Sorry for the clickbait – it’s usually not my style, but it’s called for in this instance, I promise. I am a fan of WordPress, actually. It’s a great CMS, especially for blogging. In fact, it can do almost anything, from e-commerce to membership sites, and more. That’s the problem. WordPress is huge – it’s not just a power tool, it’s a whole garage full of them. Sometimes, you need all the tools you can muster, but sometimes… you just need a screwdriver.
If your website isn’t used for blogging, doesn’t need to handle form processing, and is largely just a “big, interactive business card,” you could have a faster site that costs less to host. It’s called a “static” website, because it doesn’t need to change. Static is the opposite of dynamic, which is what a WordPress site is (generally speaking.) In order to display current content, such as “today’s blog post,” or a photo you uploaded a few minutes ago, a WordPress site uses code and databases to store and retrieve information and generate what’s essentially a “new site” when it’s called for. There’s more to it (such as something called caching, which I won’t get into here), but the basic point is this – if your site isn’t changing, you don’t need all the code and database tables and such that make WordPress so powerful. You can have a set of files that is hosted on a server, and as long as you don’t have huge images, videos, sound files, or other big media – it will be blazing fast and inexpensive to host.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not suggesting that no one needs WordPress. In fact, even if you aren’t blogging or using your site for e-commerce today but plan to in the near future, WordPress still may be a great choice. It’s often not a simple process to convert a static site into one that can handle all of the added functionality that a WordPress site provides “out of the box.” In the case that you’re sure you’ll be blogging “soon,” you’ll likely want to start with WordPress so that adding your blog will be much easier when it’s time.
When you’re talking to your web designer or developer, have your needs in mind! Do you want to blog? Do you plan on using your site for e-commerce? If you know you’ll just need some images and links to your booking tool or email-marketing landing pages – a static site might be what’s best for you. Being aware of your needs and being able to articulate those clearly to a developer could end up saving you hundreds or even thousands in the long term.
I’ve been helping demystify tech for business people of all sorts for decades. I can build sites, fix issues, and teach with kindness and compassion. If you’d like to work with me to build a site that represents you and your business, want to streamline or refresh your existing site, or even want to learn how to code – let’s talk today! I can help you no matter where you are in your tech journey.