Static Dynamic Websites

Dynamic websites are all the rage these days with their flashy interfaces, rotating content and eye-catching graphics. As fancy as they look, dynamic sites are continually less favorable to the search engines than classic static HTML sites. We’ve found that while you can achieve visibility in the search engines for your ASP, CGI or PHP driven site, it can take up to 50 percent longer to achieve the desired result than a static site of similar size and content.

The workaround to this problem is simple enough. Create a static-dynamic site. A static-dynamic site contains mostly static HTML files that are regularly rebuilt using ever-changing content. The dynamic content is stored in a database and is “pulled” together by tools which create the static HTML pages for use on the website. So, what you get is a completely dynamic content set which is displayed through a completely static set of HTML pages. Nifty.

Depending on how far you wish to take this model, you can have automated scripts that regenerate pages and rotate content on a daily/weekly basis. There are some sections of your site that will need to stay dynamic such as shopping carts or discussion forums, however the majority of your site will fit the S/D model. By creating a static-dynamic website you can take advantage of the inherent favourability given to static sites by search engines, without losing the benefits a dynamic site can offer.To double your visibility chances, see the article above on loading your ALT Tags.