Initially, html was the only technology used to create websites and web pages. However, html technology did not satisfy the appetite of web developers. As the internet evolved and website building became more popular, new technologies and programming languages came to support html technology. This untied the hands and gave freedom of action to designers, layout designers, and programmers. Today, with the available tools, even the boldest design idea of varying complexity can be brought to life.
So, let’s get back to our classification and start, perhaps, with static sites and web pages.
- Sites written only in classic HTML are called static. In developing web pages for such sites, only the HTML language is used, and they have the .html or .htm extension. Such sites are called static because after entering the address of the corresponding site
You will be presented with a page with the same content. This happens because the pages are stored on a remote server in their unchanged form, and the server, upon your request, simply takes them and sends them to your browser. The situation is different with dynamic pages. The thing is, on the server they do not exist in a pre-defined form. They are generated using server-side scripts, and depending on the conditions, you see the page in the browser in one form or another.
Static sites have their pros and cons. The main drawback is the lack of interactivity. Changing the information on the pages of such sites is not easy, and changing the appearance and design of the site’s web pages also causes difficulties. The biggest advantage of such sites is the ability to host them on almost any hosting, as well as their high speed. Creating such a site does not require a large investment of money and is developed in the shortest possible time. This type of site is a great fit for providing information that is not updated often.
- Let’s also talk about dynamic sites. As mentioned above, such sites do not exist on the server, i.e., they exist, but not in some specific, predetermined form. This means that a page with the same address (URL) can be presented in different forms. Page generation may occur depending on the time and the user’s location. The scripts used to generate pages can be written in various programming languages. Common web programming languages include PHP, ASP, Perl, etc. Dynamic sites provide interactivity for the user. That is, it becomes possible to enter various requests, search within the site, send and save your information, and communicate with other users. Also, unlike static sites, updating and maintaining dynamic sites is much easier. The disadvantages of such sites include the advantages of static sites, i.e., the need to support additional technologies, increased server load, the use of various scripts, which creates a potential security threat.
- The most colorful and interactive sites include those developed with flash technologies. The appearance of such sites differs significantly from that of dynamic sites, and comparing them with static sites is not worth it at all. Flash sites make active use of sound and animation, which adds exclusivity and individuality. The effects used in flash sites are an order of magnitude higher than in ordinary html sites. But, unfortunately, producing such sites is not cheap. Their source files usually have a large size, which leads to additional load on the server. Loading such a site takes some time, which may vary depending on the speed of your internet. Because of this, many users simply do not wait for the site to load 100% and leave. All of this had a bad effect on the spread of flash sites, and at the moment they have not become widespread.
