Static Site Generation for Client Websites: My 330 Hosting Approach

Most small business websites don't need WordPress. They need a fast, secure site that shows up in search results and converts visitors. Static site generation delivers that without the overhead.

TL;DR

Static sites are perfect for most SMBs: Fast, secure, cheap, reliable
Content integrity first: No fake testimonials, verified business info
SEO and performance built-in: Proper markup, optimization, caching
Deployment options: VPS, Cloudflare Pages, S3 + CloudFront
Client workflow: Build, review, deploy - no ongoing CMS maintenance
Results: 95-100 PageSpeed scores, zero security issues

Why Static for Client Sites

Performance:

A static site loads in milliseconds. No database queries, no PHP execution, no server-side processing. The server just hands over files. Time to first byte is consistently under 100ms.

Security:

No WordPress to hack. No plugins to exploit. No database to inject. The attack surface shrinks to basically nothing. I can't remember the last time I had to clean malware from a static site.

Cost:

Hosting static files is cheap. Really cheap. S3, Cloudflare Pages, Netlify free tiers—all work fine for small business sites. Or host hundreds of sites on a single small VPS.

Reliability:

Static files served from a CDN don't go down. No PHP memory errors, no MySQL connection limits, no plugin conflicts. The site just works.

What Types of Sites Work

Static site generation works for:

Small business brochure sites (5-20 pages)
Professional services (lawyers, accountants, consultants)
Local businesses (contractors, restaurants, retail)
Portfolio sites
Landing pages
Documentation sites

It doesn't work well for:

Sites needing user accounts/login
eCommerce (though headless options exist)
Highly dynamic content
Sites where clients insist on editing content themselves frequently

For that last point, there are headless CMS options, but for most small business clients, they don't actually edit their site that often. I build it, they approve it, we update it quarterly or when something changes.

The Generation System I Built

Core Principles

No fake content, ever. When AI assists with content generation, the system refuses to create:

Fake testimonials
Made-up addresses
Fictional employee names
Invented certifications or awards
Fabricated case studies

If we don't have real content, we leave placeholders that are obviously placeholders, or we skip that section. A business site with honest, sparse content beats one full of fabricated credibility signals.

SEO compliance built in. Every generated site includes:

Proper heading hierarchy (one H1, logical H2-H6)
Meta descriptions on every page
Open Graph and Twitter cards
Schema.org structured data
XML sitemap
robots.txt
Canonical URLs
Alt text requirements (enforced, not optional)

Performance by default. Generated sites include:

Optimized images (WebP with fallbacks)
Minimal CSS (only what's used)
No JavaScript unless actually needed
Inline critical CSS
Proper caching headers

Technical Stack

Build process:

Input (content + config)
    ↓
Template engine (Jinja2)
    ↓
HTML generation
    ↓
Asset optimization
    ↓
Static files
    ↓
Deploy to CDN/hosting

Content structure:

# site.yaml
business:
  name: "Example Plumbing"
  address: "123 Main St, Canton, OH 44702"  # Must be verified real
  phone: "(330) 555-1234"
  email: "[email protected]"
  
pages:
  - slug: "index"
    title: "Canton Plumbing Services"
    sections:
      - type: "hero"
        headline: "Licensed Plumbing for Northeast Ohio"
        cta: "Call Now"
      - type: "services"
        items:
          - name: "Drain Cleaning"
            description: "..."
          
seo:
  default_title_suffix: " | Example Plumbing"
  locale: "en_US"
  
schema:
  type: "LocalBusiness"
  priceRange: "$$"

Template example:

<!-- base.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="{{ site.seo.locale[:2] }}">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>{{ page.title }}{{ site.seo.default_title_suffix }}</title>
  <meta name="description" content="{{ page.meta_description }}">
  
  <!-- Open Graph -->
  <meta property="og:title" content="{{ page.title }}">
  <meta property="og:description" content="{{ page.meta_description }}">
  <meta property="og:type" content="website">
  <meta property="og:url" content="{{ site.url }}{{ page.slug }}">
  
  <!-- Schema.org -->
  <script type="application/ld+json">
  {{ schema_json | safe }}
  </script>
  
  <style>{{ critical_css | safe }}</style>
</head>
<body>
  {% include "nav.html" %}
  {% block content %}{% endblock %}
  {% include "footer.html" %}
</body>
</html>

Content Validation

Before any site deploys, automated checks verify:

Business information:

Address matches Google Places API (real address)
Phone number is valid format for region
Email domain matches site domain or is verified client email

Content integrity:

No placeholder text ("Lorem ipsum", "Coming soon", "TBD")
No AI-generated testimonials (checked against patterns)
Images have alt text
Links resolve (no 404s)
Contact forms have valid endpoints

SEO requirements:

H1 present on every page (exactly one)
Meta description present (50-160 chars)
Title tag present (under 60 chars)
No duplicate titles across pages
Canonical URL present

Technical:

HTML validation passes
CSS is valid
No console errors
Page weight under 1MB
LCP under 2.5s (tested)

Deployment Options

Option 1: Traditional VPS

For sites where I'm already hosting email or need FTP access for clients:

# Deploy script
rsync -avz --delete ./dist/ user@server:/var/www/example.com/

Nginx config:

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    root /var/www/example.com;
    
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem;
    
    # Security headers
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
    
    # Cache static assets
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js|webp)$ {
        expires 1y;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
    
    # Clean URLs
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ $uri.html =404;
    }
    
    error_page 404 /404.html;
}

Option 2: Cloudflare Pages

For maximum performance and free hosting:

# wrangler.toml
name = "example-site"
compatibility_date = "2024-01-01"

[site]
bucket = "./dist"

Deploy: wrangler pages deploy ./dist

Benefits:

Global CDN automatically
Free SSL
Unlimited bandwidth on free tier
No server to manage

Option 3: S3 + CloudFront

For AWS-centric clients:

# Deploy
aws s3 sync ./dist/ s3://example-site-bucket --delete
aws cloudfront create-invalidation --distribution-id XXXXX --paths "/*"

More setup but integrates well with existing AWS infrastructure.

Client Workflow

Initial build:

Discovery call - gather real business info, photos, content
Generate initial site from templates
Client review on staging URL
Revisions (usually 1-2 rounds)
Launch

Updates:

Client emails requested changes
I update content file, regenerate, deploy
Takes 5-10 minutes for typical text changes
No CMS login for them to forget

Why this works:

Most small business owners don't want to log into WordPress. They want their website to work and to call someone when they need changes. This model fits that reality.

Cost Structure

My costs per site:

Domain: $12-15/year (if I'm registering)
Hosting: $0-5/month depending on platform
SSL: $0 (Let's Encrypt or Cloudflare)
Build time: 2-4 hours initial

What I charge:

Setup: Flat project fee based on complexity
Hosting/maintenance: Monthly retainer includes hosting + minor updates

The margins are better than WordPress hosting because there's nothing to maintain. No updates, no security patches, no database backups. Just files that don't change unless I change them.

When I Still Use WordPress

Some clients genuinely need it:

Blog with frequent posts (though static blogs exist)
WooCommerce requirements
Client insists on self-editing
Complex integrations that require server-side processing

But I estimate 60-70% of small business websites could be static sites. They'd load faster, cost less to host, and never get hacked. The main barrier is mindset—people assume "website" means "WordPress."

Results

Static sites I've deployed consistently show:

PageSpeed scores 95-100
Time to first byte under 100ms
Zero security incidents
Uptime effectively 100% (CDN reliability)
Hosting costs approaching zero

The approach isn't glamorous. There's no fancy CMS to demo, no drag-and-drop builder to show off. But the sites work reliably, rank well, and don't need constant attention. For a hosting business, that's exactly what you want.

Need a Fast, Secure Website for Your Business?

At 330 Hosting, we specialize in building fast, secure static websites that convert visitors and rank well in search results. No WordPress overhead, no security worries, just reliable performance.

Whether you need a business brochure site, professional services website, or portfolio site, our static site generation approach delivers results without the maintenance headaches. Learn more about our web development services or contact us to discuss your project.