic web pages that handle requests frequently grab material from a third-party database or content management system (CMS).

In fact, if you have already created an account on a website such as Shopee or Lazada. Then every time you visit these sites, you'll receive suggestions tailored to you based on previous purchases. Businesses may also examine their personal details or previous orders. These are dynamic web pages designed to provide users with a positive experience depending on their previous behaviors.

So, what is the difference between a static and dynamic website?

1. Function

Static Web: has the purpose of introducing information to consumers but cannot be manipulated. Because everything on the static web is supposed to be fixed, if the user's demands exceed the information reference, the static website will not satisfy them.

Dynamic Web: will be combined with information processing and data retrieval, allowing the website owner to simply edit, operate, and update information on the website.

2. Programming language

Static Web: will simply require the usage of HTML programming language, allowing for the publication of material similar to that of a newspaper. The data that has to be altered must be modified directly on the HTML file.

Dynamic Web: Expert programmers will need to employ a range of languages such as ASP.NET, CSS, PHP..., and SQL Server, MySQL... to construct a dynamic web page.

3. Interaction abilities with customers

Static Web: Most people will be unable to engage with the website and will be unable to connect with the administrator. As a result, in this day and age of e-commerce technology, when companies have gone to the bother of creating a website that, if not interactive, is an incredibly major constraint for owners. personal website

Dynamic web: due to development with more recent trends and capabilities to promote interaction between website administrators and users, it is increasingly popular. Users can then share information with administrators via dynamic web pages. As a consequence, both parties will attain the intended work outcomes.

4. Content

Static Web: HTML pages, images, content files, video files.

Dynamic Web: databases, user information, translation capabilities, information, voice or video messaging applications, and real-time data (weather forecast, stock prices, etc.). ,)

Which one is the better option: a static website or a dynamic website?

If your site just has a few pages, a static website may be an excellent option. Static websites are commonly used to give public information. If you want to establish a basic blog that looks fantastic and matches your brand, a static website is definitely the best option.

Furthermore, if you choose to have a static website for the purpose of establishing a website that just offers basic information about your company or the products and services you offer, then a static website is the way to go.

On the other hand, a dynamic website is the greatest choice if you intend to develop an e-commerce website with continually changing adverts. Users might be recommended products based on their previous purchases. If a buyer abandons their shopping basket, a dynamic website can send a reminder to that visitor to return and complete their purchase. A dynamic web page may also be used to develop progressive web apps (PWAs) or other applications.

Your decision on whether to design a static or dynamic website will be dependent on the functionality you require from the website. You may utilize a static website builder to get your website up and running fast, or you can create a dynamic website, which is a more involved process but provides a lot more versatility.

How to improve website performance?

Let's take a closer look at caching and how they positively impact the performance of a website.

Hosting static content is a common trend for content delivery networks aka CDNs. CDN technology works by temporarily storing information on edge servers located in locations closer to the end user, to make web pages load faster for users.

Having edge servers distributed in different geographical locations allows for faster and more reliable content delivery.

In short, a CDN makes it possible for users to get content faster because they don't have to wait for the server to return what they need. Instead, the browser looks for static content hosted on a nearby edge server. Thus, a CDN helps to cut down the website load time and improve the page performance effectively.

How can you increase website performance?

One option to help increase site performance is to take advantage of CDN's edge servers. That said, single-vendor CDN solutions are not a perfect choice, as they have the potential to experience outages.

This is when Multi CDN solutions based on VNIS platform maximize their value. VNIS Multi CDN combines edge servers of many of the world's leading CDN providers, directly solving the problem of internet bandwidth on a global scale.

In addition, Multi CDN on VNIS also helps your website maximize performance and eliminate downtime by continuously routing web traffic through the best performing CDNs.