What is the difference between a "static" and a "dynamic" Website?

A static Website is one that is written in plain Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) only. Each page is a separate document and there is no database that it draws on. What this means functionally is that the only way to edit the Website is to go into each page and edit the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) tags - so you'd either have to do it yourself using a Webpage editor like FrontPage, Dreamweaver or pay the Designing company to go in and edit the Website each time you wanted something changed.
A dynamic Website is written using more complex code and can do a lot more. For instance, we can create a log in box through which one can change various parts of the site after he has signed in, such as adding information or products. This is because each page is constructed based on the information in a database, and the information in that database can be changed via another user friendly interface.
The dynamic Websites usually cost more to develop, as they require more complex coding and a content management utility needs to be developed to help you manage your Website information. But in the long run dynamic Websites are cost effective and easy to maintain.
Another benefit of dynamic Websites is that they allow you to change only the content of the site and not the design, so you will not be able to accidentally break the visual style of the Website. They have other benefits when Websites start to get very large, as they make data management much more efficient and your Website more expandable.
Many clients do a combination, having some dynamic areas such as a product catalog where they have to change information or pictures regularly, and leave other pages such as contact information as static pages.