Static and Dynamic websites are terms that you will encounter a lot in the business of web design and development. These are basically the two main approaches when building a website for your business.

Static simply means that the information or 'code' that makes up the website doesn't change, and they can be built more cost-effectively than dynamic websites.

Static web sites are crafted to work more like a printed document and to be referred to on the web. You will find a lot of brochure sites are constructed this way, and it is not a bad thing as there is so much more that can be done with the design and optimisation that is sometimes just not possible with a dynamic website.

Dynamic means that the data or content can change 'dynamically'.

The content (text and images) is usually fed from a database or Content Management System (CMS) so when the data is updated, the content on the website are also updated. This method opens up a lot of options on the flexibility and functionality of your website. Different types and frameworks of CMS are available for different purposes and needs. We have CMS for portals and brochure-type websites, E-commerce for online stores and shopping carts, forum for community interactions, etc.

Depending on your requirements, you will then have to choose which among the opensource CMS are suitable for your website. Some very popular and recommended platforms are: Drupal, Joomla, Wordpress, Magento among many others.

Shopping carts and information sites work this way as their content changes frequently and needs to be constantly up to date. The additional functionality also creates a lot more variables to consider. These variables require extra work and make the design more expensive.

In my view, for a small or medium sized businesses, if you are not intending to update the information on your website more than three times a year, it is not really worth investing the extra money in making the website dynamic.