MakeStatic

Beta · free

Make your website static. Faster, safer, and everything works just like before.

Most business websites are slow and easy to break into for the same reason: every visit wakes up a database and a stack of plugins. MakeStatic gives your visitors a static copy that works just like your site, and you keep editing where you always have.

Start for free

Your whole site, on your own domain.
Free while we're in beta. No credit card.

Or test one page first, without an account
  • Works like the original
  • Nothing to install
  • Works with any CMS

Test it on one of your pages

About twenty seconds, no account. You see your page and the copy side by side and click through it yourself.

By clicking, you confirm the site is yours or that you may copy it. We copy one page, keep it for 4 hours, and search engines never see it.

A copy that works like your site

A plain HTML export saves each page with the files it links to. Anything a page loads only after it opens, like images that appear as you scroll, a menu that fills in, content a script fetches or a link that redirects, often goes missing. And you hear about it from a visitor.

A MakeStatic copy works like your site, it doesn't just look like it. You test it yourself, side by side with your site, before deciding anything. And if a page of the copy ever behaves differently from yours, write to [email protected] and we'll fix it.

  • Images that load as you scroll, in every size your site has for phones and big screens.
  • Fonts, icons and everything your theme or page builder brings along.
  • Content a script loads after the page opens, and menus that fill in on hover.
  • Links that redirect to another address still redirect.
  • Videos that play and let you skip ahead.
  • Contact forms that deliver and a search box that answers.

Same site for you. A better one for your visitors.

Same system, same login, same way of adding a page. Only the public side stops being software.

Every visit wakes up a database and a stack of plugins.

Every visitor gets a finished file.

One bad update and the site is down on a Tuesday afternoon.

Updates can't touch what your visitors see.

A busy morning slows the site down.

A file stays fast, however many people want it.

Going static used to mean a plugin, an export and a hunt for what's missing.

The copy works like your site, and you test it side by side first.

You find out about a changed page when someone complains.

Every publish shows which pages were added, changed or removed.

Why make a website static?

On most business websites, the software behind the page does nothing for the reader. It's what gets hacked, what needs updates, and what's busy while a visitor waits.

Nothing to hack

Your visitors get plain files: no database, no plugins, no login page. The classic way small business sites get hacked, an outdated plugin, isn't there at all. Your own system stays online for editing, so keep it as secure as you do today.

Read more about Nothing to hack

Faster pages

Nothing gets built per visit. The page is ready before anyone asks for it, so the first byte goes out right away. We won't promise a number here: the demo measures your own site next to the copy, and you judge for yourself.

Read more about Faster pages

Updates without the panic

Security patches stop being urgent on the public side, because there's no software running there anymore. An update you haven't gotten around to can't reach the page a customer is reading.

It stays up

Files don't have bad days. The copy keeps running whatever your system or your host is up to. If an upgrade goes wrong, it's a job for you, not a dead end for someone looking for your phone number.

How it works

Three steps. The first two take about twenty seconds and commit you to nothing.

  1. 1

    Enter your address

    No account, nothing to install. The copy of the page you entered starts right away.

  2. 2

    Compare side by side

    Your site and the copy, next to each other. Click around like a visitor would. Not convinced? You've lost twenty seconds.

  3. 3

    Point your domain at it

    Happy with it? Point your domain at the copy and it becomes your public site. You keep editing where you always have and publish whenever the copy should catch up.

Works with whatever your site is built on

Nothing gets installed, so there's nothing to be compatible with and no version that has to match.

That includes the site someone built for you years ago, whoever it was and whatever they used. If it's online, we can copy it.

What needs a server, and how we handle it

Some features need something running in the background. We cover the two almost every site has: messages from your contact form reach us and we email them to you, and the search box answers from the text of your pages.

Logins, comments and shop checkouts can't be files. We look for them and list each one after the first copy, with the page it's on. So you hear it from us at the start, not from a customer later.

Frequently asked questions

What does it mean to make a website static?
A static website is a set of finished files. Nothing gets calculated when someone visits; the page is just handed over. That's why it can't be hacked through a plugin and doesn't go down when an update fails.
Do I have to move my website?
No. Your site stays exactly where it is, and you keep editing it the way you always have. Your visitors get the copy.
Do I need to install anything?
No. No plugin, no password, no server access. All we need is the address, so it even works on a site you've lost the login for.
What happens to my contact form?
It keeps working and looks exactly as it does now. When a visitor sends it, we receive the message and email it to you. What can't be a file, like a login, comments or a shop checkout, is listed for you after the first copy, so you know before your visitors do.
Will my website still look and work the same?
Yes, that's the whole point: the copy works like your site, it doesn't just look like it. Don't take our word for it. Enter your address and compare the two side by side. If a page of the copy ever behaves differently from yours, write to [email protected] and we'll fix it.
How is this different from a static site plugin?
A plugin exports your pages as HTML from inside your site. Anything a page loads only after it opens, like images that appear as you scroll or content a script fetches, is easy to miss. Then you patch it by hand or hear about it from a visitor. MakeStatic needs nothing installed and gives you a copy that works like your site. You test it side by side before you decide anything.
Is a static website better for search engines?
Search engines see the same pages as before: same words, same headings, same links. Nothing they already know about your site is lost. What changes is how fast a page loads, and speed is one of the things they measure. Trial copies are never indexed, so they can't compete with your own site.
Can a static website be hacked?
There's nothing on it to break into: no database, no plugins, no login, no code that runs on a visit. That applies to the site your visitors see. The system you edit in is still online and still yours to look after.
How does the copy keep up when I change something?
You publish. Edit where you always have, and when you're happy, publish the copy again. Each publish shows what was added, changed or removed, so you can see it went through.
How long does it take?
The trial copy of one page usually takes about twenty seconds, with no sign-up. Your whole site takes longer and runs in the background while you do something else.
What does it cost?
Nothing while MakeStatic is in beta: your whole site, no credit card, no commitment. Trying a single page doesn't even need an account. At some point it will cost something, and when there's a price, you'll see it before anything about your site changes.
What about my domain?
It stays yours and keeps working. You point it at the copy once you're happy with what you see. Until then, nothing about your live site changes.

Free while we're in beta

MakeStatic is new, and while it's in beta you get all of it for free: your whole site, on your own domain. No credit card, no commitment.

At some point it will cost something. When there's a price, you'll see it before anything about your site changes.