Recommended/Required modules: https://drupal.org/node/27882 https://drupal.org/project/disable_all_forms https://drupal.org/project/expire https://drupal.org/project/httprl https://drupal.org/project/xmlsitemap https://drupal.org/project/esi Run the static site under apache so the .htaccess works for the redirects. Ensure AllowOverrides all is set for the directory. Ensure mod_include and mod_rewrite are enabled in httpd.conf Edge Side Includes: It is recommended to put most universal pieces (blocks) into Edge side includes. This will allow them to be included on page delivery instead of needing to rerender the entire site when one of them changes. Common includes are the main menu, header and footer menus. Others are page blocks with non-static or shared content. Apache: See http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/howto/ssi.html