Are you looking to launch a website but not sure how to get started? Perhaps, you’re confused between WordPress and Static HTML. Well, both are good in their own way and designed to meet the different requirements. It is you who have to decide which will go perfectly with your specific needs.
In this post, we are going to disclose a few main differences between Static HTML and WordPress. On the basis of which you can decide which is the best for your website. But before this, let’s take a look at a quick introduction to WordPress and Static HTML.
WordPress
WordPress is a globally renowned content management system that lets you create a professional-looking website in the easiest manner. It is highly flexible, extensible, and easy to learn.
The biggest advantage of WordPress is that it is free to download, install and use. Of course, you will need to buy a domain name and web hosting to create a website but WordPress itself is free. There are many people who are creating their websites on WordPress for absolutely free by hosting them on a free hosting platform.
Static HTML
HTML is a standard markup language helps you create web applications and web pages. Today, most of the websites on the internet are created using HTML along with other programming scripts and markup languages.
To create an HTML website, you will need to hire a web developer who will use JavaScript, CSS and some other technologies along with HTML to create a website. Speaking of Static HTML sites, these websites have the same prebuild content each time they are loaded.
Now let’s have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of these two platforms so that you can easily differentiate them and find which is better for you.
Pros of Using WordPress
User-Friendly
When it comes to user-friendliness, WordPress has upper hand. In WordPress, you can do almost everything by yourself. Whether you need to change your website’s theme, add a new page or update content, you can do that without any help of a web developer.
WordPress has a straightforward user interface that makes it exceptionally easy to update anything on a WP site. You just need a login to your site.
Professional Themes
One biggest advantage of WordPress is that you have access to thousands of ready-made templates. You can choose anyone that you think best suits your business niche. All these WordPress themes are developed by professionals from all across the globe.
Easily Extendable
You can add a wide range of features and functionalities to your WordPress site using different plugins. There are countless plugins available on WordPress Plugin Repository. In WordPress, you have plugins to add contact forms, photo gallery, SEO feature, back system, etc.
You Get a Complete Control and Ownership
WordPress gives you a full control over your website’s content and other aspects. Any time you can make the changes you want. Moreover, there is no limit on how much your website can grow, handle traffic and generate sales as long as you have a good hosting partner supporting your website’s requirements efficiently.
Cons of WordPress
Maintenance
The responsibility for keeping the WordPress version, plugins and themes up to date will be of a user. Your hosting company can do it for you if you have chosen a managed WordPress hosting.
Getting Familiar is little time taking
Although WordPress is quite user-friendly yet getting familiar with the platform may take some time, especially if you are a newbie. Nevertheless, there are plenty of platforms, forums, and blogs that can help you with that.
Pros of Static HTML
There are a few pros of choosing static HTML for your business website that does not require a constant update. Let’s find out them.
Security
Compared to WordPress sites, Static HTML websites are considered quite safe. Since they don’t rely on any 3rd party plugins and themes, there is no risk of getting hacked. Moreover, you can host them on any low-resources hosting service like on a CDN. You usually don’t need a robust hosting environment like you need with CMS.
Limited Requirements
As content on a Static HTML website is limited, it has low requirements comparatively. Such websites don’t require servers with PHP and MySQL installed on them. You may run the HTML website on any server with limited resources.
Low Maintenance
Once you have created your website and made it live, you don’t need to worry about any sort of installation and updates. If you don’t add anything new to your website, you just need to take backup of your website once in a while.
Cons of Static HTML Website
For any newbie, it is a difficult task to update a static HTML website because, you must have knowledge of HTML and CSS to add even things like images, videos, new page, etc.
No Additional Features
Every website grows with the time. Unfortunately, static HTML sites are not designed to upgrade with the growth of your business. If you need to add features like eStore, survey or poll, picture gallery, etc. on your site. You will need to hire a developer.
We see most of the website owners move to WordPress as hiring a developer for the smallest update is not a worth.
Which Should You Choose?
As we mentioned in the beginning, both platforms are designed for different purposes. You should choose them considering your particular requirements.
If you are certain that your website will never demand any changes in future, you may go for static HTML. Sometimes, websites that simply need to show company’s information, contact details, etc. are created on static HTML as details like company name, working area, address usually don’t need update regularly.
On the contrary, if you are running a blog or eCommerce website, you should choose WordPress. As with WordPress, it is much easier to add text, videos, and other advanced functionalities. Moreover, you don’t need to hire a developer every time.
Hopefully, this post helps you make a right decision.