Jekyll
Jekyll is minimalist a bit of software that can take a bunch of files and convert them to a static website. The generated website can then be hosted on a web server somewhere.
It lets people easily write text files in markdown format, and then transform them into working .html files.
It is currently the static site generator behind [GitHub pages], allowing software developers to create documentation websites with ease.
There is a good description of how it works here: how jekyll works
Why Should I Care?
Jekyll is very minimalistic and very efficient. The most important thing to realize about Jekyll is that it creates a static representation of your website requiring only a static web-server. Traditional dynamic blogs like Wordpress require a database and server-side code. Heavily trafficked dynamic blogs must employ a caching layer that ultimately performs the same job Jekyll sets out to do; serve static content.
Therefore if you like to keep things simple and you prefer the command-line over an admin panel UI then give Jekyll a try.
Developers like Jekyll because we can write content like we write code:
- Ability to write content in markdown or textile in your favorite text-editor.
- Ability to write and preview your content via localhost.
- No internet connection required.
- Ability to publish via git.
- Ability to host your blog on a static web-server.
- Ability to host freely on GitHub Pages.
- No database required.
excerpt from how jekyll works)