Static site generators seem to have been becoming more and more popular recently, but they’re not one of those ephemeral novelty things that grow in popularity as quickly as they fall into oblivion shortly after.
Calgary, AB -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/03/2015 -- The aim of this article is to help people of all skill levels understand exactly what static site generators are, acknowledge their advantages, and understand if their limitations are a deal-breaker or if, on the contrary, they can be overcome. With that, we'll hopefully be able to make an informed decision on whether or not a static site can be the solution for our next project.
How dynamic sites work
Try to imagine for a second that the only way for people to know what's happening in the world is to go to the nearby news kiosk and ask to read the latest news. Yes, I know it's silly but it will all make sense in a bit, please bear with me.
The attendant has no way to know what the latest news are, so he passes the request on to a back room full of telephone operators — picture a big telephone switchboard room in the 1950s. When an operator becomes available, they will take the request and phone a long list of news agencies, ask for the latest news and then write the results as bullet points on a piece of paper.
The operator will then pass his rough notes on to a scribbler who will write the final copy to a nice sheet of paper, arrange them in a certain layout and add a few bits and pieces such as the kiosk branding and contact information. Finally, the attendant takes the finished paper and serves it to the happy customer. The entire process will then be repeated for every person that arrives at the kiosk.
That is essentially how a dynamic website works. When a visitor gets to a website (the kiosk) expecting the latest content (the news), a server-side script (the operators) will query one or multiple databases (news agencies) to get the content, pass the results to a templating engine (the scribble) who will format and arrange everything properly and generate an HTML file (the finished newspaper) for the user to consume.
How static sites work
The proposition of a static site is to shift the heavy load from the moment visitors request the content to the moment content actually changes. Going back to our news kiosk metaphor, think of a scenario where it's the news agencies who call the kiosk whenever something newsworthy happens.
The kiosk operators and scribbles will then compile, format and style the stories and produce a finished newspaper right away, even though nobody ordered one yet. They will print out a huge number of copies (infinite, actually) and pile them up by the store front.
When customers arrive, there's no need to wait for an operator to become available, place the phone call, pass the results to the scribble and wait for the final product. The newspaper is already there, waiting in a pile, so the customer can be served instantly.
And that is how static site generators work. They take the content, typically stored in flat files rather than databases, apply it against layouts or templates and generate a structure of purely static HTML files that are ready to be delivered to the users.
Switching to a static site can potentially save us time and money, as it requires less maintenance and less server resources. They're reliable, scalable and can handle high volumes of traffic quite well.
It's one-stop shopping for everything related to our site. Design, development, maintenance, security updates — even website updates if we don't have designated in-house marketing capabilities. Invictus Local also includes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure our business can be found on more search sites, mobile services, and social networks.
About Red Cherry Calgary Web Design
We are a digital marketing and software agency that stands out from all other agencies. Our team of talented and creative individuals work closely with us to deliver rich and engaging solutions that drive qualified traffic to our website and convert that traffic into sales. Red Cherry has offices in both Kelowna, BC and Calgary, AB. We work closely with them to develop a comprehensive digital marketing campaign for Facebook, Google, Twitter, Remarketing (largest ad network), Pay Per Click, SEO, and more. Providing website design in Calgary for over 10 years.
We are also a full scale software development firm specializing in web development and apps development.
Let's chat 888-401-6668 or visit http://www.redcherryinc.ca/