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A static site generator is a software that buildsIn the context of Simply Static, builds are the process of creating a static version of your WordPress website. static websites using a set of templates and raw data. It takes in all the content, processes it, and outputs a folder of every possible view of a website page in advance. So, when the user requests a page, they are served with the view almost instantly.
Static site generators speed up the process of content production and delivery while making it easier for large teams to work together on the same project at the same time.
Let’s take a look at some of the lesser-known benefits of using a static site generator.
- Fast page load speed. Compared to websites that rely on traditional CMSs, sites created using static site generators load at lightning-fast speeds. Pages are generated ahead of time which means when users ask for the view of a page, the webserver is able to complete the request quickly.
- Reduced network latency. By simply storing your website’s static pages on a content delivery network (CDNStands for Content Delivery Network. It’s a system of distributed servers that deliver web content quickly to users base…), you’ll be able to dramatically boost response times, regardless of the location, network, browser, or device of the end-user.
- Easier to manage. After you’ve deployed your static website, you’ll no longer need to worry about spending time and resources on-site maintenance, server updates, and core WordPress upgrades.
- Increased security. Static sites are highly secure as they can’t be accessed via scripting or database security vulnerabilities. You get built-in HTTPS without the nuisances of PHPA widely-used programming language especially suited for web development. version, security issues of Apache, or dangers of outdated WordPress themes and plugins.
- Optimized SEO. Google ranks websites that have fast load times and are secure higher in search engine rankings. In addition to this, static site generators offer more control over the SEO aspects of your website, enabling you to improve your ranking even further.
- Total peace of mind. Once you set up your static website, you can rest assured that your website is highly secure, responsive, and doesn’t require continuous oversight or maintenance.
Below we’ll go through some of the best static site generator tools for WordPress and highlight their key features.
#1: Simply Static
Simply Static is a powerful static site generator for WordPress that helps you generate a static website directly from your WordPress dashboard and deploy it on your web server.
Simply Static lets you serve your static website separately from your WordPress installation. This enables you to keep your WordPress instance in a safe location so it becomes inaccessible to anyone but you, and ensures that your static site loads at lightning-fast speed.
Make your website even faster with Simply Static Pro
With Simply Static, you’ll be able to build a static site with a single click, and use its out of the box default options and configurationThe setup process where you specify the settings and options for how a software or system will operate. to customize the process based on your specific needs.
In addition to this, it gives you multiple deploymentThe act of pushing the static files generated by Simply Static to a live environment where users can access them. options which include directoryA folder in a computer’s file system used for storing files and other directories., zip, and locally as an archive. You can also choose specific pages or files to include or exclude from your static website and control who can access the page using basic authentication.
You’ll be able to easily track site progress from an integrated activity logA record of all the actions and changes made within the Simply Static plugin. It helps you track what has been done.. Moreover, Simply Static gives you a detailed report on your WordPress and server configurations so you can quickly diagnose any issues, debug your site generation, and keep it up to date.
#2: WP2Static
WP2Static is a simple WordPress static site generator that enables you to build a fast-loading and secure static version of your WordPress website.
It’s fully open-source and its code is in the public domain. In addition to this, it is a useful tool for anyone looking to boost privacy on their website while generating its static instance.
With WP2Static, you’ll be able to easily create a clone of your existing WordPress website and store it in another location such as your local computer or a remote server.
WP2Static supports both automatic and manual deployments, along with a number of user-friendly deployment options to help you customize the workflowIn a software development context, a workflow is a set of processes and tools for automating the deployment and operatio… based on your specific needs.
In addition to this, you can run test deployments to ensure that everything works correctly, make any adjustments, and deploy it to production only after verifying its workability.
WP2Static also gives you access to its optimized WordPress environment which comes with powerful site generation tools. It also offers various WordPress static site add-ons for Google Cloud Storage deployment, zip deployment, AlgoliaA record of all the actions and changes made within the Simply Static plugin. It helps you track what has been done. search, and BuddyCDN deployment.
#3: Shifter
Shifter is another useful static site generator that lets you build and migrate WordPress websites quickly. Static sites generated using Shifter are highly scalable and safe from attacks so you don’t need to install any caching or security plugins.
Its user-friendly Shifter Dashboard lets you easily create a new WordPress website and facilitates your team members to work together on projects.
You can easily view your site usage based on bandwidth consumption and check site performance from the Shifter Dashboard. Moreover, you can keep serving your media assets from Shifter’s dedicated CDN that lets you optimize image files, enabling you to deliver fast load times to end-users.
Shifter comes with built-in security features along with site-wide password protection that includes a username and password-based basic authentication. You’ll be able to secure your content and WordPress and control access to websites from one account.
Moreover, its Safe Mode feature helps you quickly troubleshoot issues using debuggingThe process of finding and fixing errors in software code. tools that can be accessed from the Shifter Dashboard.
In addition to this, you can create automated WordPress backups as you create websites and deploy changes. Shifter also allows you to schedule deployments by choosing the time you want to publish them.
#4: Strattic
Strattic is a popular WordPress static site generator that enables you to build and host scalable and secure static sites on your server.
By building static sites using Strattic, you can effortlessly scale your website for traffic and deliver incredibly fast load times to visitors. You can also serve your static sites from a global CDN from over 225 locations.
Strattic also offers a number of other security features which include an isolated runtime environment where your WordPress site is stored in a safe containerized environment, a free SSLSecure Sockets Layer. A technology that encrypts the data transferred between a user and a website. certificate to ensure encryption between the browser and the server, and DDoS mitigation to protect your website from online attacks.
In addition to this, when your WordPress website is inactive, it will be made offline. This way, your main site stays secure while your static website will be served as usual.
With Strattic, no database queries are made to process your site content and pages. Similarly, because your static sites are pre-rendered, you don’t have to depend on fetching data to render content. This will help further improve the performance, speed, and security of your website.
Additionally, you’ll be able to create daily backups that are stored for up to 30 days. You can also choose to create on-demand backups from the Strattic Dashboard.
#5: HardyPress
HardyPress is a useful static site generator for WordPress that offers a completely static version of your WordPress site to your site visitors. Your main WordPress installation stays on a separate domain and only becomes active when you need to make updates to site pages and content. The WordPress instance remains hidden until you’ve built a new deployment to take it online.
HardyPress infrastructure is built on Amazon AWSAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing platform that offers various services, including storage solutions like S… cloud and your static sites will be hosted on Amazon S3 Buckets. This means that your visitors won’t experience downtime and your site pages will be served to visitors in a fast and reliable way.
Its global CDN gives you access to up to 26 locations around the world which helps deliver faster response times, more reliability and ensures 100% availability.
In addition to this, HardyPress gives you access to a staging environment where you can manage and modify your site without breaking the live content.
With HardyPress, you no longer need to perform any site updates and, since your site will be 100% static, online attackers won’t be able to breach your site’s security.
You’ll also get up to one year of site backups that include regular screenshots of your WordPress, deploys, files, and databases, so you can roll-back to a previous version of your website any time you want.
#6: Sitesauce
Sitesauce is a helpful static site generator that turns your existing dynamic content into a highly secure and reliable static site.
Creating a static site with Sitesauce is simple and easy. You only need to submit your website link and Sitesauce will handle the rest. It will output the first deployment to Vercel and, every time you update content on your main website, the static version of your site will automatically be updated.
Sitesauce offers plugins for various CMSs including WordPress, Joomla!, and Ghost that can automatically detect your content changes. Moreover, you’ll also have the option to run new trigger deployments periodically, so your visitors always get the most updated version of your website.
With Sitesauce, your static sites are hosted on Vercel which gives you access to unlimited bandwidth and a high-performing CDN, for no extra cost. This gives your site’s response times and reliability a huge boost.
Conclusion
Static site generators offer a number of benefits to site owners, including fast site speeds, simplicity, enhanced security, scalability, and easy CDN acceleration.
