Every business needs a website that is visually appealing, easy to use, and most importantly, easy to manage. That’s where Jekyll Site Generator comes in. Jekyll is a static site generator that helps you build simple, fast, and secure websites. It’s perfect for businesses that want to create a website without worrying about complex content management systems or bloated code. This comprehensive review of Jekyll will introduce you to everything you need to know about this fantastic site generator. We will also discuss what Jekyll is, how it works, and how it can benefit your business.
Prosof Jekyll Site Generator
- Simplicity
- Speed
- Flexibility
- Customization
- Security
Cons of Jekyll Site Generator
- Limited functionality
- Steep learning curve
- Limited community support
- Requires technical knowledge
What is Jekyll site generator?
Table of Contents
Jekyll is a static site generator that allows you to create websites and blogs without a database or server-side scripting. It was created in 2008 by Tom Preston-Werner, co-founder of GitHub, and was initially released under the MIT license. Jekyll is built using the Ruby programming language and uses a simple templating system, Liquid, which allows developers to create reusable website templates. It also supports Markdown and other markup languages, making it easy to write content for the web. One of the critical benefits of Jekyll is that it is open source, which means that anyone can view and modify the source code. This has allowed a large community of developers to contribute to Jekyll, fixing bugs, adding new features, and creating plugins that extend its functionality.
Being open source, Jekyll can be downloaded, modified, and redistributed by anyone, making it a popular choice for developers who want complete control over their website’s code. Also, Jekyll is free to use, making it accessible to anyone who wants to create a website or blog without any monetary cost.
How easy is Jekyll site generator to use to make a blog?
Jekyll is a powerful tool that can help you create a website quickly and easily. It uses Markdown and Liquid templates to generate static HTML pages, meaning there is no need for a database or server-side scripting. Jekyll is great for small websites, blogs, and personal projects. However, while Jekyll is a powerful tool, it is not beginner-friendly. If you are unfamiliar with Github, the command line, or Markdown, Jekyll can be difficult to navigate. It requires some technical knowledge and experience with programming to get started.
To use Jekyll Site Generator, you need to first install it on your computer. This requires some command line knowledge, as you will need to run some commands to install Jekyll and its dependencies. Once you have Jekyll installed, you can create your website by creating a new Jekyll project. Jekyll uses a file-based system to organize your website’s content. This means that each page or post on your website is a separate file stored in a specific folder within your Jekyll project. To create a new page or post, you simply create a new file and add your content to it using Markdown.
With Jekyll, you can easily customize your website’s design by creating templates or using pre-made templates. Jekyll also supports plugins, which allow you to add extra functionality to your website. While Jekyll can be difficult to navigate for beginners, it is an excellent tool for developers and people who are experienced with Github. It is a powerful, flexible, and fast static website generator that can help you create a blog or any other type of website quickly and easily.
Jekyll’s performance
Jekyll is generally considered excellent, as it generates static HTML pages optimized for fast loading times and minimal server load.
Jekyll is a lightweight platform that does not require extensive server resources to run, making it ideal for hosting on low-cost servers or even on GitHub Pages. The platform’s simplicity means that it can quickly generate static HTML pages without the need for complicated databases or backend systems, which reduces the overall processing time and minimizes the server’s workload.
Jekyll also provides various optimization features that help improve the generated pages’ performance, including built-in support for the minification and compression of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. These optimizations reduce the page size and enable faster loading times, even for users with slow internet connections or older devices.
It is compatible with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which can further enhance the platform’s performance by caching and distributing the generated pages across multiple servers around the world. This reduces the latency and improves the user experience by delivering the content from the nearest server to the user’s location.
Overall, developers and content creators highly regard Jekyll’s performance. It provides a lightweight, fast, and optimized platform for generating static HTML pages. Its simplicity, optimization features, and compatibility with CDNs make it an excellent choice for building fast, responsive websites and blogs.
Support
Unlike many other website-building tools, Jekyll does not offer traditional customer support through email, phone, or live chat.
Instead, Jekyll relies heavily on its documentation and community forums for support. The Jekyll documentation is extensive and covers a wide range of topics, from basic installation instructions to more advanced customization techniques. You can also turn to the Jekyll community forums to ask questions, share ideas, and collaborate with other Jekyll users.
While some users may prefer traditional customer support options like email or phone support, Jekyll’s reliance on its documentation and community forums has some advantages. By emphasizing self-help resources, Jekyll encourages you to take a more active role in learning and problem-solving, which can lead to a deeper understanding of the platform and better long-term outcomes.
While Jekyll’s lack of traditional customer support may be a drawback for some users, the platform’s robust documentation and supportive community forums make it a viable option for those willing to invest some time and effort into learning and troubleshooting.
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Is Jekyll’s website builder proper for your blogging site?
Jekyll is an excellent option for building a blogging site if you have experience with GitHub and are comfortable working with the Ruby programming language. Jekyll uses Markdown or HTML to create pages and posts, and it can be a good choice for developers who want to build a fast, lightweight, and customizable site. However, if you are new to GitHub or have no experience with Ruby programming, Jekyll may not be your best option. Jekyll requires some technical expertise to set up and configure, and it may not be the most beginner-friendly blog creation platform. In that case, you may want to consider other options like WordPress or Blogger, which are more user-friendly and have a larger community of users and developers to support you.
What features does Jekyll come with?
One of the critical features of Jekyll is its static site generator. With Jekyll, you can write your content using Markdown, Liquid, HTML, and CSS, and Jekyll will generate a static site that is ready for deployment. This means that you don’t need to worry about server-side code, databases, or other complex components. Jekyll makes it easy to create a website that is fast, secure, and easy to maintain.
If you run a blog, you can use Jekyll’s blog-aware feature. This allows you to include permalinks, categories, pages, posts, and custom layouts on your blog site. It makes it easy to organize your content and create a professional-looking blog without needing to spend hours on design and development.
Another great feature of Jekyll is its integration with GitHub Pages. GitHub Pages is a free hosting service that allows you to deploy your Jekyll site using GitHub Pages without needing to pay for hosting. This makes it easy to get your site up and running quickly and without any additional costs.
Jekyll also includes several integrations with third-party services. For example, you can use Algolia to add a powerful instant search feature to your Jekyll site. Other options for adding search to your site include Elastic site search, Bonsai search, and CloudSh. These integrations make it easy to add advanced functionality to your Jekyll site without needing to write custom code.
Jekyll also includes support for data files. In the _ data directory, you can specify your custom data using YAML, JSON, CSV, and TSV files. This feature allows you to avoid repetition in your templates and set site-specific options without changing the main configuration file. Plugins and themes can also leverage Data Files to set configuration variables.
Regarding e-commerce functionality, Jekyll is primarily a static site generator and doesn’t have built-in e-commerce capabilities. However, third-party plugins like Snipcart can be used to add a shopping cart to a Jekyll site. MemberSpace is a third-party plugin that can be integrated with Jekyll for memberships and paywall functionality. With MemberSpace, you can create a membership-based website, restrict access to specific content, and collect payments from your users.
Regarding comments and user-generated content, Jekyll doesn’t have built-in support for comments or user-generated content. However, third-party plugins like Staticman and Talkyard can be used to add these features to a Jekyll site.
Staticman is a free and open-source commenting system that can be integrated with Jekyll to allow users to leave comments on your website. Talkyard, on the other hand, is a free and open-source discussion platform that can be integrated with Jekyll and other static site generators to allow users to participate in discussions on your website.
Jekyll also includes built-in support for assets such as Sass and CoffeeScript. This means that you can write your styles and scripts using these popular languages and Jekyll will automatically compile them into optimized assets.
Jekyll FAQs
1. What Language is Jekyll?
Jekyll is built on the Ruby programming language. Although you do not need to know Ruby to use Jekyll, having a basic understanding of it can be helpful. Jekyll uses Liquid language for its templating system, making adding reusable code to your website more accessible. Being open-source software, Jekyll offers various plugins that you can use to extend and customize your websites.
2. Is Jekyll Free?
Yes, Jekyll is entirely free to use. Anyone can download and use it through Github or its official website. Since Jekyll is open-source software, you can edit its code, collaborate with other developers, and use a wide range of plugins to create unique and personalized websites.
3. What is Jekyll Used For?
Jekyll has become a favorite tool for creating static websites, blogs, and portfolios. It eliminates the need for complex CMS or web hosting services, making it an excellent tool for anyone to create fast, efficient, and easy-to-maintain sites. Jekyll is highly customizable, and web developers can use it to create websites for a wide range of applications like business websites, and even blogs.
Sleekytech Verdict
Jekyll is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to create simple, static sites quickly and efficiently. However, it may not be the best choice for more complex projects that require dynamic content or e-commerce functionality. Also, Jekyll may not be an option for beginners.
Rating out of 5 stars
My rating of Jekyll would be 3.9 out of 5 stars. While it may be overwhelming for beginners, those with experience will find it a powerful tool for building static websites and blogs. Jekyll’s strength lies in its simplicity and flexibility, making it easy for many projects. However, the learning curve can be steep, and some users may struggle to navigate the more technical aspects of the platform. Jekyll is a reliable and effective option for anyone looking to build a fast, scalable, and secure website or blog. Still, it may not be the best choice for those just starting in web development.