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Eleventy VS Jekyll

Compare Eleventy VS Jekyll and see what are their differences

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Eleventy logo Eleventy

Simpler static site generator.

Jekyll logo Jekyll

Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.
  • Eleventy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-01
  • Jekyll Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17

Eleventy features and specs

  • Simple and Lightweight
    Eleventy is known for its simplicity and minimal configuration requirements, making it easy for developers to get started without needing to understand complex frameworks.
  • Flexibility
    Eleventy allows developers to choose their own templating languages and workflows, offering flexibility in how content is structured and rendered.
  • Fast Build Times
    Eleventy is optimized for speed, providing fast build times which are beneficial for development and deploying static sites quickly.
  • No JavaScript Frameworks
    Eleventy does not require any specific JavaScript frameworks, which allows it to remain lightweight and gives developers the freedom to incorporate any library or framework of their choice.
  • Community Support
    Despite being a relatively new tool, Eleventy has a growing community and plenty of resources available for developers, from plugins to quick-start themes.

Possible disadvantages of Eleventy

  • Limited Built-in Features
    Eleventy’s simplicity means it lacks some built-in features available in other static site generators, which may require additional configuration or third-party tools.
  • Learning Curve for Complex Projects
    While easy to start, larger or more complex projects might require developers to have a deeper understanding of custom configurations, possibly resulting in a steeper learning curve.
  • No Native CMS
    Eleventy doesn’t come with a built-in content management system, so developers need to integrate with third-party services for dynamic content management.
  • Lack of Official GUI
    There is no official graphical user interface to manage or preview content, which might be a drawback for users who prefer visual editing environments.
  • Frequent Updates
    As an actively developed tool, Eleventy undergoes frequent updates, which can sometimes introduce breaking changes or necessitate regular maintenance to keep projects compatible.

Jekyll features and specs

  • Speed and Performance
    Jekyll generates static websites, which means they load faster compared to dynamic websites. No database queries are required, reducing server overhead and improving performance.
  • Security
    Static sites have a smaller attack surface compared to dynamic sites because they don't rely on databases or server-side code. This means fewer vectors for potential compromises.
  • Simplicity
    Jekyll setups are relatively straightforward, especially if you are comfortable writing in Markdown and HTML. This can make it easier to manage and maintain your website.
  • Integration with GitHub Pages
    Jekyll is designed to work seamlessly with GitHub Pages, allowing you to host your website for free with automatic deployment directly from your GitHub repository.
  • Customizability
    Jekyll allows for extensive customization through its support for plugins, themes, and templates. This can be helpful to create a unique look and functionality for your website.

Possible disadvantages of Jekyll

  • Learning Curve
    While Jekyll is simpler than some other static site generators, it does require some familiarity with the command line, version control (Git), and YAML configuration.
  • Build Time
    For large websites, the build times can become lengthy, which can slow down the development process, especially if you are making frequent updates.
  • Lack of Real-time Content Updates
    Since Jekyll generates static sites, real-time content updates (e.g., comments, dynamic forms) aren't natively supported and require third-party services or additional tooling.
  • Dependence on Ruby
    Jekyll is built with Ruby, so you will need to have Ruby installed and occasionally deal with Ruby-specific issues. This might be a drawback for developers who are not familiar with the Ruby ecosystem.
  • Limited Built-in Functionality
    While Jekyll is very flexible, it doesn’t have built-in support for many features out of the box, which might require you to manually implement or rely on plugins.

Analysis of Eleventy

Overall verdict

  • Eleventy is an excellent choice for developers looking for a lightweight, customizable static site generator. It is particularly well-suited for small to medium-sized projects where performance and simplicity are key priorities.

Why this product is good

  • Eleventy, or 11ty, is a highly flexible static site generator that enables developers to create fast and efficient websites with minimal configuration. It is known for its simplicity, supporting a wide range of templating languages, including Markdown, Liquid, Nunjucks, and more. Eleventy also emphasizes a 'zero build step' approach, providing a clean and straightforward development experience without additional frameworks or complex dependencies.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking for a no-frills static site generator.
  • Projects requiring support for multiple templating languages.
  • Sites where performance and speed are critical.
  • Bloggers and content creators who prefer writing in Markdown.
  • Developers who appreciate a minimalistic and flexible toolchain.

Analysis of Jekyll

Overall verdict

  • Jekyll is a good choice for individuals and organizations looking for a straightforward, reliable, and efficient way to build static websites. Its strengths include simplicity, flexibility, and strong community support, which contribute to a smooth development experience.

Why this product is good

  • Jekyll is a popular static site generator that is widely appreciated for its simplicity, speed, and ease of use. It is particularly suited for creating blogs and simple websites, leveraging Markdown and Liquid templates to generate static HTML content. Its integration with GitHub Pages also makes it a convenient choice for developers and non-developers alike who want to host their sites directly from their GitHub repositories without additional setup or cost.

Recommended for

  • Bloggers and content creators looking for a simple way to publish content online.
  • Developers who prefer writing in Markdown and managing content with a version control system.
  • Users who want to host their sites for free using GitHub Pages.
  • Anyone in need of a static site generator that is easy to set up, customize, and maintain with minimal resources.

Eleventy videos

+ Add

Meet Eleventy

More videos:

  • Review - Eleventy: Key Features and Getting Started
  • Review - Eleventy | Fall Winter 2021 2022 Women's Fashion Show Review | Milan fashion week 2021

Jekyll videos

+ Add

Getting Started With Jekyll, The Static Site Generator

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Eleventy and Jekyll)

Eleventy

Jekyll

Blogging
11 11%
Blogging
89% 89
CMS
8 8%
CMS
92% 92
Static Site Generators
17 17%
Static Site Generators
83% 83
Developer Tools
100 100%
Developer Tools
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Eleventy and Jekyll. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Eleventy and Jekyll

Eleventy Reviews

20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering
For those seeking simplicity, Eleventy and Spatie provide straightforward solutions for creating static sites. Eleventy is highly flexible and doesn’t lock you into a specific framework, while Spatie offers a collection of Laravel packages to extend functionality.
Source: tms-outsource.com
10 static site generators to watch in 2021
The popularity of Eleventy is difficult to measure on the web, since by design, it is transparent and unobtrusive, leaving no signature in the sites it generates. However, anecdotally (and observed within the Netlify build infrastructure) we are seeing Eleventy gain momentum particularly among parts of the web development community interested in performance and retaining...
Source: www.netlify.com

Jekyll Reviews

Best Gitbook Alternatives You Need to Try in 2023
Jekyll is a static site generator often used to create blogs and websites, similar to Gitbook in its ability to generate documentation from markdown files. Jekyll is built in Ruby and is known for its flexibility and ease of use. It also has a large community and a wide variety of plugins and themes available. Jekyll's main advantage is that it is highly customizable,...
Source: www.archbee.com
11 Popular Free And Open Source WordPress CMS alternatives in 2021
Unlike some listed alternatives, Jekyll is also a static site generator so it lays in the same category. It uses Ruby and we would say it's simpler, free, and open-source CMS software.
Source: medevel.com
10 static site generators to watch in 2021
Perhaps most conveniently described as Jekyll implemented with JavaScript rather than Ruby, Eleventy has now moved beyond that while retaining a clear and simple on-ramp, and only shipping to the browser what you tell it too. As with Jekyll and Hugo, no JavaScript frameworks are auto-baked in.
Source: www.netlify.com
Hugo vs Jekyll: an Epic Battle of Static Site Generator Themes
Jekyll isn’t strict with its content location. It expects pages in the root of your site, and will build whatever’s there. Here’s how you might organize these pages in your Jekyll site root:
Source: www.freecodecamp.org
9 Reasons I Think Craft is the Best CMS on the Market Today
Craft CMS is simple, minimalistic, agile and has every capability a modern CMS framework needs. Over the past ten years we have worked with every CMS you could think of (Wordpress, Drupal, Rails+ActiveAdmin, Ghost, Weebly, DjangoCMS, Jekyll, Joomla, Tumblr, Squarespace, Expression Engine, Statamic, Blogger)… here are the reasons why we’ve landed firmly with Craft as our №1...
Source: hackernoon.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Jekyll should be more popular than Eleventy. It has been mentiond 195 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Eleventy mentions (36)

  • Making Eleventy Data Traceable with TSX and Zod
    Eleventy is a fast and versatile static site generator (SSG). Out of the box, it is most likely to appeal to developers used to earlier Python- or Ruby-based web frameworks and SSGs (e.g. Django, Flask, or Jekyll). - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Character and Subsector generators for Classic Traveller, with TAS Forms!
    I wrote an online catalog a while back (and I need to get back on adding graphics and products at some point). It’s written using Eleventy and the minisearch library. The source and data are available on Github if you want to see how I did things. I’m not a professional web designer either, but it was a fun project. Source: over 1 year ago
  • How to build a website without frameworks and tons of libraries
    I moved from static HTML to 11ty (https://11ty.dev) for the same reason and I'm pretty happy with how simple it allows you to keep things. Plus, it helps me avoid yak shaving instead of writing content! I think for a site like this I'd go with 11ty, just a clean project without a template or custom config, one collection to pull the photos from Flickr inline the styles. (just sharing my personal approach, nothing... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Running Eleventy Serverless On AWS Lambda@Edge
    Eleventy is great. It’s a static site generator written in JavaScript, for “Fast Builds and even Faster Web Sites.” It’s 10 to 20 times faster than the alternatives, like Gatsby or Next.js. You get all of your content statically rendered and ready to be CDN-delivered. You needn’t worry about server-side rendering to get those pretty social share unfurls. And, if you have a large data set, that’s great — Eleventy... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • 23 of the best Eleventy Themes (Starters) for 2023
    An Eleventy starter project using JavaScript templates — the vanilla JavaScript and Eleventy theme of your dreams. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
View more

Jekyll mentions (195)

  • Building PicoSSG: 'Just Enough Code'
    The static site generator (SSG) landscape is crowded with feature-rich but increasingly complex solutions. As I looked at and used tools like lume, 11ty, lektor, or jekyll, I found myself drowning in configuration options, plugins, and middleware. What started as a simple desire to convert Markdown content into HTML had evolved into learning complex frameworks with steep learning curves. - Source: dev.to / 21 days ago
  • How to create a blog with Quartz, GitHub, and Cloudflare
    If you don't want to use Jekyll as your static site generator for GitHub Pages and you want to have a custom domain for your GitHub Pages. This post is for you! - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Blogging with Obsidian and Jekyll
    Jekyll is a static site generator that transforms Markdown files into a fully functional website. Everything is generated into plain HTML, which makes it simple to deploy on platforms like GitHub Pages. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Create a Blogging Platform With No Backend (Zero Hosting Fee)
    Obviously, there are a dozen choices for generating static websites (efficiently and quickly), from the classic Jekyll to the new Next.js. And you are good to go with any of them as long as your confident with it. I choose 11ty because:. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • It's easy to dev blog
    In your repository settings you need to turn on GitHub Pages to make it pull Jekyll content (that's the magic✨ default GitHub Pages build tool) from your GitHub repository. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Eleventy and Jekyll, you can also consider the following products

Hugo - Hugo is a general-purpose website framework for generating static web pages.

GatsbyJS - Blazing-fast static site generator for React

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Next.js - A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

Nuxt.js - Nuxt.js presets all the configuration needed to make your development of a Vue.js application enjoyable. It's a perfect static site generator.

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