When presenting a site to an audience, for instance your client and his staff when you just finished the brand new version of his site, you are subject of external disruptions, like power cuts, server down time or simply lack of available network for connecting to the host where your files are stored.
Converting your dynamic WordPress site to a static HTML version is an excellent option in such cases as this will not only make you less dependent of external factors and bring peace of mind, but also will make your site run much, much faster!
The free Simply Static plugin allows you to do just that, fast, easy and straight forward.
Once activated, you’ll be offered 3 different options regarding the final HTML structure you’ll get:
- Use absolute URLs
This option will convert all URLs for your WordPress site to absolute URLs at the domain you specified above.
Useful only if you want to make your static version available online and replace your WP version or simply create a new version of your site at another URL. - Use relative URLs
Convert all URLs for your WordPress site to relative URLs that will work at any domain. Optionally specify a path above if you intend to place the files in a subdirectory.
With this option you’ll be able to host your static files at any URL or subdirectory online. - Save for offline use
Convert all URLs for your WordPress site so that you can browse the site locally on your own computer without hosting it on a web server.
This is what you’ll need for the above described scenario, when you want to browse your static site locally, from a computer or even a USB key.
Under the plugin’s settings you’ll also find some other options, like the ability to include/exclude some additional URLs, directories or files or select the location of the temporary files the plugin will create on the server.
When ready, just hit the “Generate” button and the plugin will scan all your files, collect their data and create static files out of them in a matter of minutes.
If you have chosen option 3, just download the ZIP archive, unzip it to your computer or USB key and you’ll be ready to go. Just run the index.html file and navigate your website from there – fast!