Static Site Generators Are Easy to Use…Right?

15 Aug 2022 | ~2 minute read

I’ve had this post in my drafts folder for *months* now Actually, it’s ever since I realised how hard it is to manage content with Static Site Generator, and flipped back to WordPress.

I had some rough notes, but never got around to writing the post out in a long-form. Here’s my notes:

• Hear all the time that SSGs are easy to setup and simple to get going with.
• Sure, like pinning a broken bone is easy for a surgeon. Devs don’t realise that is a massive barrier for entry for anyone who isn’t a dev.
• Most people struggle with the concept of FTP’ing files to a server, let alone CI/CD, Git, layouts, markdown and front matter.
• Oh you wanna write a post? Sure, open a text editor and type out all the meta data first. Many people just want something they can log into, type a post and hit publish.
• I know CMS’s exist for SSG’s, but they’re can’t be easily deployed by most people.
• I’m not against SSG’s. I think they’re incredible pieces of software, which I use myself for certain projects, but please stop saying they’re simple to use, because they are not.

Then I read a post by Florens Verschelde, entitled Static Site Generators, where he said everything I wanted to say and then some. So why re-invent the wheel?

It turns out that static site generators are terrible at handling content. Which is too bad, because that’s one of their very few features to begin with.

– Florens Verschelde

I know there are many people who read this blog and use Static Site Generators. What do you think? Are Florens and I missing something here? Please let me know by using the reply by email button below.

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