When is a Dynamic Website Better than a Static One with API Calls?

While static sites with API calls can work well, there’s always the catch of loading the full page when interactions happen. If you’re okay with that and your site isn’t super interactive, static might be fine. But for things like dashboard displays where data changes often, a dynamic approach (like using React) allows components to update without needing a full page refresh.

You’re not wrong at all about static sites being lightweight; they can be quite effective. If you structure your site correctly, you can achieve a lot without unnecessary complexity.

Make sure your API calls are using individual user keys instead of a shared one. If everyone is using the same key, it could become a security risk. That's one scenario where it's better to have a backend service handling the API calls, which can add features like user credential checks, caching results, or throttling calls to manage the load effectively.

It really depends on what kind of content you're offering. If your site's data changes frequently, you might want to lean towards fetching only the necessary data instead of reloading the whole page each time. The trend has definitely shifted from static to more dynamic solutions as user expectations have evolved.

Don’t discount the potential for offline support with static sites! You can still implement caching for data requests, which allows your site to function even without internet access. Just plan it out well!