Your Jekyll site looks like the default Minima theme, but your brand needs a custom layout and specific styling. Out-of-the-box themes rarely fit perfectly. You could build a theme from scratch, but that takes time and effort. We offer Jekyll theme customization: from overriding templates to implementing custom SCSS and plugins. Over the past five years, we've completed more than 20 Jekyll projects — from simple blogs to multi-page sites with over 5,000 pages. Customization saves up to 40% development time versus building a theme from scratch, and the resulting site runs 30% faster than typical CMS solutions.
Problems We Solve
Gem-based vs. Remote theme limitations. Gem-based themes (e.g., Minima) store templates in the Ruby gems directory, making overrides less obvious. Remote themes (e.g., Minimal Mistakes) clone templates during build, but overriding partials can be tricky. We handle both approaches and know the quirks.
SCSS variable conflicts. Many themes define global variables that are hard to change without breaking the cascade. We use custom SCSS or CSS custom properties to ensure your brand colors apply consistently.
Missing components. Standard themes often lack a table of contents, custom call-to-action banners, or complex navigation. We create custom includes and layouts without touching the core theme files.
How We Do It (Expertise in Action)
On a recent project for a large documentation site (500+ pages), we customized the Minimal Mistakes theme. The client wanted a branded color scheme, a sidebar table of contents on every post, and a version warning banner for outdated articles. We:
- Overrode the default layout (
_layouts/post.html) to include a conditional TOC partial.
- Customized SCSS variables in
_sass/minimal-mistakes/_variables.scss (copied from the gem) to match the brand palette.
- Added a custom include (
_includes/version-warning.html) for the banner.
Results: Build time remained under 4 minutes (with incremental builds), and the site consistently scores 95+ on Lighthouse performance.
Our typical stack: Jekyll 4.2+, Ruby 3.0+, SCSS, Liquid, and Git for version control.
Process Overview
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Analysis — We review your current theme and list required changes.
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Design — We choose the customization strategy (gem-based or remote).
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Configuration — We set up
_config.yml and Gemfile with the correct theme version.
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Template Override — We copy and edit layouts, includes, and partials.
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Style Customization — We implement custom SCSS/CSS, often using custom properties.
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Component Development — We create missing includes (TOC, banners, etc.).
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Testing — We verify the build locally and on CI (e.g., GitHub Actions).
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Deployment — We push the final site to your hosting.
Timelines
| Scope |
Duration |
| Simple configuration and CSS changes |
1–2 days |
| Template overrides and custom components |
3–5 days |
Precise estimates depend on the complexity of the theme and your requirements. We determine the cost after analysis — typically not more than $X. Contact us for a free estimate.
What's Included
- Analysis of current theme and list of changes
- Configuration of
_config.yml and Gemfile
- Override of templates (layouts, includes)
- Customization of styles (SCSS, CSS custom properties)
- Addition of custom components (partials)
- Integration of analytics and comments (if needed)
- Testing across all pages
- Instructions for theme updates
- Access to the project repository
Common Mistakes (Details)
Click to expand
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File name conflicts: Copied files must match the exact path and name of the original, or Jekyll won't pick them up.
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Outdated variables: When updating a theme, some variables may be removed or renamed.
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Dependency issues: Some plugins require explicit inclusion in
Gemfile. We always run bundle exec jekyll serve --verbose to diagnose build errors.
We have been working with Jekyll for more than five years and have delivered over 20 static site projects. We guarantee that your site will meet your expectations and Core Web Vitals. Order Jekyll theme customization — get a modern static site.
For reference: Jekyll is a popular static site generator used for blogs and documentation.
Choosing a Site Type is a Technical Task, Not Marketing
We see teams waste budget on the wrong stack. A landing page on Next.js with static generation and a corporate site with CMS are fundamentally different infrastructures, even if they look similar. A mistake at the start leads to 5–10x higher hosting costs and slow loading speeds. Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, TTFB) have different priorities for each site type. Below we break down four types of websites, their typical technical mistakes, and how we fix them.
How to Avoid Mistakes When Choosing a CMS?
Business Card Website
The most compact format: 1–5 pages, minimal dynamics. The main goal is to provide contact information and make a first impression. Technically not complex, but there are traps.
Stack too heavy. WordPress with 15 plugins for 5 pages gives 800ms TTFB on shared hosting. We propose static: HTML/CSS/JS or Next.js with output: 'export', deployed on Vercel or Cloudflare Pages. No PHP, no database — only CDN. TTFB < 50ms guaranteed. Hosting savings up to 50,000 ₽ per year.
No contact form with backend validation. A form with only JS validation is decoration. The backend must validate, rate-limit, and send notifications. For static sites we use Formspree or a serverless endpoint.
Missing Schema.org markup. Google Knowledge Panel relies on LocalBusiness or Organization markup — address, phone, hours. For a business card site this is critical. We embed it in the template.
Development time: 2–3 weeks with design. Order a turnkey development — we will evaluate your project in one day.
Why Does Landing Page Speed Directly Affect Conversion?
Landing Page
A landing page has one goal: conversion. Everything not leading to the target action is unnecessary. Core Web Vitals are critical here because of paid traffic, and Google uses CWV as a factor in Quality Score.
A specific case: a landing page with an 8MB hero video autoplay in MP4 without preload="none" + three third-party analytics scripts synchronously in <head>. LCP 9.4s, INP 780ms. We replaced the video with a poster image loaded lazily on scroll, moved scripts to async/defer and partially to Web Workers via Partytown. LCP 1.8s, INP 140ms. Conversion increased by 23% — solely due to speed, not design.
A/B testing is standard practice. Google Optimize shut down, but there are Growthbook (open source), PostHog, VWO. For Next.js we use edge middleware to distribute traffic at the CDN level without extra JS.
Timeline: 2–4 weeks. Contact us for a consultation — we will estimate timeline and budget in one day.
Corporate Website
A corporate site means CMS, multiple sections, multilingual support, CRM integration. The key question: who will edit the content and how often.
If editors are non-technical, a visual editor is needed. WordPress with Gutenberg or ACF Pro covers this. For complex structures — headless CMS (Strapi, Directus) with a frontend on Next.js. If the site updates infrequently — Markdown in Git with Astro or Next.js. Deploy on push to main — no CMS.
Performance. An "About Us" page with 40 original photos — LCP 12 seconds on mobile. Next.js <Image> component with WebP and srcset solves it without manual work.
Multilingual: Astrotomic Translatable on Laravel or next-intl / react-i18next. URL structure — /ru/about, /en/about with hreflang.
Timeline: 6–12 weeks depending on scope.
Promo Site
A promo site is temporary or permanent for a campaign. Non-standard design, animations, interactivity. Stack: GSAP, Framer Motion, Three.js, Lottie, Canvas API.
The main pitfall — animations that lag on mobile. GPU animations via transform and opacity are fine. box-shadow in animation, filter: blur() on every frame, animating width/height — causes 20fps on iPhone 12. will-change: transform helps pointwise.
Prefers-reduced-motion is mandatory for accessibility. We always add it.
Timeline: 3–6 weeks depending on complexity.
Comparison Table
| Parameter |
Business Card |
Corporate |
Landing Page |
Promo |
| Pages |
1–5 |
10–50+ |
1–3 |
1–10 |
| CMS |
Not needed |
Needed |
Not needed |
Rarely |
| SEO priority |
Medium |
High |
High |
Low |
| Animations |
Minimal |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Intensive |
| Timeline (with design) |
2–3 weeks |
6–12 weeks |
2–4 weeks |
3–6 weeks |
Cost is calculated individually after studying the technical specification. Google recommends TTFB under 0.8s, ours is <0.2s.
What Does Our Work Include?
- Analytics and prototyping (structure, user scenarios)
- Design concept (responsive, mobile-first)
- Layout with LCP, CLS, INP optimization
- CMS selection and setup (if needed)
- Integration with CRM/marketing tools
- Testing (cross-browser, load testing)
- Documentation and access transfer
- Editor training (video + written)
- 3-month warranty (free fixes)
Our Expertise
We have been on the market for 10+ years, completed 200+ projects — from simple business cards to high-traffic landing pages with millions of audience. Every project undergoes Core Web Vitals audit before release.
Second Table: Approach Comparison
| Approach |
TTFB (ms) |
Maintenance Complexity |
Cost |
| Static HTML/CSS |
<50 |
Low |
from 50,000 ₽ |
| Next.js + headless CMS |
<200 |
Medium |
from 150,000 ₽ |
| WordPress + plugins |
500–1500 |
High |
from 300,000 ₽ |
Image optimization: we automatically convert to WebP/AVIF, generate srcset for all resolutions, use lazy loading with Intersection Observer. For background images — progressive loading technique. This alone cuts page weight by 60–80%.
Contact us for a consultation on your project. Order turnkey development — we will estimate timeline and budget in one day.
