Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Jekyll VS Anchor CMS

Compare Jekyll VS Anchor CMS and see what are their differences

Jekyll logo Jekyll

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

Anchor CMS logo Anchor CMS

Free and lightweight blogging system
  • Jekyll Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17
  • Anchor CMS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-18

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.

Anchor CMS features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Anchor CMS is known for its minimalistic approach, which means it has a smaller footprint and requires fewer server resources.
  • Markdown Support
    Content in Anchor CMS can be written using Markdown, providing a simpler and faster way to format text compared to traditional WYSIWYG editors.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Anchor CMS allows developers to contribute to its development and customize the CMS according to their requirements.
  • Simple Interface
    The user interface is clean and straightforward, making it easy to navigate and use, even for beginners.
  • Customization
    Anchor CMS offers good customization capabilities, allowing users to create and manage different types of content with ease.
  • Developer-Friendly
    Due to its simple structure and clear codebase, Anchor CMS is easy for developers to extend and integrate with other systems.

Possible disadvantages of Anchor CMS

  • Limited Features
    Compared to other, more robust CMS platforms, Anchor CMS lacks many advanced features and plugins.
  • Small Community
    Anchor CMS has a relatively smaller community, which can make finding support and resources more challenging.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    The development and release cycle for updates and new features tend to be slower compared to more popular CMS platforms.
  • No Built-In SEO Tools
    Anchor CMS does not come with built-in SEO tools, which means additional effort is required to optimize content for search engines.
  • Limited Themes and Plugins
    The ecosystem of available themes and plugins is limited, offering fewer choices for customization and extending functionality.

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.

Analysis of Anchor CMS

Overall verdict

  • Anchor CMS is a good option for those who seek a simple, efficient, and customizable CMS without the bloat of more complex systems. It suits users who prioritize performance and simplicity over an extensive feature set.

Why this product is good

  • Anchor CMS is a lightweight and simple content management system designed for users who prefer a minimalist approach to website creation and content management. Its streamlined design focuses on providing a user-friendly interface, making it easy to set up and manage content. Being open-source, it allows developers to modify and customize the platform as needed, and it's known for its fast performance due to its minimalistic framework. Additionally, Anchor CMS supports Markdown, enabling users to write content in a format that's easy to read and edit.

Recommended for

  • Bloggers looking for a clean and easy-to-use platform.
  • Developers who want a lightweight, customizable CMS.
  • Users who prefer using Markdown for content creation.
  • Website owners who prioritize speed and simplicity over advanced features.

Jekyll videos

Getting Started With Jekyll, The Static Site Generator

Anchor CMS videos

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

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Jekyll and Anchor CMS)
CMS
80 80%
20% 20
Blogging
88 88%
12% 12
Blogging Platform
71 71%
29% 29
Static Site Generators
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

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

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:
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

Anchor CMS Reviews

We have no reviews of Anchor CMS yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Jekyll seems to be a lot more popular than Anchor CMS. While we know about 195 links to Jekyll, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Anchor CMS. 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.

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 / 12 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 / 10 months ago
View more

Anchor CMS mentions (2)

  • No input file specified
    I'm running Anchor CMS and I just upgraded to version 0.8. When I try and run the installer I get a 'No input file specified' error. I believe it's more than likely a .htaccess problem but I'm not sure what the correct settings should be. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Suitable platform for an art gallery
    Nothing wrong with using WP as the platform for this. Alternatively you could try ClassicPress, Ghost or even Anchor. Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

ClassicPress - The WordPress fork. No Gutenberg. Great future!

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.

Sitecake - Drag and drop CMS for HTML websites. It's flat file CMS so it's pretty fast.

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.

Textpattern - Textpattern is an elegant content management system that is free, open source software.