Static Blog vs WordPress — A Real-World Comparison
My blog is a static site. WordPress powers ~43% of the web. Here’s the real comparison using actual data from this blog.
Architecture Overview
Comparison Table
| Aspect | Static Blog (This One) | WordPress |
|---|
Page load | ~0.3s (CDN, static files) | ~1-3s (PHP + MySQL) |
Homepage size | 169 KB (metadata only) | ~2-5 MB (theme bloat) |
Posts | Markdown files in git | MySQL database |
Backups |
git push, full history | Plugin
or manual SQL dump |Writing | Any text editor | Browser admin panel |
Version control | Git (built-in) | None (revisions plugin) |
Comments | None (or Disqus/link to discuss) | Built-in |
****Search****
| Aspect | Static Blog (This One) | WordPress |
|---|
SEO | Manual meta tags | Yoast/RankMath plugin |
Security | No backend to hack | Constant attack target |
Themes | Custom CSS (1 file, 273 lines) | Marketplace, complex |
Build time | ~30 seconds (107 posts) | Real-time (per request) |
Mobile | Custom responsive CSS | Theme-dependent |
Analytics | Custom Cloud Function | Jetpack/plugin |
Hosting migration | Any static host, zero config | Database export + import |
Pros and Cons
Static Blog (This One)
Pros: - $0 hosting. GitHub Pages is free forever. - Fast — files served from CDN, no backend processing - Secure — no database, no PHP, no admin panel to brute-force - Full git history — every revision of every post is tracked - Write in any text editor — Vim, VS Code, Notes app - Portable — entire site is a folder of HTML files
Cons: - No comments without third-party service - No search without JS hack - No admin UI — need git to publish - Build step required for every change - No live preview of draft (rebuild to see) - No plugin ecosystem
WordPress
Pros: - Admin dashboard — write in browser, click publish - Rich editor (Gutenberg blocks, media management) - Comments built-in — reader engagement - Plugin ecosystem — SEO, analytics, forms, caching - Themes — change design without coding - User roles — multiple authors with permissions
Cons: - ~$200-500/year hosting for decent performance - Slow — PHP + MySQL per request, even with caching - Security surface — constant updates, vulnerabilities, brute-force attacks - Database backups required — not in version control - Theme/plugin bloat — average page is 2-5 MB - Migrating away is painful (database export, URL mapping)
The Tradeoff Matrix
| Dimension | Winner |
|---|---|
| Control | Static |
| Ease of use | WordPress |
| Cost | Static |
| Speed | Static |
| Security | Static |
| Ecosystem | WordPress |
When to Pick Which
Pick static when: - You’re technical (comfortable with git, Markdown, CLI) - You want zero maintenance - You don’t need comments or search - You want maximum performance on minimum budget - Content is text-heavy (developer blog, documentation)
Pick WordPress when: - You want to write in a browser - You need comments, forms, forums - You want a visual page builder - Multiple non-technical authors need to publish - You need an ecosystem of plugins and themes
Verdict
For a technical blog written by one person, static is strictly better: faster, cheaper, more secure, and version-controlled. The only real sacrifice is comments and search — both solvable with third-party services (or a small JS library for search).
WordPress makes sense when you need an admin panel, multiple authors, or complex dynamic features (e-commerce, forums, membership). For a solo technical writer, it’s overhead without benefit.
This blog runs on a Babashka/Clojure static site generator, deployed to GitHub Pages, with a custom analytics Cloud Function. Total infrastructure cost: $0/year (excluding domain name).