Data from Google Trends noted search requests around the website builder boomed in October 2024, especially on October 8, where it reached a peak score of 100.
The spike in interest signals a shift in user behavior, indicating an active search for options which align more closely with user expectations around performance, control, and transparency.
I’ve been giving static site generators a go, specifically Hugo. Webdevs have always treated static sites as unserious, but there’s plenty of sites out there where it’d be ideal. An awful lot of those sites are currently on WordPress.
Does your local mechanics shop need a dynamic site? No. Local restaurant that points you to an external site for online ordering? No. Little gift shop selling locally produced goods? If they don’t intend to sell online, then no. A manufacturer with product pages that have a “where to buy” button that sends you to their sales partner in your country? Nope.
How many CPU cycles are wasted on these sites that could be nothing more than reading a file and streaming it back to the client?
This is a very good point. The other issue is security. The little mechanic shop that has no dynamic content, technically should be static pages, so when it’s left alone and not updated for 3 years it doesn’t get hacked by some WordPress vulnerability.