Company
Date Published
Author
Netlify
Word count
1938
Language
English
Hacker News points
2

Summary

Static site generators have a rich history, dating back to the early days of the web. They emerged as an alternative to Content Management Systems (CMS), which became popular due to their ease of use and non-technical user interface. However, CMSs were criticized for being slow and clunky, leading to the resurgence of static sites. Static site generators provide a lightweight and flexible solution, decoupling the build phase from hosting, and integrating with modern frontend workflows. They offer features like version control, security, scalability, and performance improvements, making them an attractive option for developers and non-technical users alike. The landscape is evolving, with trends including CLI development, zero-config workflows, interface improvement for non-technical users, and the integration of serverless functions. As a result, static site generators are likely to remain a mainstay in the web development ecosystem, offering ease of use and performance improvements for creating websites.