Secure, swift, and stable: static sites for the financial sector

The financial services sector faces unique challenges in maintaining a secure, efficient, and compliant online presence. With so much to keep on top of, why not remove one concern from your list — the security and stability of your public-facing website? Let's explore why banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions should give serious thought to adopting static websites.

Enhanced security you can bank on

Security is paramount in financial services, and static sites offer a robust defense against common web vulnerabilities. Unlike dynamic websites, static sites don't rely on databases or server-side processing. This significantly reduces the attack surface, eliminating risks like SQL injection attacks. Think of it as having fewer doors for potential intruders to try — a simpler structure often means better security.

CloudCannon is committed to our users’ security — our SOC-2 Type 2 certification means our security controls, policies, and procedures are designed and implemented effectively.

Performance that keeps pace with market demands

We've all experienced the frustration of slow-loading financial websites, especially on mobile devices or during critical market events. Static sites excel in performance — pages load faster because they're pre-rendered, they're easily distributed across global CDNs for consistent speeds worldwide, traffic spikes are handled more efficiently, and server resources are conserved.

This speed and reliability can translate directly into improved user satisfaction and even increased customer trust.

Simplifying regulatory compliance

While static sites aren't a compliance silver bullet, they can certainly make the process more manageable — and navigating the complex web of financial regulations is no small feat.

Static sites can actually simplify compliance efforts. Less dynamic data handling means fewer opportunities for accidental data leaks, and separating your site’s frontend and backend allows for more focused security measures for any sensitive data processing.

With CloudCannon and Git-based version control, all content changes on your website are recorded, providing a clear audit trail for any regulatory scrutiny — it’s the website equivalent of keeping all of your books in order.

Cost-effectiveness

In an industry always looking to optimize operations, the cost benefits of static sites are noteworthy. To name just a few:

• Lower hosting costs, due to reduced server requirements
• Less development expertise required, due to simpler site infrastructure
• Decreased maintenance needs, which can free up IT resources for your web app team
• Improved energy efficiency, aligning with growing ESG concerns

These savings might not be your primary reason to switch to static, but they're certainly a welcome side effect!

More flexible than you might think

Don't let the word “static” fool you — modern static sites can be surprisingly dynamic. Modern JavaScript frameworks can add ‘islands’ of interactivity exactly where it’s needed, and developers still have complete control over their site’s layouts, responsiveness, and accessibility. For example, Covered California is a completely static site, built using the Jekyll static site generator, with interactive components right on the page. (And our homepage, also a static site, has smooth animations as you scroll!)

When it comes to your site’s content, headless CMS services like CloudCannon offer a host of features allowing for easy content updates from distributed teams, collaborative editing, private staging sites to test new content, scheduled builds for time-sensitive content updates, and custom permission groups and approval workflows that mean only key team members can publish changes.

All of this flexibility — complemented by the right CMS — means you can maintain the dynamic features your users expect while reaping the benefits of a static architecture.

Implementing static sites: a pragmatic approach

Transitioning to static sites doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Many bank websites, for example, use a range of technologies for different sections of their public-facing presence.

Consider these steps:

1. Explore the benefits of modern static site generators such as Eleventy, Hugo, or Astro, and their integration with a CMS like CloudCannon. Try deploying a templated site to get a sense of what your content editing process could look like.
2. Begin building a proof of concept site, perhaps a marketing campaign or a single news feed. We can assist with this process if you’re interested in using CloudCannon — get in touch with us to find out more!
3. As you’re building, implement robust DevOps practices to ensure secure deployments. Once more, our DevOps and onboarding teams can help ensure that any new static site on CloudCannon is as secure as possible.
4. Educate your team and stakeholders on the benefits and proposed timeline for a full migration. If you’d like help speeding up your static migration on CloudCannon, we have a migration team ready to help.

Digital trust is currency

Static sites offer financial services a way to enhance security, improve performance, and streamline compliance efforts. While they're not a one-size-fits-all solution, the benefits are compelling enough to warrant serious consideration.

By embracing static sites, financial institutions can build a more resilient online presence — one that's better equipped to handle the challenges of the digital financial landscape, and one that can give site users a more reliable, responsive, and accessible experience. It's an investment in infrastructure that could pay dividends in security, performance, and peace of mind.