Hosting Static WordPress on AWS

May 18, 2023 By WP Helpline Off

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) around today. Forrester, a market research firm, states that WordPress is the second most popular CMS behind only Joomla.

In today’s technology-empowered world, static site generation has become popular as bloggers and website owners prefer to work without a CMS. This is mainly because static sites are faster to build than a traditional CMS-based site and require fewer resources from your web host.

What is WordPress’ main selling point? Easy to use, Free, and mobile-optimized. These are just some of the reasons why WordPress is so popular.

Why Use Static Sites On AWS?

There are many benefits to using static sites on AWS rather than WordPress-based sites.

Here are just a few reasons why you might want to consider using static sites on your AWS-hosted blog or website:

Faster To Build

Building a WordPress-based site takes a lot of time. You will need to set up a functioning content management system on your web host, build out the site with a basic visual layout, and then populate it with content.

However, to build a static site, you will only need to ensure that the underlying structure is in place and then populate it with content. The structure of a static site can be created using something as simple as a text editor, while the content can be anything you want.

For this reason, static sites are ideal for getting your blog or website up and running quickly. If you are just getting started or have a light workload, you should opt for a static site. By doing so, you will be able to save a lot of time that would otherwise be spent on building a WordPress-based site.

No Need For A Web Host

WordPress requires a working web host in order to function. If you decide to host your site on the WordPress platform, you will need to choose a web host that provides the CMS functionality you require. However, with a static site, you do not need to look for a web host that provides the CMS service you need. You can simply use any shared hosting service that provides the necessary functions you need to have a working website.

In some cases, you might find it cheaper to use a free web hosting service rather than buying a dedicated hosting plan. This is mainly because you do not need to pay for additional functions that you are not using. When it comes to shared hosting services, you will most likely run into problems with scammers who try to abuse your kindness by trying to steal your money or hack into your website. Use common sense and be careful about what to share with strangers.

More Secure

With a WordPress-based site, the security of your data is largely dependent on the security of your web host. If your web host is compromised, so is your WordPress site. This is mainly because WordPress stores data such as post titles, articles, and other publicly available content in a database that is easily accessible by hackers. For this reason, using a static site is more secure than hosting a WordPress site on a shared hosting service.

A static site has no database to hack into and no files to edit. Therefore, if you decide to use a static site rather than a WordPress site, you can rest assured that your information will stay private and secure.

Mobile-Optimized

If your main audience is using mobile devices to access the Internet, you might want to consider hosting your blog or website on AWS rather than WordPress. This is because WordPress is not optimized for mobile browsing and can look a bit clunky on a small screen.

While a desktop browser displays a website nicely, a mobile browser will display a mobile version of a website that is optimized for mobile devices. For example, take a look at How To Optimize A WordPress Blog For Mobile Browsing.

This type of optimization makes your site look like it was designed specifically for mobile browsing. The results are well-received by visitors on mobile devices and can greatly improve your SEO rankings.

More Flexible

One of the main reasons why WordPress is so popular is because it is extremely flexible. This allows you to customize the platform to suit your needs. However, this customization comes at a cost. To achieve this level of flexibility, you will need to spend a lot of time learning WordPress’ custom fields, creating and using themes, and figuring out what functionality you need and how to use it. Although this is an excellent platform to become familiar with, it is not the best fit for everyone.

If you want to use your blog or website to quickly share articles with your friends and family, you might want to consider using a static site rather than a WordPress site. This is because you can simply copy and paste the content you want to share into a plain HTML file, and you are good to go. In addition to that, you can use a tool like Jekyll to easily create static sites rather than using WordPress’ built-in editors.

Although it is possible to create a mobile-optimized, static site using WordPress, you might not want to go this route if you are looking to get your site up and running quickly. The fact is, to build a mobile-optimized version of a site using WordPress, you will need to use a separate theme, create separate images for the different screen sizes, and spend a lot of time testing the site on various devices. For these reasons, using a static site to create a mobile-optimized version of your site can be more convenient if you want to get the content you need quickly and without too much effort.

Now, as for the title of this article, “Hosting Static WordPress on AWS,” perhaps the most prominent question is “Why AWS?” Why should you choose Amazon Web Services rather than some other web hosting company? Let’s take a look at the various reasons.

Choice Of Servers

As we mentioned above, you do not need to search for a web host that provides the CMS service you need. You can simply use any shared hosting service that provides the necessary functions you need to have a working site. In this case, you should opt for the Amazon Web Services Platform as it offers a variety of services that you might need for your blog or website, including:

S3 – Simple Storage Solution;
DynamoDB – a NoSQL database similar to MongoDB;
AutoScaling – ability to scale your web server’s capacity on the fly;
Route53 – a web services platform that allows you to create and manage domain names and records;
Elastic Beanstalk – an infrastructure as a service offering that provides a complete development environment with a preconfigured Apache web server and MySQL database; and
CloudFront – a content delivery network that lets you upload and manage media files such as images and videos from Amazon S3.

Privacy-Protected

One of the biggest selling points of AWS is that all of the servers are located in data centers that are equipped with the highest security measures in place to protect your personal information.

In a nutshell, the whole point of AWS is to provide a safe and secure place for your content, whether it is financial, personal, or commercial. As a blogger who wants to keep their content private, this is certainly a selling point worth considering.

Multiple Environments

Another great thing about AWS is that, in addition to offering a private place to store your content, it also provides you with the tools to easily create different environments based on your needs. For example, let’s say you are a business owner who wants to run a professional website for their company. To do so, you can use AWS to spawn a VPC (virtual private cloud) which then gets connected to your existing EC2 instance or launch a brand new one.

This type of setup gives you the flexibility to choose the environment that is right for your needs. Whether you are a startup looking for low cost of entry or a business owner who wants to create a professional looking website, AWS has you covered.

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