Static websites seemed so limited when learnt languages like ASP.NET & PHP. It just seemed like a much better way to write static content in a easier and more managable way.
You have frameworks such WordPress, Drupal & Joomla, I call it a framework even though it isn't technically a framework, it is a content management system, which offer a great amount of management over your website content.
As soon as I found out about Jekyll & Github Pages, I was hooked immediately.
Although, it doesn't provide nearly as many features as WordPress, it does boast nearly 800 contributors on Github. It is also very simple and efficient to setup as it is a CMS using files instead.
That's right! No database is backing this application. You simply install jekyll using the following commands:
˜ $ gem install jekyll bundler
˜ $ jekyll new my-awesome-site
˜ $ cd my-awesome-site
˜/my-awesome-site $ bundle exec jekyll serve
# => now browse to http://localhost:4000
Let's talk about why static websites are such are great idea to use whenever you can:
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Secure
As it doesn't have a backend, there isn't any way to use SQL Injection.
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Easy Setup
To setup a Jekyll application, all you need is Ruby installed on your local PC and you can start creating static pages.
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Great for Prototyping or Blogging
Due to it's markup language using HTML or Markdown, it's extremely easy to write blog posts or even just get some prototype designs done, so a user can see it.
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Free Hosting
You get free website hosting from Github (also known as Github Pages) using Jekyll.
If you would like to get setup and start using Jekyll today, go to my git repository and clone my Jekyll Boilerplate which will include sample files to get started, a custom free theme, and a task runner to compile all asset files.