Benefits of static site generators

by Erçetin Güler

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Posted on January 19, 2016

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We pay a huge price for the underlying complexity of dynamic code running on a server for every request — a price we could avoid paying entirely when this kind of complexity is not needed.

Some of the benefits of a static website generators are that they are:

• Simple - makes building and maintaining websites incredibly simple, Static sites are easier to maintain (No databases, No server-side scripts!). Use static website generators when you’re after simplicity and want to put the emphasis on the content, which is what you should be doing. It doesn’t really matter, whether you’re focusing on hosting a huge website, or a simple portfolio, static websites can be extremely useful when it comes to saving money, time and resources.
• Fast: Static files can be served fast. There is no database or templating layer that slows requests down. Additionally, web servers will automatically set caching headers (such as Last-Modified) for static files, which reduce bandwidth usage.
• Secure, as they do not contain dynamic content, so are immune to the most common attacks. Considering the only thing being served to users’ devices are HTML, CSS and Javascript files
• Have versioning - Storing content in flat, text files, makes them ideal to be used with version control systems, such as Git.
• Utilizing a static site generator means you can build websites with modern frameworks and workflows, with a high degree of productivity and efficiency
• Uses markdown
• Previewable: Because static sites are developed locally, you can play around with the site to your heart’s content without affecting the live site.

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