Static and Headless Websites

It's not for everyone - but when it's good, it's very, very good.

Static and Headless are not the same, but they can appear the same when visiting a website and they tend to use a lot of the same technology. They both offer significant speed and hosting cost advantages over traditional, monolithic CMS sites.

When is a Headless site a good solution?

• You have specific needs that can't be met by a
Mini marketing sites Speed Larger budget Longer build time Double the ongoing upkeep - both backend and front

When is a static site a good solution?

• A small site - less than 5 to 10 pages.
• A site that doesn't need regular updating. Updates are possible but generally require a developer and someone that can upload the site.
• A site on a CMS that is no longer supported. Such sites can be cloned and turned into static markup that will work

So let's get the biggest disadvantages of Static sites out of the way. That way you can stop reading if this is you

• Very hard or impossible for a non-technical site owner to edit. If you want to do regular updates then choose a site running on a CMS eg Drupal, Wix or Shopify.

niche and depends on the client’s needs. Static sites offer some clear advantages that make them appealing in certain cases: ✅ When static sites are a good fit: Small business or personal sites that don’t need frequent updates. Portfolio websites (artists, designers, photographers). Event landing pages or product launch microsites. Brochure-style business sites (especially for local services). Documentation or help centres, particularly when paired with a generator like Hugo or Jekyll. 💡 Key advantages: Speed – no server-side processing means they load very quickly. Security – fewer moving parts (no databases or login forms) = fewer vulnerabilities. Low hosting cost – can be hosted free or cheaply (e.g. Netlify, GitHub Pages). Stability – less prone to breaking during updates or plugin issues. 🤔 Less ideal when: The client wants to manage the content themselves (CMS features are limited). The site includes user logins, dynamic filtering, e-commerce, or interactive features. They need to update content regularly and don't want to touch code or git. Who’s buying them: Developers building JAMstack sites (headless CMS + static frontend). Agencies creating fast, SEO-optimised brochure sites. Startups wanting quick launch pages or MVPs. Businesses wanting speed + SEO but without ongoing editing needs.