Getting Started with Jekyll
Introduction
Jekyll is a simple, blog-aware, static site generator perfect for personal, project, or organization sites. It’s the engine behind GitHub Pages, which means you can host your Jekyll site for free on GitHub.
Why Choose Jekyll?
There are several reasons why Jekyll stands out:
- Simplicity: No database, no comments to moderate, no updates to install
- Static: Fast, secure, and easy to deploy
- Blog-aware: Built-in support for permalinks, categories, pages, posts
- GitHub Integration: Free hosting with GitHub Pages
Basic Setup
Getting started with Jekyll is straightforward:
gem install bundler jekyll
jekyll new my-awesome-site
cd my-awesome-site
bundle exec jekyll serve
Key Concepts
Front Matter
Every Jekyll page starts with front matter - YAML formatted metadata:
---
layout: post
title: "My Post Title"
date: 2025-01-13
categories: jekyll update
---
Layouts
Layouts are templates that wrap around your content. They live in the _layouts directory and allow you to have a consistent structure across your site.
Includes
Reusable components that can be included in your layouts or pages. They’re stored in the _includes directory.
Creating Content
Posts go in the _posts directory with the naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md
Pages can be created as standalone markdown or HTML files.
Conclusion
Jekyll provides a powerful yet simple way to create static websites. Whether you’re building a personal blog, documentation site, or portfolio, Jekyll offers the flexibility and simplicity you need.
Stay tuned for more Jekyll tips and tricks!