Jekyll

Jekyll is a simple, blog-aware static site generator built in Ruby that transforms your plain text files into static websites and blogs. It’s one of the most popular static site generators and is widely used with GitHub Pages to build and deploy personal websites, project pages, blogs, and more. Jekyll’s flexibility and simplicity make it an excellent choice for developers looking for an easy and efficient way to create fast, secure, and maintainable websites.

Whether you’re new to static site generation or a seasoned web developer, this page will guide you through everything you need to know to get started with Jekyll, optimize your workflow, and build high-quality static websites.

What You’ll Find Here:

• Introduction to Jekyll: Learn what Jekyll is, its features, and why it’s a great choice for building static websites. Understand how it fits into the broader ecosystem of static site generators and how it compares to other tools like Hugo or Gatsby.
• Setting Up Jekyll: Discover how to install Jekyll on your local machine and configure it for development. Learn how to create a new Jekyll site and set up your site’s folder structure, including _config.yml for settings and configuration.
• Jekyll Directory Structure: Understand the structure of a Jekyll site, including key folders like _posts, _layouts, _includes, and _data. Learn how these components work together to generate dynamic content and pages.
• Writing Content in Jekyll: Learn how to write and organize content in Jekyll using Markdown for posts and pages. Discover how to manage categories, tags, and front matter to control metadata for your content.
• Layouts and Templates in Jekyll: Explore how to create layouts and templates to define the structure of your website. Learn how to use Liquid templating language to insert dynamic content and create reusable components.
• Jekyll Themes: Discover how to use and customize Jekyll themes to quickly set up a beautiful website. Learn how to modify an existing theme or create your own theme from scratch to suit your project’s needs.
• Adding Plugins to Jekyll: Learn how to enhance your Jekyll site with plugins that add extra functionality, such as SEO, pagination, image optimization, and more. Explore the Jekyll Plugin ecosystem and how to install and configure plugins in your site.
• Jekyll and GitHub Pages: Learn how to deploy your Jekyll site to GitHub Pages, a free hosting service for static websites. Understand how to configure GitHub Pages and connect it with your Jekyll repository for seamless deployment.
• Jekyll Data Files: Discover how to use data files (.yml, .json, .csv) in Jekyll to store structured data and access it dynamically within your site’s templates. Learn how to use data for dynamic content like team members, products, and blog categories.
• Jekyll Collections: Learn how to create custom collections in Jekyll for managing non-post content like projects, portfolio items, or events. Understand how to create, structure, and display collection items on your site.
• Pagination in Jekyll: Discover how to implement pagination in your Jekyll site, allowing you to break up long lists of posts, articles, or projects into smaller, more manageable pages.
• SEO Optimization for Jekyll: Learn how to optimize your Jekyll site for search engines with best practices for metadata, URL structure, content organization, and schema markup.
• Customizing Jekyll with Sass: Learn how to integrate Sass (Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets) with Jekyll to streamline your CSS workflow. Discover how to use Sass variables, mixins, and partials for cleaner and more maintainable styles.
• Building and Deploying Jekyll Sites: Explore how to build your Jekyll site for production and deploy it to hosting platforms like Netlify, AWS, or your own server. Learn how to use CI/CD pipelines to automate the build and deployment process.
• Jekyll Performance Optimization: Discover techniques for improving the performance of your Jekyll site, including image optimization, minimizing HTTP requests, and leveraging caching for faster page loads.
• Debugging Jekyll: Learn common issues you may encounter while working with Jekyll and how to debug them, including error handling and troubleshooting configuration or plugin problems.
• Advanced Jekyll Techniques: Explore advanced topics like creating custom filters, building dynamic data-driven pages, and integrating Jekyll with third-party services or APIs to extend its functionality.
• Jekyll Best Practices: Discover best practices for writing efficient, maintainable, and scalable Jekyll code, including proper file organization, code commenting, and structuring your layouts and templates for easy updates.

Jekyll is an incredibly versatile tool for generating static websites and blogs. Whether you're creating a personal blog or a complex website, this page will help you harness Jekyll’s full potential and create a seamless, optimized user experience.