4 ms·

My impression has always been that all sites generated using static generators are developer and documentation sites, with a few exceptions of sites that develo

My impression has always been that all sites generated using static generators are developer and documentation sites, with a few exceptions of sites that developers set up for other people. Have static site generators penetrated anywhere outside of developers?

aclave1 9y ago
I've used https://www.metalsmith.io https://www.metalsmith.io to make a few static sites for local events and small local businesses. It's really great for that type of thing but I am also a developer. I don't see static site generators gaining mass appeal unless they can be configured and published from a gui.
selrond 9y ago
Exactly my concern as well. But then, there are projects like this that are starting to appear: Netlify CMS | Open-Source Content Management System: https://www.netlifycms.org/ https://www.netlifycms.org/
s3nnyy 9y ago
It seems also to me that Wordpress is still king.
stefanjudis 9y ago
There are several use cases for static sites that are not docs. It is true though, that the user base is more developer oriented. This is because we don't have this easy/rich "install a theme" for the static site world (yet). When you want to have a custom, well performing and secure site with a server-side CMS that renders HTML you need developers, too. And you have to maintain the system constantly. Static sites have low maintenance, are fast and don't need updates. These are things only developers care about. ;) And with services like e.g. Contentful (disclaimer – I work for Contentful) you can edit the content in a familiar interface, rebuild your site immediately when content changes (via web hooks) and don't have to worry about any system updates or response times. And it doesn't feel static. ;) The most famous example I can think of is https://www.smashingmagazine.com https://www.smashingmagazine.com. You can find a few more here: https://jamstack.org/examples/ https://jamstack.org/examples/ So I guess they will gain more and more popularity in the near future.
mhd 9y ago
Do they have to be your average markdown template mass generators or do older "HTML helpers" that used e.g. m4, cpp or some ad hock template language count? I think blosxom had a static output mode way back when. (And regarding this one: Still not a fan of JSX, it's basically PHP/JSP all over again)
j_s 9y ago
There are a few WordPress plugins to generate static sites, but I haven't heard much about them here on HN. I don't know if any are specifically intended to be easy to use by non-developers. These plugins tend to die due to lack of maintenance.
- kylemathews 9y ago
  Gatsby has a unique data system that let's you easily build static sites with WordPress/Drupal/other CMSes * https://www.gatsbyjs.org/packages/gatsby-source-wordpress/ https://www.gatsbyjs.org/packages/gatsby-source-wordpress/ * https://using-wordpress.gatsbyjs.org/ https://using-wordpress.gatsbyjs.org/
  - j_s 9y ago
    This doesn't pull the layout over, does it? It looks like it can grab the content (including images) from the WordPress API which is nice.
    - kylemathews 9y ago
      Yeah exactly — it lets you grab content/data/images via the WordPress API.
jstanley 9y ago
Isn't "developers, and sites that developers set up for other people" ~all of the websites in the world?
- mattmanser 9y ago
  No, hasn't been true for years now. Putting aside sites like Wix, you can easily start a wordpress site these days in a few clicks.
jatsign 9y ago
I use Hugo for a blog. Works well, decent free themes available. https://gohugo.io/ https://gohugo.io/
moeamaya 9y ago
Ueno is a well known design agency in San Francisco, and the recently wrote about how they convince clients to use Contentful and Static over Wordpress: https://loremipsum.ueno.co/the-wordpress-question-355b4a2b7519 https://loremipsum.ueno.co/the-wordpress-question-355b4a2b75.... We're doing the exact same thing and have built quite a few sites to date: http://htmlcolorcodes.com/ http://htmlcolorcodes.com/ https://wordcounter.io/ https://wordcounter.io/

aclave1 9y ago

I've used https://www.metalsmith.io https://www.metalsmith.io to make a few static sites for local events and small local businesses. It's really great for that type of thing but I am also a developer. I don't see static site generators gaining mass appeal unless they can be configured and published from a gui.

selrond 9y ago

Exactly my concern as well. But then, there are projects like this that are starting to appear: Netlify CMS | Open-Source Content Management System: https://www.netlifycms.org/ https://www.netlifycms.org/

s3nnyy 9y ago

It seems also to me that Wordpress is still king.

stefanjudis 9y ago

There are several use cases for static sites that are not docs. It is true though, that the user base is more developer oriented. This is because we don't have this easy/rich "install a theme" for the static site world (yet). When you want to have a custom, well performing and secure site with a server-side CMS that renders HTML you need developers, too. And you have to maintain the system constantly. Static sites have low maintenance, are fast and don't need updates. These are things only developers care about. ;) And with services like e.g. Contentful (disclaimer – I work for Contentful) you can edit the content in a familiar interface, rebuild your site immediately when content changes (via web hooks) and don't have to worry about any system updates or response times. And it doesn't feel static. ;) The most famous example I can think of is https://www.smashingmagazine.com https://www.smashingmagazine.com. You can find a few more here: https://jamstack.org/examples/ https://jamstack.org/examples/ So I guess they will gain more and more popularity in the near future.

mhd 9y ago

Do they have to be your average markdown template mass generators or do older "HTML helpers" that used e.g. m4, cpp or some ad hock template language count? I think blosxom had a static output mode way back when. (And regarding this one: Still not a fan of JSX, it's basically PHP/JSP all over again)

j_s 9y ago

There are a few WordPress plugins to generate static sites, but I haven't heard much about them here on HN. I don't know if any are specifically intended to be easy to use by non-developers. These plugins tend to die due to lack of maintenance.

kylemathews 9y ago
Gatsby has a unique data system that let's you easily build static sites with WordPress/Drupal/other CMSes * https://www.gatsbyjs.org/packages/gatsby-source-wordpress/ https://www.gatsbyjs.org/packages/gatsby-source-wordpress/ * https://using-wordpress.gatsbyjs.org/ https://using-wordpress.gatsbyjs.org/
- j_s 9y ago
  This doesn't pull the layout over, does it? It looks like it can grab the content (including images) from the WordPress API which is nice.
  - kylemathews 9y ago
    Yeah exactly — it lets you grab content/data/images via the WordPress API.

jstanley 9y ago

Isn't "developers, and sites that developers set up for other people" ~all of the websites in the world?

mattmanser 9y ago
No, hasn't been true for years now. Putting aside sites like Wix, you can easily start a wordpress site these days in a few clicks.

jatsign 9y ago

I use Hugo for a blog. Works well, decent free themes available. https://gohugo.io/ https://gohugo.io/

moeamaya 9y ago

Ueno is a well known design agency in San Francisco, and the recently wrote about how they convince clients to use Contentful and Static over Wordpress: https://loremipsum.ueno.co/the-wordpress-question-355b4a2b7519 https://loremipsum.ueno.co/the-wordpress-question-355b4a2b75.... We're doing the exact same thing and have built quite a few sites to date: http://htmlcolorcodes.com/ http://htmlcolorcodes.com/ https://wordcounter.io/ https://wordcounter.io/