Depending on how you build it and what stack you use, a WordPress site can have performance and security concerns. Simply Static takes an existing WordPress site, generates static files, and provides a way to serve those files separately.
In this first look, we reviewed the Simply Static website, its feature set, documentation, and the Simply Static Studio workflow. We also created a site, ran an export, published a change, and pushed only that change to the static site.
Key Takeaways
- Simply Static converts a WordPress site into static files, which can be served separately from the original WordPress installation.
- The Free version provides static site generation, Pro adds features and deployment options, and Studio includes hosting and site management tools.
- In our small Studio test, the initial export took 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Exporting a single change took 27 seconds.
- Forms, search, comments, and other dynamic features need to be enabled or configured for the static site.
- The review found Studio’s setup approachable, with documentation available for configuration and troubleshooting.
Simply Static Studio—First Look Video
What Simply Static Does
Simply Static is a WordPress static site generator. You manage the original site in WordPress, then generate a static version made up of the files needed to serve the front end.
The basic idea is that your original WordPress site can live on a subdomain, while the static version lives on your main domain. For example, you could host WordPress at a subdomain and serve the static site at the main domain.
Your WordPress installation remains the place where you create pages, publish posts, manage settings, and make changes. When you’re ready, you can export the entire site or just the changes and then push them to the static version.
The product is built around making WordPress faster to serve and reducing the visible security footprint that can come with a traditional WordPress installation. The Simply Static WordPress plugin listing in the WordPress.org plugin repo describes the same core approach: converting WordPress into static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
How This First Look Was Conducted
Our video was a first look, which means we had no prior experience using Simply Static before recording. We approached the website and product as a new user would.
These first-look videos are unedited, high-level introductions. They aren’t paid, sponsored, or built around affiliate links. The goal is to show vendors how their website and product feel to first-time users.
We looked at the main Simply Static website first, then moved into Simply Static Studio. Studio was used for the hands-on part of the review because hosting, deployment, and management all happen in one place.
What We Found on the Simply Static Website
The Simply Static website presents the product as a way to get fast and secure WordPress without the usual headaches. Its message is clear: convert an existing WordPress website into a static website and serve it in a more performant way.
The main navigation made it easy to find the product features, changelog, and documentation. We also found video courses and FAQs under the learning resources.
One thing we didn’t consider clear when we recorded the video was the About page. But, today, the about page is exactly what we would want to see.
Changelogs and Documentation Look Strong
The changelog appeared active, which is always reassuring to see when you’re reviewing a WordPress product. It included both version numbers and release dates.
Release dates matter because version numbers alone don’t tell you when a feature, fix, or update shipped. Seeing both pieces of information makes it easier to understand how actively a product is being maintained.
Documentation was one of the strongest parts of the experience. The resources included written articles, videos, screenshots, and annotated screenshots. We searched for forms and quickly found related setup material.
The Simply Static website and documentation resources cover forms, search, SMTP email setup, optimization, integrations, multilingual support, redirection, enhanced crawl, troubleshooting, advanced settings, and developer-focused hooks and filters. There are also video courses and a large number of help articles, so you aren’t left trying to figure the process out on your own.
Static Site Features in Simply Static
Simply Static’s feature set is split across Free, Pro, and Studio. The badges on the features page make it clear which capabilities belong to Pro or Studio.
Faster Updates With Pro
The Pro version includes Easy Updates through incremental exports. Rather than exporting the entire site every time you make a small change, you can push the changes that need to go live.
Quick Publish is another Pro feature. It can push posts and pages through single and build exports for faster updates.
The export options discussed in the review were:
- A full export creates the complete static version of the site.
- A build export can add content after a full export.
- A single export can push a smaller individual update.
We tested this option later in the video by adding a page and using Export Changes instead of generating the full site again.
Deployment Options
Simply Static can deploy to a local directory, ZIP file, GitHub, AWS, Bunny CDN, SFTP, or Static Studio. With Pro, you handle hosting and deployment through the platform you choose.
That could mean deploying to GitHub, AWS, Cloudflare Pages, or another hosting option. With Studio, Simply Static handles the hosted side and provides the dashboard tools to manage it.
The project’s GitHub repository also describes Pro and Studio support for static-site features such as forms, search, and comments through their integrations.
Static-Friendly Functionality
Moving WordPress to a static site can raise concerns about losing functionality. Simply Static is designed to bring several of those capabilities to the static side.
The features shown included static-friendly search, forms, multilingual support, comments, RSS feeds, REST API support, and embedded dynamic content through an iframe. Some of these features need extra setup, but they are available within the product.
Performance and Security Controls
Simply Static includes optimization settings for minifying files and optimizing images. It also integrates with ShortPixel via an API key, one of the features we liked most in the review.
You can turn on image optimization, add your ShortPixel API key, and choose from several minification settings. The dashboard also includes options to change directory names and adjust theme, style, and author URL naming.
There are WordPress-hiding settings too. You can hide the WordPress version, hide the WordPress generator meta tag, and control other WordPress details that may otherwise be visible.
The point is to make it less obvious that WordPress powers the site. Attackers sometimes look for WordPress-specific signals because that can tell them which scripts or attacks to try. These settings can reduce that visible footprint.
Free, Pro, and Studio Options
Simply Static shows three levels: Free, Pro, and Studio. The main difference discussed in the video was how the static site gets hosted and managed.
The Free version provides the base static site generator. Pro adds more advanced features and lets you deploy to a hosting platform of your choice. Studio brings hosting, deployment, management tools, and a control panel into the Simply Static platform.
Studio is positioned as a way to manage hundreds of static WordPress websites. It includes a modern server stack, automated backups, SSL, one-click login, granular access management, automated imports, and the ability to lock down WordPress.
We used Studio in this walkthrough because it put the process in one dashboard. There was no need to export the site and then configure a separate host before seeing the result.
Exporting a WordPress Site for Another Host
If you want to manage deployment yourself, you can download the export plugin from the Simply Static dashboard. Install it on the WordPress site as you would any other plugin.
From there, you select Export Site and let Simply Static generate the static files. Once the export finishes, download the generated file and upload it to the platform where you plan to host the static version.
The basic workflow is straightforward:
- Download and install the Simply Static export plugin.
- Generate the static export from WordPress.
- Download the exported file.
- Upload it to the host or platform you chose.
In the test, the original WordPress site had very little installed: the default Twenty Twenty-Five theme and Simply Static. A larger website with more content, files, and plugins will take longer to export.
Importing a Site Into Simply Static Studio
Studio also gives you an Import Site option. You choose the file exported from WordPress, start the import, and Studio keeps you updated on the status as it creates the site.
The dashboard showed the import moving through its creation process. Email notifications also arrived during deployment, so you don’t have to watch the screen while it runs.
Import time depends on the size and complexity of the website. A small test site may only take a few minutes. A site with more content and functionality can take longer.
During the walkthrough, the imported site was ultimately deleted so the blank-site process could complete faster. That let us move into the Studio setup without waiting on both processes.
Creating a Blank Studio Site
The second setup option is Create Blank Site. This was the option we used to quickly create a site in Studio.
The blank site installs the Ali theme and brings in WPForms. The static side is already configured for that setup, which makes it a convenient starting point when you’re creating a new Studio site.
Once the site was ready, the dashboard showed a status of Active. We also received an email confirming that the site had been successfully deployed.
The WordPress site can then be opened through the Studio dashboard with a Magic Login Link. That takes you into the WordPress installation connected to the Studio site, without the need to manually enter login details.
Forms Need a Little Extra Setup
Forms are one of the areas that need special handling on a static site. Simply Static supports several form plugins, but the setup requires connecting Simply Static to the form plugin and configuring SMTP for email delivery.
The documentation explains why that setup is needed and walks through the related settings. If you’re using a form plugin other than the one included in the blank Studio setup, you follow the appropriate setup instructions for that plugin.
With the blank Studio site, WPForms Lite was already installed and configured to work with Simply Static. That means the initial WPForms connection work was already done for that particular setup.
The dashboard also included an Entries area. Based on the documentation reviewed, form submissions can be stored in a custom database table in the WordPress installation. Simply Static states that it doesn’t have access to those entries. We didn’t fully test the form-entry workflow, and WPForms entry capabilities can also depend on the version of WPForms you use.
Search, Comments, and Dynamic Features
Static search is available, but you need to turn it on and choose the method you want to use. The options shown were Fuse.js and Algolia.
The search settings include indexing controls and CSS selector options. If you choose Fuse.js, you will see its related settings. Switching to Algolia brings up settings for that option instead.
The documentation also covers multilingual search. For Elementor’s search widget, Simply Static recommends using its shortcode instead.
Comments, RSS feeds, REST API support, redirections, enhanced crawl, and dynamic content through an iframe were also available as settings or documented features. The main takeaway is that these pieces aren’t automatically assumed. You turn on the features you need and configure them for the static site.
Reviewing the WordPress Dashboard
Once we opened the Studio-connected WordPress site through the Magic Login Link, there were new Simply Static menu options in the WordPress admin.
The plugin list showed Simply Static, Simply Static Pro for testing, and WPForms Lite. WPForms was ready to use, and the Ali theme was active under Appearance and Themes.
The Simply Static menu included access to exports, exporting changes, activity logs, diagnostics, settings, forms, builds, and support resources. The diagnostics screen showed green indicators during our test, which was good to see.
There were also quick links to documentation, video courses, and additional tutorials. That was useful because the plugin settings include many controls, and the help resources are close by when you need them.
General Export and Crawl Settings
The General settings include URL replacement options for static exports. You can choose absolute URLs, relative URLs, or URLs built for offline use.
You can also adjust the scheme, such as HTTP or HTTPS, and set the host name. There are controls for post types, additional URLs, files, directories, a generated 404 page, RSS feeds, and REST API inclusion.
Enhanced Crawl is a Pro feature that uses native WordPress functions to find the pages and files that need to be included in a static export. You can control which crawlers are active and adjust the post types included in the export.
The settings also allow you to add additional URLs, include files and directories, and exclude directories or individual files. This gives you more control over what is and isn’t included in the generated static site.
Optimization, Integrations, and Utilities
The Optimize settings include file minification and image optimization through ShortPixel. You can toggle ShortPixel on and add the API key directly in the plugin.
The ShortPixel integration stood out to us. It’s one of our preferred tools for image compression and optimization, so seeing it available in Simply Static was a nice touch.
The Advanced Integrations section shows the integrations that can be active during a static export. The dashboard listed a significant number of compatible plugins. We didn’t confirm how a plugin not shown in that list is handled, so that is something to verify with Simply Static if you have a plugin that needs to work with the static version.
The Utilities area includes options to migrate, export, import, or reset Simply Static settings. There are debugging tools there too, along with links back to product documentation and tutorials.
Running the First Static Export
After creating the blank Studio site, we went into the Simply Static menu and clicked Generate. The activity log showed the export running while the site files were uploaded.
The initial export completed in 2 minutes and 17 seconds. This instance was a very small test site, so that timing is only an example of this particular setup.
Once the export was complete, the front end loaded with the Ali theme and WPForms setup that came with the blank Studio site. The WordPress admin confirmed that Ali was the active theme.
The export process made the flow clear: manage the content in WordPress, generate the static files, and let Studio serve the static version.
Exporting Only the Changes
To test the update process, we created and published a new page in WordPress. Then we returned to the Simply Static menu and used Export Changes rather than running another complete export.
That changes export took 27 seconds in the demonstration. The new test page appeared on the static site after the process finished.
This scenario is where the incremental export feature makes sense. If you make a smaller content update, you don’t necessarily need to rebuild the entire site. You can push the changes that need to go live.
Managing Sites in Simply Static Studio
The Studio dashboard includes the tools needed to manage multiple static WordPress sites. In the test environment, we had room to create five sites.
From the site dashboard, you can log into WordPress, export the site, connect a domain, add members, assign roles, rename the site, or delete it. You can also copy the WordPress username and password from the site controls.
Studio provides a direct link to the live static site, redirect management, CDN cache clearing, site statistics, and a displayed deployment status. In the test, the site status showed as Deployed.
If you manage a larger number of sites, the dashboard includes a search feature so you can locate a specific site more easily. The overall focus is convenience, especially when you’re handling more than one WordPress installation.
Final Thoughts on Simply Static
Simply Static makes a static WordPress workflow feel approachable, even for someone using a static site generator for the first time. The Studio process was straightforward to follow: create or import a site, log into WordPress, generate the export, and publish changes when needed.
Forms, search, comments, and other dynamic features may need some additional configuration. The documentation is thorough enough that we would feel confident working through those steps, even as someone new to static sites.
For WordPress users who want to serve a static version of their site for better performance and a smaller security footprint, Simply Static is worth a look. Studio offers a managed path, while Pro gives you the option to handle hosting and deployment yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions About Simply Static Studio
What Does Simply Static Do?
Simply Static turns a WordPress site into static files, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You continue to manage content in WordPress, then export the site and publish the static version.
What’s the Difference Between Simply Static Free, Pro, and Studio?
Free provides the core static site generator. Pro adds features such as incremental exports and lets you deploy to a hosting platform you choose. Studio includes hosting, deployment, and site management tools in the Simply Static platform.
Can Simply Static Handle Forms and Search on a Static Site?
Yes, but these features require configuration. Forms need to be connected to a supported plugin and configured for email delivery, while static search needs to be enabled and set up with an option such as Fuse.js or Algolia.
How Long Does a Simply Static Export Take?
Export time depends on the site’s size and complexity. In our small Studio test, the first export took 2 minutes and 17 seconds, and exporting one new page took 27 seconds. Those times describe our test setup, not a general performance guarantee.