What is a static website?

A static website—as opposed to a web application—is a site that is served as statically rendered HTML, instead of dynamically generated by a web server, or constructed by JavaScript in the browser.

Static websites can use JavaScript, but it is generally just used for enhancements and on-page interaction—not for constructing the entire page.

Why build a static website?

Static sites are known to be lightning fast, and work particularly well for either basic one-page style sites (think company marketing websites), or sites with a lot of pages that all have the same general structure (think blogs or news sites).

The page you’re reading right now is actually a static website!

Due to their impressive page load times, static sites are a great choice if SEO is important to your project. Not only does a fast-loading page create a better user experience; it’s also been a direct ranking factor for Google Search since 2018, and will continue to be into the future.

It used to be the case that static sites were mostly for static content, with interactive elements like forms being difficult to handle without significant extra work. But in recent years, advances in serverless technologies mean you can now do most things with a static site that you can do with a full-stack web app.

Different ways to build a static site

There are a couple of general approaches you can take when building a static website. The right one for you will depend on your technical knowledge and experience, and on the type of site you want to build.

1. Code your website from scratch

This is where the site consists of pure HTML, written directly in .html files, and those are what gets served to the browser once you deploy.

This approach is:

• Simple—you don’t have to use any build tools if you don’t want to
• Beginner friendly (a good learning experience if you’re new to web development)
• Flexible, good for highly custom designs

What are some examples of projects that would suit this approach?

• A business landing page
• A photography portfolio
• A cafe or restaurant menu
• An online resume
• A wedding countdown page

You can either start with a pre-designed HTML template, a bare-bones framework (which you can modify with CSS to add your own styles), or a completely blank HTML page.

If you prefer to start with a pre-made design, there are thousands of templates online, both free and paid. Some popular options are:

• ThemeForest: Over 18,000 HTML templates created by a global community of independent designers and developers, starting at around $5.
• Templated: A collection of simple CSS, HTML5 & Responsive site templates, released for free under the Creative Commons license.
• HTML5 UP: Responsive HTML5 and CSS3 site templates also released under the Creative Commons license.

Don’t want to write code? Nicepage has a free HTML website builder and page editor which will let you create a beautiful static site, no-code style.