How You Fetch a JSON File Determines Whether Your Data Is Static or Dynamic

Frontend developers often store local data in JSON files when building projects without a backend, such as portfolios or landing pages. There are two common methods to access these files: importing them directly or fetching them via HTTP from the public folder. When a JSON file is imported, it is bundled at build time and treated as static data ready before the app runs. When fetched using the Fetch API, the data is retrieved at runtime over HTTP, making it behave more like dynamic data. The key insight is that it is not the JSON file itself, but the method used to retrieve it, that determines whether the data is static or dynamic.