As we mentioned in our first post on our revamped website, we started rebuilding our company website in July 2021 and deployed the new website in October 2021.
We updated our site for several reasons: design and functionality, site performance, functionality and content management, and security.
We wanted to minimise the need to have a developer on hand for day-to-day updates and support and have complete control over the content. In addition, it would save money on monthly costs and increase flexibility and lead time when making significant updates, such as blog posts or content creation of campaign pages on our website.
Our web hosting was also due for renewal, and we were using the same basic package we’d started with when we set up the website, which was scheduled to be retired by our hosting provider. However, after discussing the options with our hosting provider, Vodien, we decided to upgrade to a package with faster, uninterrupted enterprise speeds and the protection Google prefers.
As we were building a small website that was unlikely to change or require new content, static HTML was a good approach with our initial redesign. We wanted to minimise the need to have a developer on hand for day-to-day updates and support and have complete control over the content. In addition, it would save money on monthly costs and increase flexibility and lead time when making significant updates, such as blog posts or content creation of campaign pages on our website.
To enable us to make regular updates or create new pages (for SEO reasons), we updated to a solid, dependable, and simple content management system (CMS) to handle the job of creating static HTML pages. We’re currently using Mobirise for our website builder: it’s a free offline app you can use to create websites, landing pages, and portfolios easily. You can also get a paid version.
“Blogging is just writing — writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.” Michael Eisner
And here is where we get to the BIG but with a static website: static website builders are designed to offer total control over the structure and design of content. But incorporating the blogging side (similar to what WordPress software offers) requires a significant time investment and in-depth coding knowledge to create (which I don’t have) or paying a developer to do it for me (which would be very expensive).
As a part of that transition, we had to decide how to design the front end. Our hosting provider, Vodien, allowed us to design a static HTML site (and upload our files) or install an instance of WordPress content management software and use the design of pre-prepared themes (in essence, templates).
Technology and fashion are constantly changing, so it was critical to provide visitors with up-to-date content and allow us to make updates quickly and easily. Anna Fitzgerald considered the differences between (and the pros and cons of) choosing between a static site or a WordPress site on Hubspot.
The pros and cons were also discussed on wpbeginner.com. Brian Jackson also considers the differences on Kinsta. So, what did we work out? There are pros and cons for each case.
So, what did we work out? Anna Fitzgerald provides a side-by-side comparison on Hubspot of what she considers the advantages and disadvantages of choice:
So initially, we were creating our blog posts as static HTML pages and added a commenting system. It worked well for us, with the limited number of blog entries we initially posted. However, as time passed, it was getting harder to regularly and consistently write and deploy blog posts without a content management system like WordPress.
The costs of setting up a website can vary on a case-by-case basis. The things you need to take into account when determining costs are:
Since WordPress is a CMS tailor-made for blogging, it makes sense to use it to create a blog, as doing so streamlines the process and makes it easier to produce numerous blog posts. HTML sites offer more flexibility, but you may have trouble maintaining a regular publication schedule for blog updates.
Also, managing themes can be complex if you don’t have a developer readily available to help build the back end (or don’t have the skill to develop it yourself).
You can develop your own WordPress theme, which allows for greater flexibility but requires sufficient coding knowledge (or having developers readily available). However, pre-built WordPress themes are available (free and paid), which can drastically speed up your workflow.
“Your first blog posts won’t be perfect, but you just have to do it. You have to start somewhere.” Shane Barker
The first “disadvantage” of WordPress is maintenance (which also applies to a static website). Although choosing good-quality hosting can eliminate much of the worst maintenance, you’ll still be responsible for ensuring that the WordPress core software, plugins, and themes are updated and compatible. This is relatively easy nowadays but not as significant with a static HTML website.
The second “disadvantage” would be the bad plugins and themes that are available. And free solutions sometimes just drop off the map entirely. Sorting through the bad to find the good can be time-consuming.
While WordPress lets you access your site’s underlying code, a static HTML website will simplify inputting certain markup types. For example, instead of needing to deal with theme template files and the WordPress loop, everything is right there in front of you.
“Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn.” Scott Adams
For example, while there are schema plugins for WordPress, you can more easily control schema markup on a static HTML website.
Static website generators differ slightly from the above two options as they combine a content management system’s content, such as WordPress, with a theme and generate static HTML pages. The downside? It’s not easy (to say the least) to set it up; even for developers, it can be time-consuming.
If you’re technically savvy, it’s possible to get the best of both worlds and use WordPress as a static HTML website generator. However, you just have to remember that if you use WordPress in this way, you’ll have to make sacrifices:
Essentially, everything that is server-side (PHP) generated will become static and updated manually. Static website generators will create a complete HTML page based on your content. Once it’s done, no matter how many people visit your site, it won’t be regenerated; not unless you type in a specific command on your computer.
So we still had the decision to make: Static website or WordPress website?
Now for the million-dollar question… If you’re building a small website that’s unlikely to change or require new content, static HTML is a good approach. But if you want blogging features that are easy to deploy and schedule, WordPress will certainly be a better choice. This is especially true if your coding skills are limited (by knowledge or time) or you don’t have access to a developer.
“Blogging is a conversation, not a code.” Mike Butcher
With the changing landscape of Twitter and the increasing invisibility of posts on Facebook, I also wanted somewhere where I knew people would see updates from me and where those updates were easy to create and schedule. We also wanted to be able to push posts to social media. We use Crowdfire to schedule some of our social media posts, which can push blog posts… with a WordPress blog but not a static site blog.
We had to decide what features we wanted in our website: static HTML or WordPress. If we moved our whole site to WordPress, we’d need to completely redeploy it, so we didn’t lose the design we already had. And there would be PHP elements, which wouldn’t necessarily work with parts of our design. It would also add “load” to the static HTML pages, as they would be incorporated into the SQL database. On the other hand, Mobirise didn’t quite translate to or deploy a WordPress design.
The casual conversational tone of a blog is what makes it particularly dangerous.” Daniel B. Beaulieu
So how were we going to transfer it? We found another website builder, Nicepage, that was able to deploy WordPress sites in addition to HTML sites. But it didn’t fit with some of the elements we’d already designed.
We didn’t want to redeploy our whole site in another design programme, but we wanted the main advantage of WordPress: it makes it easier for us to manage our content, our blog posts in particular. With the WordPress content management system, we can create drafts, schedule publications, and look at post revisions. Make Moreover, make the content public or private.
But we didn’t want to lose the stability and advantages of static HTML for our static pages. Nor did we want to add to the load by incorporating PHP and adding the pages to a SQL database.
To make the decision, we had to decide what outcome we wanted to present: a wholly customised experience or a dynamic and flexible experience? Then, we had to determine how much knowledge, resources, and time we could dedicate to building and maintaining our website.
WordPress is the way to go if you’re short on time, money, or energy and yet want a website. On the other hand, HTML is an excellent choice if you want a unique website but don’t have the time or money to hire a professional designer.
However, in the end, we decided it was not an either/or proposition. Instead, we decided you could have the best of both worlds: a combination of static HTML pages (existing outside of the WordPress environment) for the pages we knew would remain fairly (predominantly) and WordPress for our blog posts.
We have already determined which parts of the existing website design will need to be carried over into the new WordPress theme. We’ve built the framework and imported all of our old blog posts into the new WordPress layout.
To that end, we’ll be spending a little (okay, a substantial amount of) time over the next several weeks migrating the material of our present blog area to a new blog part powered by WordPress.
To guarantee the success of the deployment, we’ll also need to take care of a few technical details (like making sure the content transfers over correctly and the static HTML pages redirect to the new ones).
We’ve now deployed our updated website, with a combination of static HTML pages (existing outside of the WordPress environment) for the pages we knew would remain fairly (predominantly) and WordPress for our blog posts.
No matter what, as long as you put the needs of your end users first, your site will be a worthwhile asset for your business.
You’re not stuck with one or the other; you can use a combination of worlds to leverage the advantages of each system and reduce the disadvantages.
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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