What is the Difference between a Static Website and a Dynamic Website?

Many web designers ask their clients if they would prefer a Static Website or a Dynamic Website. This helps the designer better understand what type of design he will be looking at for the customer.

Static and Dynamic Websites n a Nutshell

Static Websites are great for one-way type of information flow, allowing the client to get the information they are looking for without any sort of interaction with the website itself. Great for showcasing work, products and services. The website is more difficult to maintain for the administrator.
Dynamic Websites will normally encourage visitors to get involved and engaged with the content of  the site, and normally leads to stronger relationships with the visitor. This increases the chances of the visitor buying services and products. The website is also easier for the administrator to maintain.

Static Websites

A static website is most of the time designed entirely from HTML. There is no database or external files used for the creation of the content, each page is a separate stand-alone document, e.g.  home page, about us page, services page and a contact page. Each page is independently designed, sometimes using a template to maintain consistency throughout the design.
To edit the website, you would have to edit each of the pages HTML separately. You would have to use an editor like Dreamweaver or GoLive. If you don't know HTML, You might have to contact your web designer for updating and editing the website.

Dynamic Websites

A dynamic website is designed using more complex code — such as PHP, or ASP — and has a greater degree of functionality. Many dynamic websites however, can be controlled by a content management system (CMS). This enables the administrator to be able to make updates and changes without needing any knowledge of HTML or any website software.
Each page of a dynamic website is created from information stored in a database or an external file. The (CMS) content management system that you use to maintain and edit your website will directly modify the stored information.

Which Website Should You Use?

Most people today prefer dynamic websites because of the benefits they offer. Dynamic websites keep ongoing maintenance costs to a minimum, they make data management very efficient, and enable the addition of any future addons such galleries, subscriptions or public voting polls. It's also more difficult to upset or destroy the layout of the site, which could happen if you were to edit using web page editing software.

The drawbacks in using dynamic websites are, they usually cost more to develop, because they are more complex in the design and coding of the site, there is also the development of a content management user interface which will enable you to maintain and edit your website. Second, you have to have web hosting which supports databases and dynamic languages to ensure the correct functionality of your website. Most most hosting providers s do offer these features by default.
 
Should you decide to have a dynamic website that allows you to maintain your own content, you might consider saving costs by having only a few pages dynamic and the rest static. For example, pages like, Contact Us, About Us, Mission Statement, etc. can remain static, whereas your Services, Product Pages and Galleries can be dynamic. You will still be able to implement addons and extra modules should you wish to do so. You may also consider an open source alternative for your CMS.

Should you require help in making a decision as to what type of website would be best for your business feel free to ask your developer for their opinion and advice.

Mark Csabai is a  freelance Website developer and Internet Marketing Expert. You can visit his website at https://intuitdesigns.co.za  or  go to http://www.facebook.com/intuitdesigns to Like him.