I am a little confused. I understand that content in WP is dynamic and created from the database. But how does it create an illusion of being static? Obviously WP pages show on search engines, yet technically they are not stored anywhere. So how does this all work? I want to know so I can achieve the same technique for a WP addon I'm making that generates pages from database content. Or: Is static content cached on Google or Is it a trick of the "permalinks" feature? I need as much explanation as possible please!
Yes you get it right its permalinks who do the trick and convert dynamic urls to static ones. If you need any permalinks help let me know... this feature is available in the admin area. Hope it helps...
Ok they create "URLS", but do they create real html files? I'm thinking now that there are no static "pages", just redirection tricks.
Go to PERMALINKS, then to "Custom Structure" and type /%postname%/ If that is helpful they will generate a proper SEO friendly page for you. If the advice was good please visit my page and thanks me!
What exactly ARE permalinks? How does a search engine know about them? Are they files or just links on a sitemap? Is it the sitemap that gives the illusion that there are real pages?
In essence they use .htaccess to make the actual pages (.php in this case) into something which will help you get higher rankings in search engines. So it creates a directory (by default) which appears and represents an actual directory but is not physically there on your server. It is more like a "cover" then a redirect, because it sends 200 headers. Search engines know about any given thing by crawling and analyzing data.. It is the created .htaccess that gives the "illusion that they are real pages" but that is a distinction without a difference. They are, again, in essence, a renaming of a URL. You can research mod_rewrite for more on this.
You'll need a .htaccess file and then go to Settings > Permalinks YOu can use a custom structure like this %category%/%postname%.html