When you think of a website, what comes to mind? Images of brightly colored pages, right? Perhaps you envision a site with lots of videos, interactive elements, or even a blog with lots of posts.
But what about the site’s code? Does it look like HTML and CSS? Does it have any resources like images, videos, and stylesheets? Or does it look like an empty text file?
If you answered “resource files”, “HTML” and “CSS” then you are correct! Writing HTML and CSS code is crucial for creating any website. But as you already know, there are many websites out there. So how do you make sure your site will stand out?
Resource files vs. static files.
Website resources and code are two completely different things. Website resources are the actual images, videos, and stylesheets that make up your site. These are stored in the site’s code as static files. However, the code is referred to as a “static file”.
Static files vs. resource files.
Static files and resource files are two separate things. But it can get confusing because the terms are often used interchangeably. Let’s break it down.
What is a static file?
A static file is a file with no content. You’ve probably already encountered most of these files. The most common types of static files are images, videos, and stylesheets. They’re all files that contain codes that define the look and layout of your site.
Static files
A static file is a file with no content. You’ve probably already encountered most of these files. The most common types of static files are images, videos, and stylesheets. They’re all files that contain codes that define the look and layout of your site.
What is a resource file?
A resource file is a file that contains content. You’ve probably already encountered most of these files. The most common types of resource files are texts, images, and even audio and video. These are all the files that make up your site.
Resource files
A resource file is a file that contains content. You’ve probably already encountered most of these files. The most common types of resource files are texts, images, and even audio and video. These are all the files that make up your site.
Static vs. resource files
The difference between a static file and a resource file lies in their purpose. A static file is a file that contains no content. It is used to define the look and layout of your site. A resource file is a file that contains content. It is used to store, organize and convey information.
Static files are downloaded immediately
Once you’ve finished writing your static files, you can deploy them to your server without having to wait for Mercurial or Git to finish staging them first.
If you’re using GitHub, you can even push your static files directly to the repository.
It would be best if you stored all of your static files in a single location so that your website doesn’t have to be rebuilt every time you deploy a new version of your app.
Static files are stored in a single location
The single location where you store your static files matters because it will affect where they’re served from.
By default, WordPress stores all of its static files in the wp-content directory. If you’re using a managed hosting solution like SiteGround, this is exactly where you want your files to be stored.
If you’re managing your server, you can store your static files wherever you’d like as long as you have enough space.
The best practice for choosing a single location for your static files is to use a git subdirectory for static files.
If you choose to store your static files at the root of your website, then your files will be publicly visible. The best practice here is to store your static files in a subdirectory like src or static.
Resources are dynamically linked
Linked resources are the default type of file that you use when you create a static website.
When you use the linked resource type, the browser pulls in the resources that it needs asynchronously.
While this is a better alternative to loading everything in a single bundle, it’s still not great for performance.
Resources are cached
Resources are stored as static files in a Content Delivery Network (CDN) cache.
A static website will only use as much bandwidth as it would take to download the same resources over a local network. Linking to resources that are stored outside of your local network reduces the bandwidth that your site will use.
What is a Resource File?
Resources are files that aren’t static. They’re the third type of file that you’ll use when developing a static website.
Like static and linked files, resources are automatically linked when you use the link> tag.
The main difference between a static and a resource file is the location where they’re stored.
Resources are stored in a subdirectory of your project’s root directory.
Conclusion
When you’re building a static website, you’ll frequently use third-party libraries with their CSS and JavaScript files. You should include these files in your site’s static files.
Static files are the files that don’t change after you deploy them. These files may be stored in your project’s static directory, or a subdirectory of your project’s root directory. Depending on your development workflow and the tools you’re using, you may prefer to keep your static files organized in individual files or grouped in folders. Keep in mind that the organization of your static files doesn’t matter as long as they’re stored in a single location.
If you’ve used websites before, you’ve probably noticed that they all look a little different. This is because each website has its own set of static files.
For the most part, these files have the same purpose—they’re used to make a site look the way the web developer intended.
However, some sites have more static files than others. This is because each website has different needs. The type of files used will also change how they’re stored.
In this article, we’ll discuss the differences between static and resource files, as well as the pros and cons of each.