Working with Static Sites

Chapter 2. Building a Basic Static Site

Raymond Camden

For our first static site, we’ll start with something incredibly simple. For some, brochure-ware is a derogatory term for a website that looks like it was copied directly from a marketing brochure. While some sites certainly are simple copies of marketing material, that doesn’t mean there’s anything particularly wrong with them.

There are times when a website will be nothing more than one or two pages of content. For example, maybe you’re launching the Next Big Thing™ as part of your plan to become a dot-com millionaire. While your product is in development, you may simply need a single-page “Coming Soon” site.

Other examples of simple sites include the following:

• A restaurant site providing hours, address, and a menu
• A landing page for your mobile app that provides links to the various app stores
• A portfolio page that functions as a resume for someone looking for a job

In all of these examples, the entire site might consist of nothing more than one or two unique pages. A static site generator might be overkill for such a thing, but in my experience, small projects have a way of growing—not the other way around. The benefits that static site generators provide will become more useful over time as the site (possibly) grows with new content.

For our first example site, we’re going to create an online presence for a coffee shop called Camden Grounds. While not a terribly imaginative name, you’ve probably come across simple ...