There are many choices when it comes to building a website or blog, catering to every level of technical knowledge. It can be overwhelming, especially because once you’ve chosen one, you probably won’t want to migrate to another one in the near future.
This post compares two of the heavyweights: WordPress and Jekyll.
Both are open source and very capable platforms, but with significant usability differences. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that creates dynamic websites, with tens of thousands of plug-ins that expand the functionality of the site. Jekyll is a static site generator, so you build sites by generating static files (such as HTML) with your computer’s command line, and as such, there isn’t a database.
While WordPress’s popularity isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, its position as an all-around system means there are instances where it offers more than you need. Like having a full toolbox when you just need a screwdriver. Jekyll, and other lightweight alternatives, offer a stripped-back experience that aims to provide only what you need, and no more.
This piece will compare WordPress and Jekyll on the following:
- Main features
- Security
- Speed
- Stability
- Flexibility
- Design
- Support
Main Features
The main difference between the two platforms is that WordPress is a CMS that builds dynamic sites, and Jekyll is a static-site generator reliant on command line-generated files.
Both can create simple blogs or full websites, with navigation and multimedia. As it lacks dynamic features, Jekyll can’t provide tailored recommendations or user comments.
Both platforms are also free and open-source, although there are various ways to spend money with WordPress. A self-hosted site will have hosting fees, which can vary widely, and you may choose to buy premium WordPress themes and plug-ins to get your site looking and working exactly as you want. Jekyll can be hosted for free on the GitHub servers.
One major difference between WordPress and Jekyll is who they appeal to. Jekyll is likely to be more appealing to the person with some coding knowledge who is happy to spend time on the command line. WordPress, by contrast, has a graphical user interface and a database, and it’s beginner-friendly once you’re past the initial learning curve that any new platform has.
Security
You may have heard horror stories about how WordPress sites get hacked or targeted by cyberattacks, which can give the impression that WordPress itself isn’t secure.
The good news is that this isn’t true. WordPress Core is run by a highly skillful team who release regular updates to fix any vulnerabilities and security threats. Just keeping your WordPress site updated will go a long way toward staying safe and secure.
WordPress also allows you to install a wide range of themes and plug-ins, tweaking every aspect of design and functionality. Unfortunately, these are not all equal. As they’re created by third-parties, there’s variety in how stable and secure they are. It’s a good idea to stick to reputable names and the official WordPress directories.
To further increase peace of mind, you can add security plug-ins such as Wordfence that regularly scan for malware.
The standard rules of online security come into play here: Use strong passwords, choose a secure hosting provider, and keep WordPress, plug-ins, and themes up to date.
As a static site generator, Jekyll doesn’t need regular updates. Unlike WordPress, there’s simply nothing for a hacker to exploit. Because Jekyll’s files are stored locally, your main risk is if someone gains access to your computer.
You can also store backups of the files in a cloud-based storage solution such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or iCloud. The static files take up trivial amounts of space, and if ever your site is compromised, you can simply download the files from the cloud and put them back on the server to regenerate your site.
Speed
While it’s not like comparing a Formula One car to a bicycle, this one isn’t exactly a fair fight. For all the speed optimizations WordPress offers, Jekyll loads static sites, which are fast.
That’s not to say WordPress is slow, however. It can also be very fast, particularly with a good hosting provider and a well-chosen speed plug-in. The size of your site will also play a part; loading a simple, small blog is different from loading a huge landing page with lots of images, videos, and other resource-heavy elements.
Nonetheless, there’s no getting away from the fact that WordPress is a dynamic site builder that loads from a database. Jekyll loads very small static files, and it can be sped up even further by using plug-ins such as ImageOptim API.
Stability
WordPress and Jekyll are both secure platforms. As already noted, WordPress Core is managed by a skillful and dedicated team, so new updates are regular and impactful.
One area where WordPress’s stability can be called into question is when there’s a significant spike in traffic. On a dynamic site, the content has to be processed, and queries are sent to the database on the server. Higher traffic means more and more demands on the server, which can result in extremely slow rendering times or the site crashing entirely. This doesn’t damage the site, but it can be a frustrating user experience.
Another point of consideration is that individual plug-ins can stop working properly on WordPress. This can sometimes affect the entire site, or it can cause specific components to stop working, such as widgets not loading correctly.
Static-site generators like Jekyll don’t have the problem caused by traffic spikes, because each page is pre-rendered, and the per-visitor demands on the server are much lower.
Flexibility
It could be argued that if you looked up “flexibility” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of the WordPress logo next to it. Remember Apple TV commercials for the iPhone’s App Store, the ones that said “There’s an app for that”? Well, it’s a similar story with WordPress—whatever you want to do, there’s probably a plug-in for it, from Google Analytics to Facebook Pixel.
You don’t necessarily have to rely on those plug-ins. If you’re comfortable with code, you can edit the CSS directly or add custom code without touching the main CSS file. Some companies, such as Thrive Themes, even let you create your own theme in a completely no-code environment. If that’s still more hands-on than you’d like, you can simply install one of the many, many thousands of free or premium themes available. And there are the very popular page builders, giving additional flexibility to individual pages without having to create your own theme. Elementor, Themify, and Thrive Themes are a few popular examples.
This flexibility also means WordPress can be almost anything you want it to be. Simple blog? Yes. Landing page with opt-in form? Absolutely. Membership plug-in with gated content? Easy. Forum? Not a problem. E-commerce website for selling digital or physical goods? Of course.
Jekyll is no slouch in the flexibility department either. Users with little or no coding experience will find it difficult, but experienced developers will be able to do almost anything through the code, from shifting the logo by a single pixel to nailing the overall design.
As a static site generator, Jekyll has limitations compared to WordPress. It’s not possible to create a forum on Jekyll directly, for instance, and although you could include e-commerce solutions, they’re suitable only for smaller projects.
Jekyll has a library of themes and plug-ins to choose from, but not nearly as many as WordPress offers.
Design
In many ways, this section will be largely influenced by your preference. Both WordPress and Jekyll sites can build beautiful sites in almost any design you want.
Some people will find it an advantage that WordPress has a graphical user interface and CMS, while others will prefer Jekyll’s command line interface.
Both display multimedia, although WordPress allows you to do some basic image editing on the platform, whereas Jekyll doesn’t. This might be a slight advantage for some.
There are a lot of themes and plug-ins available for both platforms, too, giving you a quicker way of getting the design you want without building it from scratch. WordPress does have a far bigger library of both, though, so the design edge may have to go to the CMS here.
Support
Jekyll has multiple support options: official documentation, discussions on the Jekyll Forum and StackOverflow, as well as a Gitter channel and IRC channel on Freenode. Aside from the documentation, the support is dependent on the community, which is an active one.
WordPress also has documentation, as well as official community forums. For sites hosted by WordPress, there is the option to talk to customer support on the phone. Because of its popularity, there are a lot of options for WordPress support, from hosting platforms to independent technical support companies.
Conclusion
WordPress and Jekyll are both mature and highly capable platforms. There are broad similarities between the two, but there’s enough of a difference in usability and features that picking the right one for you is likely to be a fairly easy decision to make.
If you’re not experienced with code, want a CMS or graphical user interface, or want access to all of the themes and official plug-ins, WordPress is probably going to be your preference. You’ll need to stay on top of updates to keep the site secure, and you may also want to consider paying for monthly tech support to ensure everything—including plug-ins—stays up to date and to benefit from security and malware scans and from better hosting to prevent downtime from traffic spikes.
On the other hand, if your ultimate preference is speed or security—and you’re comfortable with code and community support—Jekyll might be the way to go. The fact that it’s low-cost or free is persuasive, too.
By Richard White
Richard is a communications expert with over a decade of experience across B2B and B2C. He currently manages marketing content at Draft.dev.
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