WordPress continues to dominate as the world’s leading content management system (CMS), powering 42.9% of websites globally in 2022 and commanding 64.1% of the CMS market share. Its widespread appeal comes from the flexibility it offers users, enabling easy installation of hundreds of plugins and themes to build everything from business websites and personal blogs to comprehensive e-commerce platforms.
Despite its versatility, the heavy reliance on plugins can create challenges. The resulting increase in database requests often slows website performance and raises security concerns. To address these issues and boost efficiency, converting WordPress sites into static HTML websites has gained popularity.
Understanding Static Websites
A static website is composed exclusively of fixed web pages coded in HTML and CSS, delivering identical content to every visitor regardless of location or device. In contrast, dynamic websites generate pages in real time based on user data like IP addresses or language settings. Static pages load significantly faster since they do not involve database queries or server-side code execution, inherently reducing security vulnerabilities.
Website owners can either build static sites from the ground up or convert existing dynamic sites to static versions. Many prefer to install WordPress on a staging or preproduction server and then deploy the static pages to their live domain.
Benefits of Static Websites
Improved Security: Unique pages limit common vulnerabilities associated with dynamic content.
Faster Loading Speeds: Reduced server requests enhance page delivery times.
Effective Caching: Compatibility with server-side caches like Varnish optimizes performance.
Lower Costs: Reduced CPU and memory usage cut hosting expenses.
Content Testing: Staging environments allow for content review before publishing.
Considerations and Limitations
WordPress comment functionality is disabled.
Built-in search features will not work.
Plugins that require dynamic processing, such as e-commerce and user management tools, cannot be utilized.
Converting WordPress to a Static Site
For those with an existing WordPress website or planning to create one, the approach involves several key steps:
WordPress Installation on Hosting
Installing WordPress is straightforward on most hosting services. For example, Gandi’s WordPress Hosting plan offers an all-in-one solution, automatically linking hosting with a purchased domain and pre-installing WordPress alongside SSL/TLS certificates for secure connections, requiring no technical knowledge. For users with separate hosting and domain providers, documentation is available to assist in linking these components.
Creating a subdomain as a backup site is recommended to ensure reliability if the static site experiences issues.
Generating Static Pages Using Simply Static Plugin
Simply Static, a WordPress plugin, facilitates the conversion of dynamic content into static HTML files. After installation via the WordPress plugin directory, users can configure settings in the WordPress Dashboard under Simply Static -> Settings.
Key configuration steps include selecting “Use absolute URLs” and specifying the target directory for the static files. Diagnostic tools within the plugin help identify and resolve any setup issues.
The time required to generate static pages varies depending on website size and content. This process should be repeated after each content update to keep the static site current.
By following these guidelines, WordPress sites can be efficiently transformed into fast, secure static websites, resulting in improved performance and reduced hosting costs without sacrificing content quality.
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