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11ty

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11ty vs Hugo: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this Markdown code for a website, we will be discussing the key differences between 11ty and Hugo, two popular static site generators.

  1. Template Language: One major difference between 11ty and Hugo is the template language they use. 11ty utilizes JavaScript as its primary templating language, allowing developers to leverage the full power and flexibility of JavaScript for dynamic content generation. On the other hand, Hugo uses its own template language called Go templates, which is less powerful than JavaScript but provides a simpler syntax for static site generation.

  2. Language Support: Another key difference is the range of languages supported by each static site generator. 11ty has broad language support and can handle various programming languages, including JavaScript, TypeScript, and HTML, making it versatile for different projects. In contrast, Hugo is primarily focused on supporting the Go programming language, limiting its usage to developers proficient in Go.

  3. Ease of Use: Ease of use is a differentiating factor between 11ty and Hugo. 11ty offers a more beginner-friendly approach with minimal configuration required and a simple project setup. Its simplicity and intuitive documentation make it accessible for developers of all skill levels. On the other hand, Hugo has a steeper learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with the Go programming language. It requires more configuration and setup, making it better suited for experienced developers.

  4. Performance: Performance is an essential aspect when choosing a static site generator. Both 11ty and Hugo are known for their fast build times, but Hugo generally outperforms 11ty in terms of speed. Hugo's compilation speed is significantly faster due to its simplified template language and efficient caching mechanism. However, the choice between the two generators should also consider other factors and project requirements beyond just performance.

  5. Community and Ecosystem: The size and activity of the community surrounding a static site generator can greatly impact its development and support. 11ty has a smaller but growing community compared to Hugo. While this may result in fewer community-made plugins and themes, 11ty's community is known for its helpfulness and developer-friendly atmosphere. On the other hand, Hugo benefits from its large and established community, offering a wider range of plugins, themes, and resources for developers to utilize.

  6. Customization Flexibility: The level of customization flexibility also varies between 11ty and Hugo. 11ty allows developers to easily extend and customize their website through JavaScript, providing a high degree of flexibility. On the other hand, Hugo has a more opinionated structure and limited extensibility options, making it less customizable compared to 11ty.

In summary, the key differences between 11ty and Hugo lie in their template languages, language support, ease of use, performance, community and ecosystem, and customization flexibility. These factors should be carefully considered based on project requirements when selecting the most suitable static site generator.

Decisions about 11ty and Hugo
Manuel Feller
Frontend Engineer at BI X · | 4 upvotes · 159.9K views

As a Frontend Developer I wanted something simple to generate static websites with technology I am familiar with. GatsbyJS was in the stack I am familiar with, does not need any other languages / package managers and allows quick content deployment in pure HTML or Markdown (what you prefer for a project). It also does not require you to understand a theming engine if you need a custom design.

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Pros of 11ty
Pros of Hugo
  • 4
    Flexibility on choosing template
  • 3
    Great use of data files/sources
  • 3
    Flexible, allows progressive conversion of templates
  • 3
    Content decoupled as much as possible from Eleventy
  • 2
    Zero boilerplate client-side JavaScript
  • 47
    Lightning fast
  • 29
    Single Executable
  • 26
    Easy setup
  • 24
    Great development community
  • 23
    Open source
  • 13
    Write in golang
  • 8
    Not HTML only - JSON, RSS
  • 8
    Hacker mindset
  • 7
    LiveReload built in
  • 4
    Gitlab pages integration
  • 4
    Easy to customize themes
  • 4
    Very fast builds
  • 3
    Well documented
  • 3
    Fast builds
  • 3
    Easy to learn

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Cons of 11ty
Cons of Hugo
    Be the first to leave a con
    • 4
      No Plugins/Extensions
    • 2
      Template syntax not friendly
    • 1
      Quick builds

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    - No public GitHub repository available -

    What is 11ty?

    A simpler static site generator. An alternative to Jekyll. Written in JavaScript. Transforms a directory of templates (of varying types) into HTML. Works with HTML, Markdown, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, and JavaScript Template Literals.

    What is Hugo?

    Hugo is a static site generator written in Go. It is optimized for speed, easy use and configurability. Hugo takes a directory with content and templates and renders them into a full html website. Hugo makes use of markdown files with front matter for meta data.

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    What companies use 11ty?
    What companies use Hugo?
    See which teams inside your own company are using 11ty or Hugo.
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    What tools integrate with 11ty?
    What tools integrate with Hugo?

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    What are some alternatives to 11ty and Hugo?
    Jekyll
    Think of Jekyll as a file-based CMS, without all the complexity. Jekyll takes your content, renders Markdown and Liquid templates, and spits out a complete, static website ready to be served by Apache, Nginx or another web server. Jekyll is the engine behind GitHub Pages, which you can use to host sites right from your GitHub repositories.
    Hexo
    Hexo is a fast, simple and powerful blog framework. It parses your posts with Markdown or other render engine and generates static files with the beautiful theme. All of these just take seconds.
    Metalsmith
    In Metalsmith, all of the logic is handled by plugins. You simply chain them together. Since everything is a plugin, the core library is actually just an abstraction for manipulating a directory of files.
    Gatsby
    Gatsby lets you build blazing fast sites with your data, whatever the source. Liberate your sites from legacy CMSs and fly into the future.
    VuePress
    A minimalistic static site generator with a Vue-powered theming system, and a default theme optimized for writing technical documentation. It was created to support the documentation needs of Vue's own sub projects.
    See all alternatives