Why Your First Website Should Be a Static Site
Beginners are often told to start with a big platform. We think a simple static site teaches you more and costs you less.
By the Astro Nursery team. Review lead: Ryan James, Founder & CEO, Seahawk MediaPublished 4 minute readComplete beginner
In this guide
When people ask how to start a website, they usually get pointed to a big platform with a dashboard, plugins and a monthly bill. We think there’s a better first step for many of them: a small static site.
There’s less to go wrong
A static site is a folder of finished files. There’s no database to corrupt, and no login page for bots to attack. If a tool breaks during the build, the version your visitors see stays online.
It costs very little
Static files are cheap to serve, so several good hosts have free plans. You could run a personal site for years for the cost of a domain name.
You learn how the web works
When you write a page and see it become a real address, the web stops being magic. You’ll know what HTML is, what a host does, and why a page can be slow. That knowledge carries over to any tool you use later.
When we’d say otherwise
A static site isn’t right for everyone. If you need an online store with thousands of products, or a team of editors who won’t touch code, a platform will serve you better. That’s why we built a tool that might tell you not to use Astro.
But for a first website? Start small. You can always add more later, and it’s far harder to take complexity away.
Stuck on a step?
Check the common errors guide, look up a word in the glossary, or ask the friendly people in the official Astro and EmDash Discords. How to ask so people can help.