Static Site Generators

So what is a Static Site Generator (SSG)? It something in between a Content Management System (CMS) and the old fashioned static site, which you would code in your text editor.  You generate a static website using raw data (Markdown, for example) and templates. SSG will have a build process which will generate all the files and folders for your site. There advantages and a few downsides to this.

Advantages of using a SSG:

1. Performance: static sites are blazing fast, much faster then sites using a CMS
2. Hardly any Dependencies: they can be hosted anywhere with minimal configuration
3. Security: since there is no back-end potential vulnerabilities are minimal
4. Version Control: easily integrated with version control and unit testing
5. Reliability:  with no database involved site is likely to be more stable 

Disadvantages of using a SSG:

1. No Back-end: for example, if you need a shopping cart you would need an 3rd party solution
2. Large Sites: Managing a very large site with an SSG may be impractical
3. No GUI Interface: editing a markdown file may be too complicated for some clients
4. Setup: Initial setup can be a bit challenging, build process, deployment scripts etc. 
5. Too many options: there is a bunch of SSG's to chose from which can be overwhelming 

Some of the most popular ones are:

1. Jekyll
2. Hugo
3. Gatsby
4. Nuxt
5. Metalsmith
6. MKDocs
7. Octopress
8. Pelican
9. Middleman
10. Wintersmith

As always, thanks for stopping by and keep coding!