If you are building your site with Webflow, you'll need to ask yourself this question: should I use a static page or a dynamic page? 🤔
To help you answer that question, we will explore in this article the difference between static and dynamic pages, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Webflow Static Page
What is a static page in Webflow?
Unique
A static page is, as the name suggests, not easily replicable. It is considered static, particularly in its structure, which you will design uniquely, just once.
Cornerstone
Static pages are generally reserved for cornerstone pages of your site, important and essential pages that can usually be accessed in less than three clicks.
Limited Modifications
They are not intended to evolve significantly, or at least not on a daily basis. This is why they are not editable from the CMS. To edit a static page in Webflow, you will need to either use the designer or use the editor mode to apply your changes directly on the page.
SEO Performance
Static pages are therefore less flexible, but they will have a strong impact on SEO as well as on conversion rates. An internal cluster linking can be built around these pages to optimize the SEO juice they generate and, conversely, to make them more visible.
Complexity
You can maximize the complexity of your static pages, both in the structure of the page, sections, elements, content, animations, size, design, etc.
Examples of Static Pages
Here are some examples of static pages to help you visualize better:
- Home Page : there is only one, so it will necessarily be static.
- About Page : there is generally only one and it is not intended to be duplicated.
- Contact Page : even if there can be several, it is not meant to be duplicated.
- Legal Notice Page
- Service Page : provided your services don't change every week or month.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- SEO
- Design
- Complexity
- Unlimited Content
Disadvantages
- Not easily duplicable (use the Webflow designer)
- Not intended to evolve daily
Learn to edit a static page in Webflow
Webflow Dynamic Page
What is a dynamic page in Webflow?
Unlike static pages, dynamic pages in Webflow are designed to be replicated. They are crafted to facilitate daily site editing, and it is crucial to identify them during the site design process. In Webflow, dynamic pages are contained in CMS collections, which serve as a kind of file that groups dynamic pages with the same type of fields.
Replicable
A static page is a easily replicable page, meaning you won't need to develop it a second time using the Webflow designer, but can simply create it from editor mode. In fact, a dynamic page is essentially a model page, designed once, that you will reuse multiple times with customized content.
Dynamic pages are represented in your Webflow CMS back office as simple fields to fill out. These can include text fields, images, links, galleries, videos, code, and more. The content of each of these fields will then be inserted into specific areas of the template page.
The possibilities are vast, but it's essential to think this through during development. Don't worry if you missed something or need additional fields; the CMS is easily editable.
SEO
Although a dynamic page alone has less SEO impact than a static page, the number of pages can enhance overall strength. Dynamic pages are easily editable, enabling you to create many of them and thus build cluster strategies to strengthen your internal linking. They also allow you to target more specific queries, such as long-tail keywords, or to rank for terms through multiple steps.
Connections
Static pages are interconnected! Webflow's CMS allows you to easily create links between your dynamic pages. This makes it simple to cross-reference data to optimize your site.
For example, a dynamic blog post page can easily be connected to an author collection, containing the author who wrote the article. This way, you can identify an author for each blog post.
Dynamic Site
By creating dynamic pages, you can make your entire site dynamic. Indeed, the content of a dynamic page can be reused in various ways, across diverse designs, styles, and pages.
For instance, the content of a dynamic blog post page can be reused for your blog article as well as within a blog section on another page. This allows you to easily create links to this article from a condensed section containing a thumbnail, title, summary phrase, and call to action.
Examples of Dynamic Pages
- Blog Article
- Product Page: if you have products to replicate multiple times
- Service Page: if you have multiple services to duplicate
- Team: to add, modify, or remove each member of your team
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- Easily replicable
- Interconnected data
- Dynamic site
- SEO boosted by clustering strategies and internal linking
Disadvantages
- Limited to a number of editable fields: 30 or 60 fields maximum depending on the CMS version
- Similar design across all pages
- Deeper pages
