Static Site Generators: A Beginner's Guide

The Jamstack (JavaScript, APIs, and Markup) is rapidly gaining popularity as the preferred web development stack. The Jamstack website itself touts it as "the modern way to build websites and apps," emphasizing its superior performance.

Indeed, performance is a key advantage, alongside enhanced security, scalability, and improved developer experience. Jamstack architecture utilizes pre-rendered static pages served via CDNs, integrates data from diverse sources, and replaces traditional servers and databases with microservice APIs.

Static Site Generators (SSGs) are the key to creating these static sites quickly and efficiently.

Numerous SSGs exist, supporting various programming languages like JavaScript, Ruby, and Go. While a comprehensive list is available at staticsitegenerators.net, the Jamstack website offers a more manageable, filterable list based on name or GitHub stars.

This article highlights seven popular SSGs and their core features to aid in selecting the best fit for your project.

Key Takeaways:

• SSGs streamline static site creation, delivering improved performance, security, scalability, and developer experience. They pre-process pages via a template engine, resulting in lightweight, faster-loading sites.
• SSGs integrate seamlessly with headless CMSs, managing content and providing APIs for data access. This enables non-developers to create and update content while retaining the benefits of a static site.
• Popular SSGs include Gatsby, Next.js, Hugo, Nuxt.js, Jekyll, Eleventy, and VuePress. Each offers unique features and use cases, from server-rendered or statically exported JavaScript apps to Vue-based static websites.
• SSG selection depends on project needs, dynamic capability requirements, build/deploy times, project type (blog, personal website, documentation, e-commerce), and developer familiarity with the SSG's programming language.

What are Static Site Generators?

Traditional CMSs (like WordPress) dynamically build web pages upon client request, assembling data from a database and processing it through a template engine. SSGs, conversely, pre-process pages through a template engine before client requests, making them instantly available. Only static assets are hosted, resulting in significantly lighter, faster sites.

For a detailed comparison of traditional CMSs and SSGs, and the advantages of using an SSG, see Craig Buckler's article, "7 Reasons to Use a Static Site Generator."

However, the content creation and management capabilities of CMSs remain valuable. This is where headless CMSs come in.

A headless CMS solely manages content via a back-end, providing an API for other front-ends to access the data. Editorial teams can utilize familiar interfaces, and the content becomes one data source among many accessible to SSGs via the API. Popular headless CMS options include Strapi, Sanity, and Contentful; WordPress also offers a REST API for headless CMS functionality.

Modern Jamstack tools thus enable the creation of statically-served websites while retaining the benefits of a content management system.

Let's explore some SSG options:

1. Gatsby

Gatsby is a comprehensive framework for building static websites and apps, built with React and utilizing GraphQL for data manipulation. For a deeper dive, explore "Getting Started with Gatsby: Build Your First Static Site" on SitePoint and the Gatsby website's documentation.

Key Gatsby advantages:

• Utilizes cutting-edge web technologies (React, webpack, modern JS, CSS).
• Extensive plugin ecosystem for diverse data sources.
• Easy deployment and scalability due to its static page generation.
• Progressive Web App (PWA) generator with built-in code and data splitting for optimal performance.
• gatsby-image optimizes image loading.
• Numerous starter sites are readily available.

2. Next.js

Next.js is a versatile framework for creating server-rendered or statically exported JavaScript apps, built on React by Vercel.

To create a Next.js app:

npx create-next-app nextjs-blog --use-npm --example "https://github.com/vercel/next-learn-starter/tree/master/learn-starter"

Start the development server:

npm run dev

Access the app at http://localhost:3000.

Next.js offers extensive documentation for building and customizing apps. Key features include:

• Default server-side rendering for optimal performance.
• Automatic code-splitting, routing, and hot reload.
• Image optimization, internationalization, and analytics.
• Comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and examples.
• Built-in CSS support.
• Numerous example apps.

3. Hugo

Hugo, a highly popular SSG (over 49k GitHub stars), is written in Go and boasts exceptional speed. Its rapid build process makes it ideal for blogs with extensive content. The documentation includes a quickstart guide for easy setup.

Key Hugo features:

• Optimized for speed (content rendering ~1ms).
• Built-in features like pagination, redirection, and multiple content types.
• Rich theming system.
• Shortcodes as an alternative to Markdown.
• Dart Sass support (since December 2020).

4. Nuxt.js

Nuxt.js, a higher-level framework built on Vue.js, facilitates the creation of production-ready web apps. It supports server-side rendering (universal/isomorphic mode), static site generation, and single-page apps (SPAs). Setup is straightforward; a "Hello World" example is available on the Nuxt website.

Key Nuxt.js features:

• Excellent performance.
• Modular architecture with over 50 available modules.
• Easy learning curve (based on Vue.js).
• Integrated Vuex state management.
• Automatic code splitting.
• Modern JavaScript code transpilation, bundling, and minification.
• Meta tag management.
• Pre-processor support (Sass, Less, Stylus).

5. Jekyll

Jekyll's simplicity and ease of learning make it a popular choice (42k GitHub stars). Built with Ruby and using Markdown for content and Liquid for templating, it's ideal for blogs and text-heavy websites. It powers GitHub Pages, offering free hosting.

Key Jekyll features:

• Simplicity.
• Free GitHub Pages hosting.
• Strong community support.

6. Eleventy

Eleventy, often considered the JavaScript alternative to Jekyll, is a simple, native JavaScript SSG with a zero-configuration approach and flexible templating. Resources for getting started include Craig Buckler's "Getting Started with Eleventy," Raymond Camden's "11ty Tutorial," and Tatiana Mac's "Beginner's Guide to Eleventy," as well as the Eleventy website's documentation.

Key Eleventy features:

• Simplicity and performance.
• Active community.
• Flexible templating.
• Fast build times.

7. VuePress

VuePress, a Vue-powered SSG, is optimized for technical documentation. Its default theme is well-suited for this purpose. While the current stable version is 1.8.0, version 2 alpha is available on GitHub. It functions as an SPA leveraging Vue, Vue Router, and webpack.

To set up VuePress, use create-vuepress-site:

npx create-next-app nextjs-blog --use-npm --example "https://github.com/vercel/next-learn-starter/tree/master/learn-starter"

Consult the VuePress Guide for more details.

Key VuePress features:

• Quick setup and Markdown content authoring.
• Vue.js integration (Vue components in Markdown, custom themes).
• Fast loading (pre-rendered static HTML, SPA functionality).
• Built-in multilingual support.

Nuxt.js vs. VuePress:

Both are Vue.js-based and create static websites. Nuxt.js offers broader capabilities, making it suitable for applications. VuePress excels at creating static documentation websites and simple blogs, avoiding the overhead of Nuxt.js for simpler projects.

Choosing a Static Site Generator:

Consider these factors when choosing an SSG:

• Project requirements: Identify necessary features.
• Dynamic capabilities: Determine the level of dynamic functionality needed.
• Build/deploy time: Evaluate performance for your content volume.
• Project type: Select an SSG appropriate for blogs, personal websites, documentation, or e-commerce.
• Developer familiarity: Choose an SSG using a language you're comfortable with.
• Community and support: All listed SSGs have strong communities and resources.

FAQs:

• What is an SSG? A tool generating static HTML pages from templates and content, offering faster load times and improved security compared to dynamic websites.
• SSG vs. CMS? CMSs generate pages dynamically, while SSGs pre-build the entire site, creating static files. SSGs are ideal for less frequently updated content.
• Programming knowledge needed? Basic programming skills are helpful for customization, but many SSGs are user-friendly.
• Can SSGs handle blogs and dynamic content? Yes, many support dynamic content via templating engines and data sources.
• SSG and SEO? Static sites are generally SEO-friendly due to fast loading times. SSGs facilitate metadata and header optimization.

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