Recently, it has been particularly popular to use static websites to build blogs. This blog is a static website hosted by GitHub Pages. Static websites are great for sites that focus on content, such as blogs. Then you might ask why you don’t need a wordpress (dynamic website).
Static websites have the following advantages over dynamic websites:
- Save money. Static websites consume less system resources. If you hang on github pages, just register a domain name.
- High speed. Without php parser, no database, the speed is naturally faster than dynamic website
- Safety. Due to the simplicity of static websites, many web attacks are immune.
- Simple configuration. Only need a web server (apache, nginx).
- Easy to maintain.
The disadvantage of static websites is that they are weak in function and the interaction ability of users is not strong.
The static website generation tool can generate a website/blog from a simple plain text file. Common text formats are reStructuredText and Markdown, I am used to using Markdown.
If you want to build your own static website, you can use the 11 tools listed below:
1. Jekyll
Jekyll is the build tool for GitHub Pages (Ruby), making it the most popular static website generation tool. Jekyll is also popular because it is very simple and requires only a basic web development foundation. You can use it to easily convert text to a custom website/blog.
If you have wordpress or other blog sites, you can import them into Jekyll. Jekyll supports plugins, tags, and more.
Github Pages: https://pages.github.com
Start using Jekyll: http://jekyllrb.com/docs/quickstart/
2. Octopress
Octopress is a Jekyll-based blog generation tool that simplifies the operation of Jekyll and allows you to create more comfortable. One of the great advantages of Octopress is that it has a lot of plugins and is compatible with Jekyll’s official plugin.
Octopress supports built-in social platforms (Twitter, Google+), Disqus reviews and Google Analytics.
Octopress’s documentation: http://octopress.org/docs/
3. Hexo
Hexo is a blog framework written in Node.js. This static website generation tool is very fast, and it takes only a few seconds to build a complete website using it. Hexo supports all GitHub Markdown features and supports most Octopress plugins.
Migrating from other blog platforms to hexo is very easy.
Hexo’s documentation: https://hexo.io/docs/
4. Hugo
Hugo is another popular static website generation tool that is written in Go and uses the Markdown syntax. The official website describes it:
This application does not depend on administrative privileges, databases, interpreters, or external libraries, and still works like a charm. Websites or blogs built with Hugo can be hosted on any web host including GitHub Pages, S3, and Dropbox.
Start using Hugo: http://gohugo.io/overview/quickstart/
5. Pelican
Pelican is a static website generation tool written in Python. It supports authoring website content with reStructuredText, Markdown, and AsciiDoc. Pelican supports the Jinja template engine, and as a result, it supports many custom themes.
Start using Pelican: http://docs.getpelican.com/
6. Middleman
Middleman, another static website generation tool written in Ruby. It provides how to use and customize the documentation so you can customize your website.
Middleman is a static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development.
Start using Middleman: https://middlemanapp.com/basics/install/
7. Metalsmith
Metalsmith is a simple, efficient, pluggable static website generation tool written in nodejs. The biggest difference between Metalsmith and other tools is that everything is handled by plugins and plugins can be reused. Just decide the function of the website, then find the relevant plugins, put them together, ok, ready to go!
Metalsmith can also generate PDFs, e-books, documents, and more.
8. DocPad
DocPad comes with a built-in website mainframe that allows you to quickly build a full-featured website. This tool supports CoffeeScript, Ruby, PHP, Stylus, and more.
DocPad removes limitations and closes the gap between experts and beginners. Designers and developers can create works faster than ever before.
Start using DocPad: https://docpad.bevry.me/start/install
9. Wintersmith
Wintersmith is a minimalist, extensible static website generation tool written in Nodejs. It also supports plugins. Wintersmith’s project is based on a directory structure that makes it easy to port old sites.
10. Cactus
Cactus is a static website generation tool built using Python and Django template systems.
One More Thing…
11. HubPress
HubPress is an open source web application that allows you to create a blog based on GitHub Pages. The use of HubPress is very simple, you only need to fork the project to your github, and then modify the configuration file.
#Conclusions
Whether you are creating a single-page or multi-page website, static websites are an option.
My blog uses Hexo and is hosted on Github pages (https://yuan901202.github.io).
And use markdown to improve the force - this blog is written using vim, and then switch to the command line to push the code, duang~.
Of course, static websites also have a lot of deficiencies.
If you cannot decide which one is the best for you, you may want to check this website to help you.
Go to StaticGen check a list of static site generators.
