Websites come in two different categories which are static and dynamic. Static websites are fixed in the way of how the developers define them, this causes them to be fixed and only able to display the same content for anyone who visits the site. It is usually composed of HTML, CSS, and JS only. While so, an adynamic website is able to provide user interaction, it is able to do so due to it being able to display different content according to user’s choices and so on. Dynamic websites are usually made using advanced programming and database with HTML included. This in turn increases the difficulty of developing dynamic websites when compared to static websites.
Static websites often come with a set number of pages. When static websites run on a browser, the content it displays will stay the same and will not change in response to user actions. They are commonly made up of HTML and CSS using text editors like notepad. When building a website that contains 1 to 2 pages the static website is the optimal choice. This is so due to the shorter developing process when developing it when compared to dynamic websites. When creating multiple pages with similar design and layout it can be easily duplicated once one is created by extracting the HTML code and implementing it on other pages. This is so due to pages’ source code staying the same while the contents such as text and images are different.
Dynamic websites generate content pages in real-time with the option to provide a customized user experience base on their request. This is made possible due to the utilization of server-side programming languages such as PHP, ASP, JavaScript, C#, and so on. Dynamic websites put up content based on the user’s actions. This kind of functionality is dependant on how the developers code it as it directly influences the interactive elements of what a dynamic website shows.
Ultimate what signifies the difference between a static and a dynamic website is their contents, the former stays the same unless the developer changes its source code while the latter displays different information based on the user's choice, location, and time of the day.
What the developer set for the static website will be displayed and presented in the same format no matter the user's choice. While on a dynamic website what a user sees is based on the website administrator and the user's choice.
While so the information on a static website can be cached easily while a dynamic website can’t be said so. This is the reason why static websites load faster for recurring users.
What makes static and dynamic websites all the difference is that static site comes directly from the server only while dynamic content must pass through different application logic, the amount is dependant on what type of programming language is used before it gets downloaded from the server.