The trouble with the word “static” is that it has several meanings depending on ones frame of reference.
Conventionally, a “static web page” is one that is served directly from storage, with no processing on the server to customise the page. Ever visitor gets the same file back when they request the page.
In that sense, TiddlyWiki itself is a static web page; it’s one of TiddlyWiki’s most important properties that it can be uploaded to the web and it just works.
But, we also use “static” in a slightly different, more browser-centric sense, meaning a page with no JavaScript, or one that can be used successfully with JavaScript turned off.
TiddlyWiki is emphatically not a static page in that sense; the main HTML file won’t load at all if JavaScript is not available.
So, in TiddlyWiki, the distinction we emphasise is that between TiddlyWiki itself running in a single HTML file, and “static pages” in the sense of not needing JavaScript. As Thomas notes, static pages can be exported from TiddlyWiki in the browser or under Node.js.
Now, the advantages of exporting static pages are that:
a) it’s easier for Google (and other search engines) to index the content
b) the content will generally load faster because the file size is reduced by jettisoning the TiddlyWiki core
c) they will work with any browser on the planet, regardless of JavaScript settings.
For me, the sweet spot is being able to edit and curate content in the full TiddlyWiki user interface, whilst giving readers the simplest possible interface to navigate the results.
Best wishes
Jeremy.