After 15 years building production systems at the forefront of tech, I’ve learned that most technical risk comes from choosing complexity when simplicity would serve better.
All too often, I see the wrong architectural decisions being made—not because the simple solution doesn’t exist, but because complexity feels more substantial, more “professional.”
We strive to avoid complexity and make things beautiful, robust, and dependable. Here’s how we think about infrastructure, and why it leads to websites our clients never have to worry about.
Static vs Dynamic: The Core Choice
Every website project faces a fundamental choice: dynamic or static generation. Most agencies default to dynamic systems (WordPress, custom CMSs, database-driven sites) because it’s familiar territory. It’s what they know, and it’s easy to justify more complexity.
But complexity for its own sake increases risk without adding value.
I choose static generation for a philosophical reason: the most elegant solution is often the simplest one that works. When you eliminate unnecessary complexity, you create systems that are not just functional, but beautiful in their reliability.
Most business websites—marketing sites, portfolios, blogs, lead generation—don’t need real-time data processing. They need content that loads fast, stays up, and never requires emergency maintenance.
Static generation means your content is pre-built into optimized files. No database queries. No server-side processing. No moving parts that can break under pressure.
Our Technology Choices
I’ve been called to fix enough “exciting” architectures to know that boring is a feature, not a bug.
The most reliable systems I’ve built use proven technologies in straightforward ways. When you’re responsible for someone’s business being online 24/7, you learn to value predictability over innovation.
Astro generates clean HTML and CSS. JavaScript only where it adds real value. This means pages load like documents—instantly, completely. No loading spinners. No progressive rendering. Just immediate access to content.
Cloudflare’s global network isn’t just hosting—it’s physics. Your site exists simultaneously on 300+ servers worldwide. A visitor in Tokyo gets served from Tokyo. Someone in London gets London. Physics can’t slow down what’s already next door.
Git version control means every change to your site is saved like a document with tracked changes. Need to undo something? One click. Want to see what changed last month? It’s all there. This gives you complete confidence to make updates without fear of breaking anything.
This combination creates what I call “infrastructure invisibility”—technology that just works without requiring thought, maintenance, or emergency responses.
Simplifying by Design
When I’m architecting a system, I’m not thinking about what features to add. I’m thinking about what problems to eliminate.
Security through simplification: Static sites can’t be hacked the way dynamic sites can. There’s no database to breach, no admin panel to attack, no plugins to exploit. Your content exists as files. You can’t inject code into a text document.
Performance through physics: When your content is distributed globally and pre-generated, the speed of light becomes your only bottleneck. No amount of optimization can make a database query faster than serving a file that already exists.
Reliability through elimination: The most reliable server is the one that doesn’t need to process requests. Static files can be served by simple systems that have decades of proven stability.
Peace of mind through simplicity: Your site works consistently whether you have 100 visitors or 100,000. More importantly, you never have conversations about server issues, security updates, or performance problems. These concerns simply don’t exist in your world.
Examples from Our Work
taracwilson.com - Loads instantly, looks professional, and Tara never thinks about it. The site just works, letting her focus on her consulting business instead of website maintenance.
socialtide.ai - This site you’re reading loads fast, updates deploy in seconds, and handles any amount of traffic automatically. Professional appearance with zero ongoing hassle.
These sites demonstrate what matters most to our clients: they look professional, load quickly, and provide complete peace of mind. The ability to handle massive traffic is there if needed, but what clients really value is never having to worry about their website again.
When to Choose Dynamic Systems
I’m not dogmatic about simplicity. Some applications require sophisticated backends, real-time features, or complex user interactions.
Use dynamic systems when you need:
- User accounts with personalized dashboards
- Real-time collaboration or messaging
- Complex business logic that changes frequently
- Social features or user-generated content platforms
Use static generation when you need:
- Marketing and business websites
- Content publishing (blogs, documentation)
- Lead generation and conversion
- Professional presence that just works
The key is choosing complexity only where it provides real value, not defaulting to it because it’s familiar.
When our clients do need dynamic features—forms, payment processing, content updates—we leverage the SocialTide API. The beauty of this approach: we manage all that complexity on our end. Your site stays simple and bulletproof while we handle the sophisticated infrastructure that powers updates and management across all our clients. You get advanced capabilities without the advanced headaches.
The End Result
Here’s what this architectural approach gives our clients: confidence.
Confidence to launch without worrying about servers crashing. Confidence to push content updates without breaking anything. Confidence that their digital presence will work the same way tomorrow as it does today.
I sleep well at night because I’ve chosen infrastructure that doesn’t generate emergencies. My clients sleep well because their websites have become reliable business tools instead of sources of anxiety.
When someone asks me about my approach, this is it: I make thoughtful decisions to avoid complexity when simplicity serves better. I choose proven technologies that work predictably. I build systems that are beautiful in their invisibility—robust, dependable, and completely out of the way.
Your website shouldn’t be exciting. It should be beautiful in its reliability—there when you need it, working perfectly, never requiring your attention.
That’s the value of thoughtful decisions about complexity. Not impressive features or cutting-edge frameworks, but the peace of mind that comes from systems that are robust, dependable, and elegantly simple.
Titus Soporan is the Technical Director at SocialTide, where he serves as the technical arm ensuring everything works seamlessly. With 15+ years as a founding engineer building products from 0 to 1, he specializes in robust, reliable architecture that makes technology invisible to users.
Interested in infrastructure that gets out of your way? Get your free audit to see if this approach makes sense for your business.