Enterprise websites generally fall into two types of pages: static websites and dynamic websites. When learning web development, you’ve likely encountered these two concepts. Here, “dynamic website” does not refer to a site with animated effects, but rather one whose content can change dynamically based on different conditions. Typically, dynamic websites are built using databases. Dynamic pages are commonly implemented with technologies such as ASP, JSP, PHP, or ASPX, whereas static pages usually end with the .html extension. Hosting a dynamic website requires higher server configuration compared to a static site; however, dynamic pages make content updates much easier, making them well-suited for business websites.

Dynamic page example: https://www.foxcms/index.php/article/index.html?id=1

Static page example: https://www.foxcms/news/1.html

There’s another important distinction: many pages appear to be static in format but are actually “pseudo-static.” Pseudo-static URLs mimic the structure of static pages but do not correspond to real physical files on the server—they are generated on-the-fly by mirroring dynamic content. In contrast, a truly static page (e.g., an actual file named 1.html) exists as a real HTML file stored on the server.

In terms of performance, true static pages are significantly faster than pseudo-static ones. Static pages reside directly on the server; when a user requests them, the server can deliver the file immediately without any processing. On the other hand, both dynamic and pseudo-static pages are essentially dynamic at their core—they rely on backend scripts to fetch content from a database. Every URL parameter may trigger additional database queries. Under heavy concurrent traffic, this can drastically increase server load, leading to higher infrastructure costs and undermining the goal of cost-effective, high-performance hosting.

True static pages are physically stored on the server and consume disk space—each piece of content corresponds to a separate HTML file, which increases storage usage. Pseudo-static URLs help avoid this issue. They transform dynamic URLs into static-looking formats, even though no actual file exists on the server. This approach combines the advantages of both static and dynamic sites: it improves search engine crawling and ranking while allowing flexible, real-time content updates. True static pages use pure HTML, whereas dynamic pages rely on server-side scripting technologies. That said, it’s worth noting that nearly all modern web pages—whether static or dynamic—include some interactive or animated elements. Thus, the distinction between “static” and “dynamic” is relative.

It’s also important to clarify: once a site is fully static (i.e., pre-generated HTML files), there is no database or backend program involved during user access. This becomes evident when updating content: dynamic sites require more complex management, while static sites eliminate such operational overhead.

About seven or eight years ago, roughly 80% of websites were required to be dynamic—this coincided with the peak popularity of ASP. Even sites that could have been static were often built as dynamic systems. However, in the past two years, there has been a clear shift toward static or “staticized” websites. What’s driving this change?

Today, “HTML staticization” typically means using dynamic technologies to pre-generate static HTML pages—it’s not a purely static site in the traditional sense, but rather a hybrid approach. FoxCMS, for example, is a common content management system that supports dynamic, pseudo-static, and fully static (pre-generated HTML) modes. Generating static HTML pages offers several key benefits:

1. Reduces server load: Even if the database fails, the website remains accessible because content is served directly from static files.
2. Improves SEO: Search engines like Baidu and Google prioritize crawling and indexing static pages—they are indexed faster and more completely.
3. Accelerates page loading: Static pages don’t require database connections, resulting in noticeably faster load times compared to dynamic pages.