What is a static site?

A static site is a website whose pages are generated once, at build time, into plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript files, then served unchanged to every visitor from a content delivery network. No server runs per request, so it is fast and cheap to host: $0 per month on the Cloudflare free plan, the domain being the only bill.

Static versus dynamic, in one paragraph

A dynamic site assembles each page when someone asks for it: a server queries a database, runs code, returns HTML. A static site did that work once, ahead of time; what the visitor receives is a file that already exists. Forms, search and checkout still work: small server functions or third parties handle them, while every page stays a file.

On this site, the forms post to a small edge function and the checkout is run by a third party that sells on its behalf.

Does a static site need a monthly hosting fee?

No. Files served by a CDN cost the host almost nothing, so free plans are generous: on the Cloudflare free plan, wiserstaff.com (live since 2026-06-27, 53 URLs counted on 2026-08-30) has paid $0 per month for hosting, a reading dated on our figures page. The recurring bill is the domain, at registry cost.

The limits that apply are real and dated (as read on 2026-09-05: 500 builds a month, one at a time, 20,000 files, 25 MiB per file) and belong in any honest description of the path.

What a static site is not

It is not “no code”. Someone writes the content and runs a build, or drags a folder to a host. It is not a website builder with a monthly fee either, and that is precisely why people choose it: the only recurring bill is the domain.