Master InfotechWhat comes first in your mind when you think of a web page? Does the concept of static or dynamic roll down your mind? After all, a web page just appears before you, right? Technically, if you ask, it does, but there is so much more behind the scene. Let’s try to gather as much information as possible about the Difference Between Static and Dynamic Web Pages.
In this digital era, change is a new constant. Therefore, it is ideal for maintaining a unique approach to presenting your business aspects and goals online. Various successful business owners and individuals carry out this practice to establish a solid base for their businesses online.
Web pages are available in an array of shapes and sizes, but one way you can honestly tell the Difference Between Static and Dynamic Web Pages is whether they are dynamic or static. You don’t know the difference just by looking at the display of the web page – the difference lies in the functionality, such as how easily you can maintain it.
What is a Static Web Page?
A static web page consists of ‘fixed code.’ It only changes if the developer makes any change in the backend. It is also made up of pre-rendered web pages with unique outlines usually delivered through a content delivery network (CND).
The structure of a static web page is built using simple HTML, CSS, and sometimes JavaScript to enhance its appearance by adding visual elements and colours without linking the page to any database.
That is why the content of a web page will appear similar to whoever accesses it.
However, this doesn’t link a web page to any regular page that contains only texts. You can modify it with multimedia elements like colours, images, videos, etc. The source page will remain unchanged no matter who performs any action on it.
These pages are ideal for building portfolios, resumes, or personal CVs that are completed within a few web pages. Moreover, it won’t take much time, effort, or money to build or maintain static pages.
Now that you have a brush-up of what a static page is, let’s talk about its pros and cons.
Pros of a Static Web Page
- Takes less time to build: One key difference between a static and dynamic web page is that it is quick to build. You can quickly deploy a static web page because of the simplicity of its software.
- Easy to duplicate: While it is easy to alter the code of a web page whenever you want to deliver a change to the end-user, it is also easy to duplicate the entire code, allowing you to make desired changes while keeping the original page intact.
- Flexible design: Although a static web page has comparatively fewer features, it is very flexible. You can build multiple web pages with different designs and layouts on a website without being a hardcore coder.
- Budget-friendly: The price of a website containing static web pages is much lower than that of a dynamic website since it doesn’t require any connection to a database to produce content or render the view.
- More secure: Since static web pages have limited to no exposure to the Internet, they are much safer than dynamic web pages. Plus, they don’t require any connection with a real database. Therefore, there’s no possibility of threats in the form of requests. You can easily make a request to see files that contain HTML, CSS, JavaScript, visuals, or audio. Moreover, fixing a static website is a piece of cake if the server is compromised. Simply, redeploy the entire code.
- Fast loading speed: As we know, a static web page is pre-rendered. Therefore, its loading time is faster. When you request a static web page, it doesn’t have to go through any database or analyze any content. It takes information from the content delivery network and quickly appears in front of you. Due to its loading speed, Google ranks it higher in the search results.
Cons of a Static Web Page
- Less scalable: A static web page is more difficult to insert into your website than a dynamic web page. For instance, If you need a static website for all your product pages, you have to add a new web page from scratch every time there’s something new to add.
- No Customization: Since a static web page is pre-rendered and the same for all users, it is impossible to customize their experience on a static website.
- Tough to update: For every change or update you make on your static website, you have to alter the code.
What is a Dynamic Web Page?
Compared to a static web page, a dynamic web page is more customized based on the user’s request and experience. This page functions using server-side languages to complete requests in real-time. Also, it uses server-side language like PHP, along with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to create a web page right on a user’s demand.
Most of the websites we usually visit are interactive because they consist of dynamic web pages. They generate and display content based on the actions taken by users. These sites allow you to create a profile, comment on a forum, or make a reservation and are best for creating eCommerce stores, blogging sites, start-up sites, etc.
For example, think of a profile you may have created on an eCommerce website like Amazon or Snapdeal. Every time you visit them, you see recommendations based on your past purchasing. You can also check the history of your past orders and purchasing.
Most dynamic websites rely on Content Management System (CMS) to access or manage the content using PHP and MySQL, while others use WordPress, Joomla, and Magento. A term you often see while dealing with dynamic web pages is CRUD – which stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete.
Pros of a Dynamic Web Page
Better CMS: It is easy to connect with your database and utilize it to deliver information and process requests in dynamic websites. Plus, you can use it to store information about your website’s purchase history and site visitors in CMS. The stored content can be of any form, including images, audio, video, documents, etc. - Low maintenance price: In the long run, using a dynamic web page is cheaper than a static web page because the CMS or database will make the required changes for you.
- More user interaction: A dynamic web page favors functionality and user interaction, with more customization available for every user.
Also Read: Reshape Your Business With the Best Web Designing Company in Panchkula
Cons of a Dynamic Web Page
- Design limitations: A dynamic website doesn’t have control over the way it displays itself since it draws the content out of a database. Depending on the CMS, building various designs for each type of content gets tough. Thus, there’s a design limitation, and the user will most likely opt for a single design approach for everything.
- Costly: In the beginning, the cost of building a dynamic website can be very high. Additional expenses will add up as you add more features to it.
- Ranking issues: Google ranks websites higher if they have less loading time. And as you add more features to your dynamic website, the website’s loading time also increases. Resultantly, it affects the SEO of your website.
- Caching difficulties: Caching means storing the content and then delivering it through CDN. When you visit a website, its content gets stored in the cache memory so that when you load it again, it takes less time to load. This type of feature is perfect for a static website but difficult for a dynamic one because its content is never the same; it changes a lot.
Conclusion
You might begin your journey building a lot of static web pages at first, and that’s completely fine! It’s always a good practice to be an expert on the client side so that you will have a strong base in the beginning. After that, you can quickly jump onto the server-side to create dynamic websites. Now that the blog post has given you a comprehensive guide about the difference between static and dynamic web pages, you can choose which one is perfect for you as per your comfort level.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dynamic websites are built?
Dynamic websites use both client-side and server-side scripting with the help of server-side languages, such as PHP, ASP, C#, JSP, etc. These languages use a typical CGI to create dynamic web pages. All static pages are dynamic, but all dynamic pages are not static. Facebook is an excellent example of a dynamic website, while Wikipedia is an example of a static website.
Between the static and dynamic websites, which one is better?
Neither of them is better and neither of them is bad. It all depends on your needs. A static website is the one generally written in HTML and CSS, and whatever is in the code appears before you. In contrast, a dynamic website is written using a server-side language like PHP, ASP.net, JSP, JavaScript, etc. Its content depends on the location and needs of a user. Both types have their own pros and cons, and accordingly, people are free to use either of them.
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