Adding static pages to a Rails project

[Ylang]

Hi Folks,

I'm trying to figure out the best way to add pages that will not change to a Rails project. For instance, about us, contact us, etc etc.

So basically, what I want the URL to look like would be: http://www.abcdefg123.com/about

Sorry for the total noob question!

[ReggieB]

You can put static content in the public folder. So the file public/about.html will appear as http://www.abcdefg123.com/about.html.

You could also consider replacing index.html with your own custom home page. The content of this file will appear when you enter http://www.abcdefg123.com

The advantage of a static home page is that it will be very fast to load. The disadvantage is that ... well ... it's static. That means modifying it requires alteration of the code. So personally, I'd limit use of static pages to a minimum. Even contact pages change!

[Ylang]

Thank you! Sometimes I miss the forest for the trees, and this is definitely one of those cases. lol

Just tried it out and it works perfectly under the public folder...and I will definitely keep in mind the potential for things to change and when to use/not use it.

By the way, is using public/index.html as a default homepage common practice to save on load times/database access?

[lo0ol]

I usually don't use /public/index.html in that way, primarily because I usually want to use the database on the front page. I sometimes stick these static pages in their own controller (like a "main" controller, for example) just so I can keep organized and to use layouts, partials, and other aspects that the rest of my app uses.

[Ylang]

so I can keep organized and to use layouts, partials, and other aspects that the rest of my app uses.

I realized...shortly after posting my reply...that I lost access to the all that good stuff.

I'm definitely going to be needing the layout for my static pages, so it looks like a controller is the way to go for me.

[Fenrir2]

Use Rails' caching capabilities! That way you get the good stuff and the speed