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Frontend & Web Development

Static Site Generation

Static site generation creates HTML pages during the build and serves them without runtime rendering.

Static Site Generation prebuilds pages as HTML so they can be delivered quickly without generating the full page at request time. It works especially well for content that does not need to change on every visit and can be distributed efficiently through a CDN. Good implementations should still maintain semantic structure, accessibility, and a clear strategy for updates and dynamic functionality. The concept is closely related to Server-Side Rendering and CDN.

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Server-Side Rendering

CDN

Caching

FAQ

Static Site Generation

Does static site generation automatically improve Core Web Vitals?
No. It usually lowers Time to First Byte because finished HTML is served. LCP, CLS, and INP depend on images, fonts, JavaScript, and layout instead. A heavy static page stays slow. Assessment happens at the 75th percentile of field data, regardless of the build approach.
What limits does static site generation have on large websites?
Build times grow with page count. With very many pages, every change may wait a long time for publication. Countermeasures include incremental builds, partial regeneration, or switching individual sections to runtime rendering. Content volume and update frequency should be estimated before committing to the approach.
How does static site generation differ from server-side rendering?
With SSG, the HTML is generated once at build time; with SSR, on the server for every request. SSG is faster and cheaper to run, while SSR is fresher and better for personalized content. Many frameworks allow both per page, so the choice can follow the content type.
How does static site generation keep content up to date?
Through a new build after every content change, usually triggered automatically by a webhook from the CMS. Next.js also offers incremental regeneration, which rebuilds individual pages in the background. How long a change takes to appear depends on build time and page count.
Which websites are a good fit for static site generation?
Sites whose content changes rarely and looks the same for every visitor: marketing pages, documentation, blogs, glossaries. Prebuilt delivery brings speed and low operating load there. Heavily personalized or minute-by-minute content fits worse, unless it is loaded on the client side.