Table of Contents

What is Jekyll?

Jekyll is a static site generator that transforms Markdown into webpages. Jekyll does not require a database server-side processing. All data is saved within the codebase, making it easy to backup as a repo.

Why Choose a Static Site?

Static websites have several advantages,

  • Performance: Load faster because they consist of simple HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
  • Simplicity: Serving static files is straightforward, reducing the complexity and cost of web hosting.
  • Security: Static sites do not involve processing user input or executing server-side scripts.
  • Maintainability: As simple as pushing updates to a Git repository. This fits seamlessly into a Continuous Deployment (CD) workflow, allowing for frequent updates without a hassle.

Cost-Effectiveness

Jekyll is free and open-source, and there are a variety of free (or inexpensive) hosting solutions, such as:

  • GitHub Pages: Directly integrates with GitHub, offering a straightforward deployment process for Jekyll sites.
  • Netlify: Deploying static sites with continuous deployment, previews, and rollbacks.
  • Big Providers: Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Azure Blob Storage or Static Web Apps can serve static websites at low costs at scale.

Integration and Practical Use

Jekyll is used within in the tech industry for project documentation, including:

  • Dart/Flutter: Uses Jekyll to manage parts of its ecosystem documentation.
  • Elixir/Mix: Leverages Jekyll for project websites and documentation.
  • Kubernetes: Utilizes Jekyll for its official blog, which includes tutorials and documentation.
  • Ruby: Being a Ruby-based tool, Jekyll is popular within the Ruby community.
  • Rust: Employs Jekyll for its official development blog.