Simply Static Pro: Static WordPress Publishing

How static publishing works

Simply Static Pro and Simply Static Studio generate static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from WordPress sites. This setup is intended for public, content-driven sites such as blogs, marketing sites, documentation, portfolios, company sites, product launch pages, and event sites. WordPress remains the place to manage content, while visitors receive the generated files.

The free add-on can generate a static website and export it as a ZIP file or to a local directory. Pro and Studio add deployment, automation, and publishing capabilities for processes that need more than a basic export.

Pro: deployment and automation

Simply Static Pro is aimed at developers, agencies, and technical users who manage their own infrastructure. It is listed at $99 per year per website and supports deployment to GitHub, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, AWS S3, BunnyCDN, and SFTP.

Incremental exports update only changed pages, and single-page exports support quicker publishing. WP-CLI support enables command-line automation. Pro also includes forms integration for Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, and Fluent Forms.

Other Pro capabilities include static-friendly search with Fuse.js or Algolia, multilingual support for WPML, Polylang, and TranslatePress, minification, image optimization, comments integration, and email support. These settings suit teams that want to pick their own deployment destination.

Studio: managed hosting and CDN delivery

Simply Static Studio is aimed at businesses and content creators who prefer a managed service. It is listed at $19 per month per site and combines Pro features with fully managed WordPress hosting and static site hosting on a global CDN with 120 or more locations.

Studio includes automated backups, SSL certificates, one-click WordPress login, free white-glove migration, team management, access control, pre-configured options, and priority support. It is presented for businesses running one to five websites, content creators seeking a simpler workflow, and users who value managed convenience over infrastructure control. A 14-day free trial is also listed.

Suitability and limits

Static publishing is intended for public content. It is not suited to sites that depend on e-commerce, membership areas, user authentication, real-time data, heavy AJAX functionality, or shopping carts. Examples listed include WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, membership add-ons, and login-required content.

Pro and Studio support forms, search, comments, and newsletter signups through external services. Check compatibility for specific plugins before choosing a plan.

Installation and publishing

Install Simply Static on the WordPress site used to manage content, then generate the static output. Choose a ZIP export, local directory, or a Pro or Studio deployment destination. Configure URL replacement and the relevant forms, search, multilingual, or optimization options, then publish the generated files to the selected hosting or CDN service.