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Hexo VS Hakyll

Compare Hexo VS Hakyll and see what are their differences

Hexo logo Hexo

A fast, simple & powerful blog framework, powered by Node.js

Hakyll logo Hakyll

Hakyll - A Static Site Generator in Haskell.
  • Hexo Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-14
  • Hakyll Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-15

Hexo features and specs

  • Speed
    Hexo is a static site generator, meaning it can generate and serve content rapidly compared to traditional CMS (Content Management Systems). This results in faster page load times and better performance.
  • Markdown Support
    Hexo uses Markdown for content creation, making it simple for users to write and format text easily. Markdown is widely used and allows for a clean separation of content and formatting.
  • Customization
    Hexo provides a high degree of customization through its robust plugin system and theme capabilities. Users can easily extend functionality and change the look and feel of their site.
  • SEO Friendly
    Hexo generates clean, static HTML files which are easily indexable by search engines. This makes it an SEO-friendly solution for creating websites and blogs.
  • Open Source
    Hexo is an open-source project, which means it's free to use, and you can contribute to the project or modify the source code to suit your needs.
  • Deployment Flexibility
    Hexo supports a variety of deployment methods including GitHub Pages, Heroku, Netlify, and others, making it easy to publish your site.

Possible disadvantages of Hexo

  • Learning Curve
    While Markdown is easy to use, the overall setup of Hexo and understanding its configuration files can be challenging for beginners, especially those unfamiliar with static site generators.
  • Dependency on Node.js
    Hexo relies on Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager), so you need to have these installed on your machine. This dependency can be a barrier for people not familiar with JavaScript or the Node.js ecosystem.
  • Content Management
    Unlike traditional CMS platforms like WordPress, Hexo does not provide a built-in content management interface. All content is managed through files, which can be less convenient for non-technical users.
  • Build Times on Large Sites
    For very large websites with lots of pages and posts, the build times in Hexo can become lengthy as all files need to be regenerated each time a change is made.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    While Hexo has a decent number of plugins and themes, its ecosystem is not as vast as some other static site generators or CMS platforms like Jekyll or WordPress. This could limit your options for extending your site.
  • Version Compatibility
    Updates to Hexo or its plugins can sometimes lead to compatibility issues, requiring users to spend time debugging and resolving conflicts, which can be frustrating.

Hakyll features and specs

  • Flexibility
    Hakyll provides a lot of flexibility in customizing website generation with Haskell. Users can create custom rules and templates for content generation.
  • Static Typing
    Static typing in Haskell helps catch errors at compile time, improving code reliability and reducing runtime errors.
  • High Customization
    Users can configure and customize their sites extensively, leveraging Haskell's libraries and functionality to create unique features.
  • Performance
    Static sites generated by Hakyll tend to be fast and efficient because they don't require server-side processing.
  • Ease of Source Control
    With Hakyll, version control is simplified because all the content and code can be stored in a plain text format.

Possible disadvantages of Hakyll

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For users unfamiliar with Haskell, there can be a significant learning curve involved in understanding both the language and Hakyll's architecture.
  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex, requiring more time and effort compared to other static site generators.
  • Limited Community Support
    Compared to more popular static site generators like Jekyll or Hugo, Hakyll may have limited community and resources.
  • Fewer Plugins and Themes
    Hakyll does not have as many pre-built plugins or themes available, which could mean extra work to create custom solutions.
  • Haskell Dependency
    Since Hakyll is based on Haskell, there is a reliance on the Haskell ecosystem, which might not be ideal for those not already invested in it.

Analysis of Hexo

Overall verdict

  • Hexo is a solid choice for those who want a lightweight and fast static site generator, especially if you need straightforward blogging functionality and are comfortable working with Node.js and Markdown.

Why this product is good

  • Hexo is a popular and powerful static site generator known for its simplicity, speed, and strong community support. It is built on Node.js, making it suitable for developers familiar with JavaScript. It offers a wide range of themes and plugins, allowing for flexible customization and extension. It's particularly favored for blogging due to its efficient content management and the ability to deploy quickly to platforms such as GitHub Pages.

Recommended for

  • Developers seeking a simple and fast static site generator.
  • Bloggers who prefer writing in Markdown and value speed in generation and deployment.
  • Users comfortable with Node.js looking for extensive community support and customizable themes.

Hexo videos

Tsunami by Hexo One Hitter Weed Review

More videos:

  • Review - Hexo Corp. Cannabis Original Stash OS.220 1 Ounce review Indica Blend
  • Review - HEXO Corp. - HEXO Stock Chart Technical Analysis for 06-16-2020

Hakyll videos

No Hakyll videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Hexo and Hakyll)
Blogging
79 79%
21% 21
CMS
81 81%
19% 19
Blogging Platform
75 75%
25% 25
Lifestyle
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Hexo should be more popular than Hakyll. It has been mentiond 21 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.

Hexo mentions (21)

  • Crosspost! Publishing to Dev.to From My Personal Blog
    My website is a static site built with Hexo and served through GitHub Pages. Hexo's documentation isn't the best, but with a little digging, I found that, in the years since I last used it, they've provided a pretty robust first-party plugin for generating RSS and ATOM feeds. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Ask HN: Looking for lightweight personal blogging platform
    There's also hexo [1]. I saw that on Matt Klein's website [2] and the theme looked pretty clean. [1] https://hexo.io [2] https://mattklein123.dev/2020/03/08/2020-03-07-new-website/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Hexo, WebFinger and better discoverability
    In my case, the latter is not possible because this blog is a static site, generated via Hexo and hosted on GitHub. It simply lacks a modifiable active server component. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Nuxt 3 - showcase your sites
    Previously I've used Nuxt2 and even sooner - hexo.io. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Building a static blog using Jekyll & Strapi
    To make their creation easier, numerous open-source static websites generators are available: Jekyll, Hugo, Gatsby, Hexo, etc. Most of the time, the content is managed through static (ideally Markdown) files or a Content API. Then, the generator requests the content, injects it in templates defined by the developer and generates a bunch of HTML files. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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Hakyll mentions (6)

  • Ask HN: Looking for lightweight personal blogging platform
    Others have mentioned static site generators. I like Hakyll [1] because it can tightly integrate with Pandoc [2] and allows you to develop custom solutions if your needs ever grow. [1]: https://jaspervdj.be/hakyll/ [2]: https://pandoc.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • I want to make a website for myself
    Honestly, I've had a great experience with Hakyll for static site generation. There's a bit of a learning curve to effectively use the library/framework, but in my opinion the learning curve is much lower than Yesod/Fay. If all you need is to build static website pages, I'd suggest Hakyll. Source: about 3 years ago
  • State of the Web: Static Site Generators
    Love SSGs too! Came here to share praise for Hakyll[1], for people with an FP leaning. Predictably, it's not easy to get started, but once you're into it the power of building your own arbitrary content "compilers" (and template extensions etc etc) is pretty impressive. [1] https://jaspervdj.be/hakyll/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • I did a thing : Hakyll with Internationalization;
    Hi there. A friend of mine wanted to publish a blog/site at both French and English. I told him about static generators and Hakyll from u/jaspervdj but the internationalization piece was missing. Of course there are other generators with internationalization but... Well here is one for Hakyll. * Generator source code * Use case and its source code --- If it already exists, ‏‏‎ please hide that fact from me. If not... Source: over 3 years ago
  • About GitLab and Pages by Safely Dysfunctional
    This info is relevant because Hakyll application requires to be complied before it generates the pages, and the compilation process of Haskell is a pretty expensive (computationally saying). Although, the executable is incredible fast, due to great work made by the compiler. This processing cost will be discussed soon. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Hexo and Hakyll, you can also consider the following products

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

Jekyll - Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.

GatsbyJS - Blazing-fast static site generator for React

Pelican - A static site generator, written in Python, that requires no database or server-side logic

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.

MiddleMan - A static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development