Static vs Dynamic Website: which do you need?

Both have their advantages and disadvantages; as a new website owner, you need to understand the capabilities, costs, server requirements and time involved ( for the designer and yourself ).

Here is a brief rundown of what you need to consider.

Capabilities: Static sites usually have the content/text of your site hard coded in the pages, since the content doesn’t change on a regular basis. This is generally easy to do, and doesn’t require special scripting or database set ups. Static sites generally have no user input, and are pretty much for informational sites. Dynamic pages, on the other hand, have evolved a lot. CMS systems, portals, forums, e-commerce sites, blogs, etc., are all dynamic. General business sites also implement dynamic pages when they want to update their business information on a regular basis. The big capability differences are change of content and user interaction.

Costs: If you are considering static vs dynamic for the same site, static pages will usually lower your cost for development. Dynamic pages need additional scripting added ( PHP, ASP, etc. ) to help create and display the changing information and content for the page, therefor your developer needs to implement more types of code, creates databases, special files, etc., to make your pages work. Also, testing is a big factor to make sure it all works as it should. Your hosting needs also change; static sites may need little storage and bandwidth, while dynamic sites will increase your need for both.

Server Requirements: Again, your hosting package may be determined by the type of site you need. Dynamic sites need a server offering databases, and environments that may require Apache, PHP, Frontpage set ups, etc. Different hosts offer different packages depending on your needs. At times, you may need a private server if your traffic and storage requirements are exceedingly high.

Time: A huge factor in determining your type of site is time; how long does your developer have to finish the site for you, and how much time are you willing to spend working on your site? Again, dynamic sites require additional programming and testing, so you won’t have it created as quickly as a static site. While a static site can usually be put online and not tended to, dynamic sites may require a lot of attention, particularly when you need to add a lot of content yourself, or if you need to moderate user input.

Having a good idea of your thoughts on these areas will make things much easier for you and your developer when you get started, and a good developer will try to inform you of all the good and bad of going in either direction.