Jekyll – static blogging for Git enthusiasts

Jekyll is one of the oldest and most respected static site generators, also serving as the basis for the GitHub Pages service. In other words, if you have a GitHub account, you can have a free blog with Jekyll without configuring any server.

How Jekyll works and where it integrates with GitHub Pages

Jekyll transforms files written in Markdown into static HTML pages, using a simple system of layouts and templates.

👉 Official Jekyll Site
👉 Official Documentation

Thanks to integration with GitHub Pages, Jekyll can be hosted for free. You just need to create a repository, put the site content there, and GitHub takes care of generation and hosting.

👉 GitHub Pages + Jekyll Docs

Advantages compared to Hugo

✅ Native integration with GitHub Pages – no plugins or external configurations needed

✅ Written in Ruby – easier to extend for those familiar with the Ruby ecosystem

✅ Maturity – large community, many themes available

✅ Simple folder structure – ideal for beginners using Git

Limitations

❌ Slower than Hugo – not as performant in generating large sites

❌ Ruby stack – if you’re not familiar with Ruby, installation or extensions may pose challenges

❌ Less frequent updates – Jekyll develops more slowly compared to other solutions

Simple setup example

1. Install Jekyll
   Official installation guide

2. Create a new site

   jekyll new myblog cd myblog bundle exec jekyll serve

3. Write posts in _posts/ – Markdown files with date and title in the name

4. Publish on GitHub Pages
   Push to a GitHub repository and enable GitHub Pages from Settings.

Themes and deployment

🔹 Official themes – many free and responsive

🔹 You can create your own theme or modify an existing one through Liquid layouts

🔹 Easy deployment: just commit & push on GitHub