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The whole great number of existing websites can be subdivided into two main groups: static websites and dynamic websites. What is the difference between these kinds of sites? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each group? What kind of sites is it better to choose for web development?
A site which consists of unalterable (i.e. static) HTML pages is usually called a static (or a statical) website. How should it be understood? An HTML page consists of text, graphical images and HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) proper. HTML is responsible for page display in browser.
Static HTML pages are created manually, whereupon they are presented to the visitor unchanged during each page hit. To update information on such pages you have to change the program code of the page manually.
Static sites have both their advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages of static sites we can name the following:
- static sites create minimum sever load, therefore they are not resource intensive and do not require expensive hosting
- static sites load fast
- development of static sites is cheaper
- it is very easy to transfer static sites to a new hosting
Among the disadvantages of static sites we should especially single out the complexity of site updating and introduction of any changes. Site managing is impossible without knowledge and skills in the sphere of web programming – it can entail additional expenses when it is necessary to add new materials, new sections or new categories on the site. If a site is constantly developing, and the number of pages increases it becomes very hard to maintain the integrity of the project, watch the correctness of program codes etc.
In contrast to static sites dynamic sites are much more flexible in managing. Dynamic sites (dynamical sites) consist of text, graphics and markup language as well as static sites. But in addition to all this dynamic sites also use various technologies which permit to “assemble” web pages “on the fly”.
Dynamic sites can be developed “from zero”. In this case you will have to develop all necessary program codes, scripts etc manually. But it is more convenient to use special content management systems (CMS) for development of dynamic sites. CMS permit to use ready-made program modules and components so you will not need to develop them “from zero” every time. You can create any number of dynamic sites on the base of one CMS.
Dynamic websites are formed of several parts in the browser. A browser can also fill ready page templates with information. Separation of design and content of web pages is realized in dynamic sites. It permits to change information on sites efficiently without necessity to change program codes of the pages.
Such approach to formation of web pages is one of the principal advantages of dynamic sites. Separation of web design and site content provides any user with an opportunity to manage the site – even if he does not know web programming. CMS use visual WYSIWYG editors to add and edit material. Here works the principle “what you see is what you get”.
Dynamic sites can “adjust” to their visitors and respond to their actions. For this purpose technologies of server and client-side scripts are used. These technologies permit to program responses of a site to different actions of users.
In addition to these advantages dynamic sites also have a number of disadvantages. In contrast to static sites dynamic websites are more “ponderous” and load the server more – therefore, they are more resource intensive and need more expensive hosting.
To make dynamic sites work you need additional software whereas a browser is enough to display static sites. It makes development and maintenance of dynamic sites more expensive in comparison with static sites.
If you need to solve a dimple task (for example, to develop a small business site consisting of 3-5 pages) development of complex dynamic sites is not necessary at all. In this case content updating is very rare and interactive functions are not needed. Such sites can be static.
In their turn static sites will not be able to cope with complex interactive tasks. For instance, it is impossible to develop an online shop using only static HTML pages – it just will not work.
Thereby you can use both static and dynamic websites depending to your goals and tasks.
TAGS
static sites,
dynamic sites,
static website,
dynamic website |
web design 
