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Statically generated marketing sites: How they work

Posted by
Nate McGuire in Design category

What is a static site?

A statically generated site is a type of website that is built using a static site generator. A static site generator is a tool that takes a set of source files and generates a set of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files that can be deployed to a web server.

One of the main benefits of using a statically generated site for a marketing website is that it can be faster and more performant than a traditional dynamic website. This is because the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files are pre-generated and served directly from the web server, without the need for server-side processing.

To use a statically generated site for a marketing website, you would first need to choose a static site generator and set it up on your development machine. Then, you would create the source files for your website, which may include HTML, Markdown, or other types of files.

Once you have created the source files, you can use the static site generator to generate the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files that make up your website. These files can then be deployed to a web server, where they will be served to end users.

To update the content on your statically generated marketing website, you would simply update the source files and re-generate the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files using the static site generator. This allows you to make updates to the website quickly and easily, without the need for server-side processing.

Can you make a statically generated website using WordPress?

Yes, it is possible to use WordPress to create a statically generated website. There are a few different ways to do this:

  1. Use a plugin to export WordPress content as static files: There are several WordPress plugins that can be used to export WordPress content as static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. These plugins typically allow you to specify which pages and posts should be included in the static files, and can be used to create a static version of your entire WordPress site.
  2. Use a static site generator to generate a website from WordPress content: There are several static site generators that can be used to generate a website from WordPress content. These tools typically use the WordPress REST API to retrieve content from a WordPress site and generate static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files based on that content.
  3. Use a service that generates a static version of your WordPress site: There are several services that offer the ability to generate a static version of your WordPress site. These services typically use the WordPress REST API to retrieve content from your WordPress site and generate static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files that can be served to end users.

Using any of these approaches, it is possible to create a statically generated website using WordPress as the content management system. This can provide a number of benefits, such as improved performance and the ability to host the website on a wide range of hosting platforms.

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