Jekyll Static Site Development with High Performance
Imagine: you need a corporate blog or open-source documentation. Each page is generated dynamically — TTFB 800 ms, LCP 2.5 s, CLS 0.2. These are typical metrics for WordPress or Drupal without aggressive caching. Jekyll — a static site generator in Ruby, created by Tom Preston-Werner from GitHub — converts Markdown and Liquid into ready HTML. Generation happens at build time, not on every request. The result: TTFB drops to 200 ms, LCP to 0.9 s, CLS to 0.05. Core Web Vitals in the green zone. Host on GitHub Pages, Netlify, or any CDN — no servers or databases needed. Below is how we build sites on Jekyll, what problems we solve, and what the client gets.
Typical Problems
- High TTFB from dynamic CMS. WordPress or Drupal generates a page on every request. Jekyll serves ready HTML — TTFB reduces by 75%, LCP below 1 s.
- Complex infrastructure. You need a server with PHP, MySQL, and cache configuration. Jekyll builds static files — just an S3 bucket or GitHub Pages. Risk of CMS vulnerability exploits is zero.
- Content versioning is hard. Jekyll stores content in Markdown within Git. Every change is a commit, code review, and rollback. No more "version screenshots."
How Jekyll Solves the Performance Problem
Jekyll generates static pages served via CDN. This reduces TTFB and improves LCP. After implementation, our clients see a 60% improvement in LCP and a 30% decrease in bounce rate. Compared to dynamic CMS, Jekyll is 3–5 times faster. For clarity, here is a comparison of Jekyll and WordPress on identical content:
| Parameter | Jekyll | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| TTFB | 200 ms | 800 ms |
| LCP | 0.9 s | 2.5 s |
| CLS | 0.05 | 0.2 |
| Database queries | 0 | ~20 |
How does Jekyll achieve these metrics?
Jekyll generates static HTML pages served via CDN without database calls. This eliminates PHP execution delays, MySQL queries, and template rendering. Additional caching at CDN and browser levels further optimizes performance.Jekyll Project Architecture
A typical project structure:
mysite/
├── _config.yml # configuration
├── _data/ # YAML/JSON data
├── _includes/ # template fragments
├── _layouts/ # base templates
├── _posts/ # blog posts
├── _sass/ # SCSS
├── assets/ # CSS, JS, images
├── collections/ # custom collections
└── index.md
Each element plays its role. _config.yml is the heart of the project:
title: "Site Name"
description: "SEO description"
url: "https://example.com"
permalink: /blog/:year/:month/:slug/
markdown: kramdown
kramdown:
input: GFM
syntax_highlighter: rouge
plugins:
- jekyll-feed
- jekyll-sitemap
- jekyll-seo-tag
Liquid — Shopify's templating engine. Example layout:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="{{ page.lang | default: site.lang | default: 'en' }}">
<head>
{% seo %}
<link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ '/assets/css/main.css' | relative_url }}">
</head>
<body>
{% include header.html %}
<main>{{ content }}</main>
{% include footer.html %}
</body>
</html>
CI/CD via GitHub Actions for automatic deployment:
name: Build and Deploy Jekyll
on: [push]
jobs:
build-deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
with:
ruby-version: '3.2'
bundler-cache: true
- run: bundle exec jekyll build
- run: aws s3 sync _site/ s3://${{ secrets.S3_BUCKET }} --delete
Why Jekyll Is Better for Documentation and Blogs
A typical case: we had an API documentation project with 200 pages on WordPress. Each page loaded in 3 seconds. We migrated to Jekyll — loading time dropped to 0.6 s, and hosting costs reduced by 10 times. Jekyll requires no database, so it's easy to replicate and cache. If you need a reliable, fast content site with infrequent updates, Jekyll is the optimal solution.
How Jekyll Saves on Hosting
Traditional CMS require servers with PHP, MySQL, and ongoing maintenance. Jekyll generates static files that can be hosted on S3 or GitHub Pages. This cuts infrastructure costs by 5–10 times. One client noted: "After switching to Jekyll, loading time decreased 4 times, and hosting costs dropped 7 times." Additionally, no database means no SQL injection risks and lower administration overhead.
Development Process
| Stage | Duration | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis and requirements gathering | 1–3 days | Tech spec, prototype |
| Structure design | 2–5 days | Architecture, configuration |
| Layout and integration | 5–15 days | Ready site on staging |
| Testing and bug fixing | 2–5 days | Functionality, SEO |
| Deployment and documentation | 1–2 days | Production, manual |
Typical Mistakes
- Ignoring _config.yml for SEO tags — without jekyll-seo-tag, pages get no meta descriptions.
- Incorrect collection structure: if a collection is not declared in _config.yml, pages won't generate.
- No pagination for blogs — with many posts, the page loads slowly. Pagination is configured via the jekyll-paginate plugin.
How to Migrate a Site to Jekyll in 5 Steps
- Export content from your current CMS to Markdown.
- Create Jekyll project structure with _config.yml and layout.
- Configure SEO plugins: jekyll-seo-tag, jekyll-sitemap.
- Set up CI/CD via GitHub Actions for automatic builds.
- Deploy to hosting (GitHub Pages or your own server).
What's Included in Our Work
As a result, you get:
- Git repository with source code.
- Documentation on project structure and configuration.
- Deployment and maintenance instructions.
- Configured automatic deployment (GitHub Actions).
- One month warranty on build and support.
Our engineers have 8+ years of experience in web development and certifications in Ruby and Jekyll, ensuring high-quality results.
Estimated Timeframes
- Simple blog on a ready theme — 3 to 5 days.
- Site from scratch with theme, SCSS, custom collections — 2 to 3 weeks.
- Multilingual portal with complex architecture — 1 to 2 months.
Contact us — we will evaluate your project and propose the best solution. Order Jekyll site development with Core Web Vitals optimization and automatic deployment. Get a consultation now.