Jekyll

I've been using WordPress for this site for a long time. It is familiar, well-supported and easy to get started with, but over time I began to feel weighed down by the extras that came with it. Updates, plugins, security patches, database management and hosting management take time and money. I needed something leaner, that would simply generate a site and get out of the way.

That is when I discovered static site generators. They take static files and build them into a website in HTML with no server side scripting. I decided to go with Jekyll. Moving across was fairly easy - a WordPress plugin allowed me to export old posts in Markdown format so they could be easily imported into my new set-up. Instead of logging into a dashboard I could write posts in Markdown, version everything in Git and let Jekyll turn it into a static site. There was no database to maintain and no server-side code to worry about. The site was suddenly lighter, faster and far easier to host.

Switching to Jekyll was my first real step into static site generators and it immediately changed the way I thought about building for the web. It stripped everything back to content, templates and a build process, which suited me perfectly at the time.

Development

While working locally test changes using

bundle exec jekyll serve

The site can be viewed on http://127.0.0.1:4000/

Production

To push to the live Github Pages site

$ bundle exec jekyll build

$ git add -A

$ git commit -m "Message"

$ git push

What is Jekyll?

Jekyll is a static site generator, which means it creates websites by turning text files, templates and data into static HTML pages. Content is usually written in Markdown or simple text files, and the build process compiles everything into a folder of static files that can be served directly by a web host. There is no database running in the background and no code being executed when someone visits the site. The result is a website that is fast, secure and lightweight, with very little ongoing maintenance.

WordPress, by contrast, is a traditional content management system. It runs on a server, usually with PHP and a database, and generates each page dynamically when it is requested. Editors log in to a dashboard to create and manage content, and thousands of plugins and themes are available to extend its functionality. This flexibility and ease of use have made WordPress the most popular platform for websites of all sizes, from personal blogs to large-scale publishing operations.

The difference between the two approaches is significant. With Jekyll, the site is generated ahead of time and then deployed as a collection of static files. This makes it fast and inherently secure, since there is nothing to query or execute on the server. However, Jekyll does not come with a graphical editor, which means managing content usually involves working with code and files. It suits developers and technical users who prefer full control over their content and design.

WordPress, on the other hand, is designed for accessibility. Non-technical users can log in, write posts, install plugins and change themes without touching a line of code. The trade-off is greater complexity behind the scenes, more regular updates to manage, and potentially slower performance depending on the hosting environment.

In essence, Jekyll is a developer-friendly tool for building static sites that prioritise speed, security and simplicity, while WordPress is a full-featured CMS that prioritises usability and flexibility for content creators. The choice between the two often comes down to who will be managing the site and what level of control, simplicity or extensibility is required.