3 ms·

Switching to a static site generator seems like the way to go for lots of sites, especially blog-only ones. Are there any graphical SSGs that non-technical use

by pabs3 2y ago

Switching to a static site generator seems like the way to go for lots of sites, especially blog-only ones. Are there any graphical SSGs that non-technical users could run locally to generate a site and upload it to their web host?

jszymborski 2y ago
I haven't used it since forever ago, but Lektor [0] is this weird in between. You need to be able to pip install and run `lektor serve` in the terminal but most else is done in the browser. [0] https://www.getlektor.com/ https://www.getlektor.com/
- pabs3 2y ago
  Sounds more like WordPress than what I was thinking :)
- krapp 2y ago
  I used Lektor recently. I was OK but I found the editor UI awkward and things like tags and subjects difficult to manage, and there didn't seem to be much in the way of current support or a plugin ecosystem. Publishing directly to a server with Git push and only having html online was nice, though. I might go back to it. I switched to Wordpress but I blog so little it seems like overkill. AFAIK Lektor doesn't have a way to crosspost to Mastodon and I don't want to learn enough Python to write a plugin myself.
  - jszymborski 2y ago
    I used it not longer after it launched and it had (perhaps understandably) a lot of rough edges. I haven't bothered trying since I switched to Hugo.
burningChrome 2y ago
I've used Netlify for a while now for a lot of my basic static site customers. You can easily transfer a domain, they have automatic builds when you commit to several different source control vendors like Github or Gitlab. They have a ton of services and I was using them when they still a startup and Mathias used to personally answer your emails. Now they're pretty big and have a host of different services they offer. Their analytics are still in need of some help, but their services are rock solid and very, very affordable. They were really the first company to push the idea of JAMSTACK (Javascript, APIs, Markup) and have really been pushing that envelope ever since. They've also acquired several Y Combinator startups recently. https://www.netlify.com/ https://www.netlify.com/
kijin 2y ago
This is a big problem with the "blogging CMS" market. A technical person who just wants a blog can easily set up a SSG, or even write their own CRUD app, in just a couple of hours. So they don't really need a WordPress alternative. A non-technical person, on the other hand, will want (if not need) at least a few plugins and themes to set up a blog. Anything that can't be auto-installed on GoDaddy or requires manual file editing and/or shell commands is right out. Most of the alternatives are sorely missing in this department.
mikae1 2y ago
> Are there any graphical SSGs that non-technical users could run locally to generate a site and upload it to their web host? https://getpublii.com https://getpublii.com is amazing and it's strange it doesn't get more attention.
whyoh 2y ago
>especially blog-only ones I disagree. I think a blog should have comments. And I've yet to see a commenting system for static sites that is free and that works as well as WordPress.

by pabs3 2y ago

jszymborski 2y ago

I haven't used it since forever ago, but Lektor [0] is this weird in between. You need to be able to pip install and run `lektor serve` in the terminal but most else is done in the browser. [0] https://www.getlektor.com/ https://www.getlektor.com/

pabs3 2y ago
Sounds more like WordPress than what I was thinking :)
krapp 2y ago
I used Lektor recently. I was OK but I found the editor UI awkward and things like tags and subjects difficult to manage, and there didn't seem to be much in the way of current support or a plugin ecosystem. Publishing directly to a server with Git push and only having html online was nice, though. I might go back to it. I switched to Wordpress but I blog so little it seems like overkill. AFAIK Lektor doesn't have a way to crosspost to Mastodon and I don't want to learn enough Python to write a plugin myself.
- jszymborski 2y ago
  I used it not longer after it launched and it had (perhaps understandably) a lot of rough edges. I haven't bothered trying since I switched to Hugo.

burningChrome 2y ago

I've used Netlify for a while now for a lot of my basic static site customers. You can easily transfer a domain, they have automatic builds when you commit to several different source control vendors like Github or Gitlab. They have a ton of services and I was using them when they still a startup and Mathias used to personally answer your emails. Now they're pretty big and have a host of different services they offer. Their analytics are still in need of some help, but their services are rock solid and very, very affordable. They were really the first company to push the idea of JAMSTACK (Javascript, APIs, Markup) and have really been pushing that envelope ever since. They've also acquired several Y Combinator startups recently. https://www.netlify.com/ https://www.netlify.com/

kijin 2y ago

This is a big problem with the "blogging CMS" market. A technical person who just wants a blog can easily set up a SSG, or even write their own CRUD app, in just a couple of hours. So they don't really need a WordPress alternative. A non-technical person, on the other hand, will want (if not need) at least a few plugins and themes to set up a blog. Anything that can't be auto-installed on GoDaddy or requires manual file editing and/or shell commands is right out. Most of the alternatives are sorely missing in this department.

mikae1 2y ago

> Are there any graphical SSGs that non-technical users could run locally to generate a site and upload it to their web host? https://getpublii.com https://getpublii.com is amazing and it's strange it doesn't get more attention.

whyoh 2y ago

>especially blog-only ones I disagree. I think a blog should have comments. And I've yet to see a commenting system for static sites that is free and that works as well as WordPress.