This article is part of our series on Visor. For the full picture, start with The choice behind every website.
Most website platforms build a page at the moment someone asks for it. A visitor opens a link, the server runs code, fetches content from a database, and puts the page together on the spot. It happens every time, for every visitor.
That works on a quiet day. It also means a database, application code, and often a set of plugins sit directly behind every page the public can reach.
Pages prepared before anyone visits
Visor prepares pages ahead of time. When content is published, Visor builds each page and stores it as a finished file, called a static page. When someone visits, they get that file. No code has to run and no database has to answer.
Publishing stays quick for editors. When they publish a page or an entry, Visor queues the change and starts a new build of the site automatically, and every build is logged.
Fewer ways in
Attackers look for code they can reach and trick into doing something it shouldn't. With static pages, much of that code is gone from the public side:
- Visitors have no database to reach.
- No plugin code runs when a page loads.
- The system staff use to edit content is kept apart from the pages the public sees.
On other platforms, each of these is a weak spot that needs constant patching and watching. On Visor, they aren't there to patch.
Protection around every site
Visor adds layers around what remains. Every request passes DDoS protection, a web application firewall, and network firewalls before it reaches a site. Traffic is encrypted end to end, and each site on the platform is kept apart from the others.
Sites are tested with vulnerability scans and penetration tests before launch, and scanned again on a schedule afterwards. Live pages are watched for defacement, and a security team reviews the alerts.
When everyone arrives at once
Visitor numbers can jump without warning. A policy announcement, a product launch, exam results, or a service outage can send a large share of a site's audience to the same page in the same hour.
A site that builds pages on request has to do that work for each of those visitors, and the server and database become the bottleneck. A static page is already built. Copies of it are kept at more than 200 locations around the world, and each visitor gets the copy nearest to them. A surge means more copies served, and nothing behind them has extra work to do.
Pages that change on every visit
A few pages change too often to prepare in advance, such as pages that show live information. Visor can build those on each visit instead, or refresh them in the background at a set interval. The choice is made for each site.
In short
Static pages are prepared before anyone visits. That takes the database and plugin code out of the public's reach, which leaves far less to patch. It also lets a site serve a sudden crowd from copies kept close to every visitor.
Read more: The choice behind every website, What a website costs after it goes live, and Running fifty websites like one.
