Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Jekyll

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

Jekyll

Jekyll Reviews and Details

This page is designed to help you find out whether Jekyll is good and if it is the right choice for you.

Screenshots and images

  • Jekyll Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17

Features & Specs

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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Videos

Getting Started With Jekyll, The Static Site Generator

Social recommendations and mentions

We have tracked the following product recommendations or mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you see what people think about Jekyll and what they use it for.
  • Setting up a hugo static site hosted with Porkbun
    This is a static site generated with hugo with the PaperMod theme. I wanted an easy to use static site generator. I considered Jekyll And believe it to be a good choice for static sites. There seemed to be slightly more themes I liked with Hugo so I went with that. That's a pretty superficial choice but I also don't plan on hacking on the Site generation itself so I was agnostic to the Go versus Ruby choice. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • So, you want to vibecode a linkblog?
    First of all, I modified my publishing programs to keep a (local) copy of each link published modulePublicationCache and then I thought about using it for my linkblog. I like very much jekyll for a blog and I requested to some AIs (mainly Qwen and Gemini) to help me to develop a blog based on the links I has posted the previous day, prepare a list with them, and prepare a Jekyll post. I also requested to set up a... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Migrating from Jekyll to Hugo... or not
    I started this blog on WordPress. After several years, I decided to migrate to Jekyll. I have been happy with Jekyll so far. It's based on Ruby, and though I'm no Ruby developer, I was able to create a few plugins. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Introducing โ“‚๏ธ Meddler! A Medium Export Converter
    So, I created โ“‚๏ธ Meddler, a command-line tool and website that will take the .ZIP of your export that Medium gives you and turn it into clean, portable Markdown formats for Jekyll, Hugo, Eleventy, or Astro.js. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Introducing: Postwave
    After writing your posts in Markdown you can then display them however you'd like on your site through the built in Postwave Ruby client. This is where Postwave differs from static blog engines like Jekyll or Hugo which take the Markdown posts and generate a site for you. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • How to Build a Python MCP Server to Consult a Knowledge Base
    But that's not the case. The blog is a simple static generated website using Jekyll, it is built and served through GitHub Pages. With that in mind it makes more sense to use tools and leverage tool calling. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • I Tried 15 of the Best Documentation Tools โ€” Hereโ€™s What Actually Works in 2025
    Jekyll is one of the oldest and most established static site generators. Itโ€™s tightly integrated with GitHub Pages, making deployment super easy. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Jekyll auto posts from YouTube feeds
    I wanted to automate this boring and repetitive workflow: my idea is that every Time a YouTube video is published on my channel I want to have an associated Post on my personal Jekyll blog. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • 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 / about 1 year 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 / over 1 year 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 / over 1 year 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 / over 1 year 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 magicโœจ default GitHub Pages build tool) from your GitHub repository. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • How to build a blog with NodeJS
    If you're looking to start a blog (or if you're thinking of redesigning yours although you haven't posted in 2 years), you'll stumble upon a lot of options and it can be incredibly daunting; and if you stumble with the newest Josh's post about his stack it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the shown stack. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Migrating from WordPress to Jekyll: Save Money with a Static Site
    Here I am, signing off from a self-hosted WordPress site and finding a welcome change in Jekyll, a blog-aware static site generator. There is nothing new about this, several well-known bloggers have already migrated to Jekyll in the last few years. Ever since Tom Preston Werner created this software in 2008 and published his infamous article about Blogging Like a Hacker, it has become the go-to thing for at least... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Permira completes Squarespace acquisition after upping bid to $7.2B
    As a game dev, I found Jekyll really easy to get on to. Nice way to write blog posts. Easy to tweak the html/CSS/JS when needed https://jekyllrb.com/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • The Home Server Journey - 6: Your New Blogging Career
    First I've looked at the tools I was already familiar with. I have some old blog where I've posted updates during my Google Summer of Code projects. It uses Jekyll to generate static files, automatically published by GitHub Pages. It works very well when you have the website tied to a version-controlled repository, but it's cumbersome when you need to rebuild container images or replace files in a remote volume... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What do you use for your personal blog?
    I like Jekyll [1]. It is simple and open source. I am not sure about the SEO part though. [1]: https://jekyllrb.com/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Best static site generator for non-designer?
    I use Jekyll (https://jekyllrb.com). I'd switch to Hugo, but every time I try, I give up. It's not that I can't, it's too much up-front investment and fiddling than I care to deal with (recommendations and tips appreciated). - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Note Taking as a Learning Tool: How to Retain Knowledge and Spark New Ideas
    Publishing tools. By utilising a simple structure of notes stored in a local directories or online repositories like github or gitlab, with the help of the static site generators like Quartz or Jekyll it is only a matter of few minutes and you can have your own digital garden, collection of personal knowledge and everything you written. Feeling inspired? Read this: A Brief History and Ethos of the Digital Garden,... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What is the best way to author blogs in 2024v
    I run one blog on Jekyll[0], another on Hugo[1]. I must admit, Hugo somehow feels much more flexible and fast. - [0] https://jekyllrb.com/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago

Summary of the public mentions of Jekyll

Jekyll, often hailed as one of the pioneers in the static site generator landscape, continues to hold a significant place in the community, especially among developers who value simplicity, flexibility, and the minimal overhead of static websites. Powered by Ruby, Jekyll transforms Markdown or HTML content into static pages, which eliminates the need for traditional server-side rendering seen in dynamic CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal.

Key Advantages of Jekyll

  1. Simplicity and Flexibility: Jekyll is lauded for its straightforward setup and ease of use, requiring only a basic understanding of Markdown, HTML, and CSS. This makes it accessible for developers who wish to create personal blogs or documentation sites without delving deeply into complex frameworks.

  2. Customization: Jekyll's open architecture allows extensive customization, which is facilitated through a profound ecosystem of plugins and themes. This makes it particularly appealing for technically inclined users who want to craft unique and personalized site designs.

  3. Community and Ecosystem: The large community of Jekyll users contributes to a robust ecosystem, offering numerous plugins and themes that can extend functionality and aesthetically tailor sites to specific needs. This support network also means that help and resources are readily available, often referred to as the "Gandalf of Static Site Generators."

  4. Integration with GitHub Pages: Jekyll's seamless integration with GitHub Pages is a significant advantage, allowing users to host their static sites for free. This has contributed to Jekyllโ€™s pervasive popularity among developers and bloggers who appreciate the efficient deployment model directly from a version-controlled repository.

Challenges and Areas for Improvement

Despite its strengths, Jekyll is not without its challenges. The platform can present a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with Ruby or who come from a more traditional CMS background. While it excels in basic static site tasks, users often find its configurability challenging when complex or non-standard requirements arise.

Comparisons and Alternatives

The ever-growing landscape of static site generators offers several popular alternatives to Jekyll. Hugo, for example, is often praised for its speed and simplicity, while GatsbyJS is notable for its performance and modern React-based architecture. Meanwhile, Eleventy provides JavaScript enthusiasts a compelling alternative with a clear, simple on-ramp and flexibility. Alternatives like Ghost and WordPress continue to dominate users who prefer a dynamic experience with rich backend capabilities.

Jekyll also finds itself in head-to-head comparisons, such as with Hugo regarding themes, where each platform has its pros and cons depending on specific user needs. Many users who value rapid builds and performance might lean towards Hugo, while Jekyllโ€™s supporters often cite its large plugin availability as a strong point.

Conclusion

Jekyll remains a respected and robust tool within the static site generator category, appealing to developers who prioritize low complexity and high customization. Although not without its learning curve, its integration with platforms like GitHub, along with an extensive community and plugin ecosystem, ensure that Jekyll continues to be a preferred choice for many in the tech and blogging communities. However, with the rising number of competitors, its position as the go-to static site generator demands constant evolution to satisfy the ever-changing needs of developers and content creators.

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Jekyll discussion

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  1. Stan Bright avatar
    Stan Bright
    ยท about 2 years ago
    ยท Reply

    Jekyll - the pioneer of static page website generation that I'm still using today.

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