# What is a static WordPress® site?

**Short version:** A normal WordPress site builds each page when someone visits, by running PHP code and asking a database. A **static** WordPress site builds every page ahead of time and saves it as a plain file. Visitors get the saved files. You can keep editing in WordPress, with the files rebuilt when you make changes, or switch WordPress off and keep the files as they are.

## Normal WordPress vs static WordPress

| | Normal WordPress | Static WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| What a visitor's request does | Runs PHP, plugins and database queries | Fetches a saved file |
| What strangers can reach | WordPress, its login page, plugins and PHP | Only the saved files |
| Speed | Depends on the server and caching | Fast everywhere, served from a nearby data center |
| Traffic spikes | Can slow down or crash a small server | Files handle spikes easily |
| Editing | In WordPress | In WordPress, or none if you retire it |
| Forms, search, comments | Built in | Need a replacement or relay |
| Shops, member logins | Work | Don't work as static pages |

## What keeps working

- **Your design.** Themes and page builders like Elementor, Divi and the block editor produce normal web pages, and those pages are what get saved.
- **Things that run in the visitor's browser:** sliders, galleries, videos, maps, analytics, chat widgets and cookie banners.
- **Your web addresses**, so search rankings and links don't break.
- **Contact forms,** if the service relays them. WranglePress does: it can email submissions to you, or pass them to your WordPress form plugin.

## What doesn't

- **Anything that changes per visitor**: shopping carts and checkout (WooCommerce), member areas, course logins and password-protected pages.
- **Built-in WordPress search and comments,** unless replaced with another tool.

If most of your site is the first list, static is a good fit. Brochure sites, portfolios, blogs and local-business sites usually are. See exactly [what works with WranglePress](https://wranglepress.com/what-works).

## The ways to do it

1. **A plugin that exports files** (for example Simply Static's free plugin). Cheap and flexible. You host the files, re-run the export after changes, and handle forms and the domain yourself.
2. **A hosted static WordPress service** (for example Simply Static Studio, Staatic, Shifter, Stelae). They host your WordPress and the files. Each handles publishing, forms and search differently. See our [comparisons](https://wranglepress.com/compare).
3. **WranglePress.** Your WordPress stays where it is, made private, or you retire it. We copy it to Cloudflare's network, rebuild automatically when you publish, and relay your forms. [How it works](https://wranglepress.com/how-it-works).

## Is static WordPress "safer"?

It removes the biggest risk: strangers running code through your public site. A flaw in WordPress, a plugin or PHP has no public door to come through. If you keep WordPress, it still needs updates and strong passwords, and the old server should be locked down so it can't be reached directly. If you retire WordPress, there's no WordPress left to attack at all. We explain this honestly on our [security page](https://wranglepress.com/security).

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Canonical page: https://wranglepress.com/learn/static-wordpress · Last updated 2026-10-24