Introduction

If you're a web developer or site owner, you're likely always on the lookout for ways to optimize your site's performance. Site speed is a critical factor that affects user experience, search engine rankings, and ultimately, conversions.

One emerging trend in the world of web development is the use of static site generators (SSGs). SSGs are tools that generate static HTML files from dynamic content, which can then be quickly served to visitors. This approach can lead to significant improvements in site speed, security, and scalability, among other benefits.

One PHP-based SSG that deserves attention is phpstatic. In this article, we'll explore what phpstatic is, its benefits, and how to use it to build blazing-fast sites.

What is phpstatic?

Phpstatic is a free and open-source SSG for PHP-based websites. It works by crawling your site's links and generating a complete set of static HTML files. These static files can then be uploaded to any hosting service or Content Delivery Network (CDN) for quick and reliable serving.

Phpstatic was developed with flexibility in mind, which means it can be used with any PHP-based website, including those built with popular platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla.

Benefits of Using phpstatic

1. Improved Site Performance

As mentioned earlier, static sites are faster than dynamic sites. By using phpstatic, you'll generate static HTML files that can be served quickly to visitors, resulting in a faster site experience. This improvement can lead to better search engine rankings, longer user sessions, and ultimately, more conversions.

2. Increased Site Security

Static sites are less vulnerable to security attacks compared to dynamic sites. With a static site, there's no server-side code running that a hacker can exploit. This means that your site will have fewer points of weakness and thus be more secure.

3. Simplified Hosting Requirements

Since static sites don't require servers that can run dynamic code, the hosting requirements are significantly lower. You can host static sites on any platform that supports static file hosting, including CDNs and services like GitHub Pages and Netlify.

4. Scalability

Static sites are easier to scale since you're not relying on server resources to serve pages. You can easily add more CDN nodes or move to a higher-tier hosting plan to manage traffic spikes.

How to Use phpstatic

To get started with phpstatic, you'll need to have PHP installed on your computer. You can download PHP from the official PHP website or use a package manager like Homebrew for macOS and Linux.

Once you have PHP set up, you can install phpstatic using Composer, a dependency manager for PHP. Run the following command in your terminal to install it:

```

composer global require jc21/phpstatic

```

Next, navigate to your site's root directory and run the following command to generate static files:

```

phpstatic generate

```

Phpstatic will create a `public` directory that contains your entire site's static files.

You can then upload the files in the `public` directory to any host that supports static file hosting, such as a CDN or GitHub Pages.

By default, phpstatic generates pages for all links on your site. However, you can filter which pages get generated using phpstatic's configuration file. This file is named `phpstatic.json` and should be located in your site's root directory.

Here's an example configuration file that tells phpstatic to only generate HTML files for the homepage and the contact page:

```json

{

"allowed-urls": [

{

"regex": "/$",

"priority": 1000

},

{

"regex": "/contact$",

"priority": 100

}

]

}

```

In this example, the `priority` value determines the order in which pages are generated. Pages with higher priority values get generated first.

Conclusion

Phpstatic is a powerful and flexible SSG that can help you generate static HTML files for your PHP-based websites. By using this tool, you can improve your site's performance, security, and scalability while simplifying your hosting requirements.

If you're looking for a more efficient way to manage your site's content and improve user experience, give phpstatic a try.