Ask HN: Help choose a static site generator

[wtmt]

I'm technically proficient but haven't programmed in a long while (used to be a programmer). I haven't learned Python, Ruby, JavaScript, etc. I do know HTML somewhat well and can manage CSS a bit.

I'd like to use a static site generator for a small/medium site and have read about them, including Jekyll, Pelican, Octopress, Middleman, Punch, Wintersmith, Frog, Hugo and some others.

I narrowed down to Wintersmith because of its perceived flexibility and then learned about Frog and Hugo. I tend to struggle with such decisions and don't want to spend a lot of time on one without knowing more about others. I'm sure many will say that there's it's a personal thing, but I would like to seek opinions from people who have used different site generators. I did try a bit of Middleman and Punch but didn't like either much.

Considering:

1. Wintersmith (offers a plugin architecture)

2. Frog (Racket looks different, LISPy and maybe something cool to learn if I need to)

3. Hugo (says that site generation is very quick)

4. Anything else...?

My requirements:

1. Easy to learn templating language (preferably closer to HTML than something that's translated to HTML).

2. Allow meta tags for individual pages/posts so that SEO information can be easily included.

3. Includes Twitter Bootstrap templates or has such templates available since I struggle with design.

4. Should not just be focused on blogs. It should allow individual pages (unrelated articles, sections) as well as blog posts (with categories and/or tags).

5. Good defaults so that I can focus on writing stuff and not spend a lot of time on learning about the generator (at least initially).

6. Easy setup and simplicity are preferred.

7. Optional: Support for formats beyond Markdown (or different flavors of Markdown) would be nice.

[hedwall]

I think the Jekyll Bootstrap project[0] might be helpful, or maybe the follow up project Ruhoh[1].

[0] http://jekyllbootstrap.com/ [1] http://ruhoh.com/

[spf13]

Hugo meets all of your requirements.

It averages ~1ms per page created (hundreds of times faster than most alternatives).

It also boast the easiest installation of all SSGs. Simply download the executable and run. No package managers or dependencies needed.

Hugo is not focused on blogs, but has all the features you would need for any website. Sections & flexible taxonomies are built in. Hugo has support for as many different content types you want.

Hugo defaults are sane and no configuration (other than baseUrl) is needed for most sites.

Learn more at http://hugo.spf13.com

[polyrahul]

Docpad http://docpad.org/docs/intro - meets all your requirements and then some more.

[techdragon]

I also use docpad, its up to the task if you pick the correct starting skelleton

[lugg]

Mobile friendly should be an important consideration also.

[mendelk]

This site[0] bills itself as "The definitive listing of Static Site Generators — all 242 of them!"

There, that should make your life much harder! :)

[0] http://staticsitegenerators.net/

[cabbeer]

I went through the same phase, Don't over think it. I would recommend just using Jekyll and starting to code. (or jekyll bootstrap if you don't want to customize your blog too much)

[hkarthik]

I played with a few of these and being proficient in Ruby, I went with Middleman. I liked WinterSmith but the source being in CoffeeScript turned me off slightly.

[reyvantiki]

Highly recommend Middleman or Jekyll. Find an open sourced Jekyll theme you like and build off that. Tumblr can also get the job done

[ApolloRising]

Nanoc would be another you can try http://nanoc.ws/

[barryhand]

http://www.statamic.com is a great option

[neilkinnish]

You could try Mixture.io has everything you listed and more

[antonwinter]

perhaps not exactly what you asked for , but my sideproject might be useful. it spits out a static template that looks quite nice.

www.landinggear.me

[gregmolnar]

I can recommend jekyll.