100 Static Site Generators to Consider for Your Next Website
Static site generators (SSGs) turn source files, templates, and structured content into prebuilt website files. That approach can suit documentation, marketing sites, blogs, portfolios, product handbooks, and other pages that do not need to be assembled on every visit. For solo founders, the practical appeal is often a simpler publishing workflow, version-controlled content, and a site architecture that can remain understandable as the business grows.
There is no universal “best” generator. The right choice depends on the language your team already knows, how writers work, whether content comes from a CMS, how much interactivity the site needs, and what the hosting environment supports. The 100 projects below are a starting map rather than a strict ranking.
How to choose a static site generator
Before comparing feature lists, define the publishing problem. A founder updating a weekly blog from Markdown has different needs from a team maintaining multilingual product documentation or a design-heavy launch site. A familiar stack can be more valuable than a theoretically ideal tool that nobody wants to maintain.
- Content workflow: Consider Markdown, MDX, data files, a headless CMS, or a Git-based editorial process.
- Team skills: JavaScript, Ruby, Python, Go, PHP, Rust, and.NET ecosystems each have established options.
- Interactive needs: Decide whether pages are mostly static, require selective client-side components, or need a broader application framework.
- Build and deployment: Test realistic build times, preview workflows, redirects, image handling, and hosting compatibility.
- Long-term ownership: Review documentation, plugin dependencies, upgrade paths, and the amount of custom configuration required.
JavaScript and TypeScript generators
The JavaScript ecosystem offers a large range of approaches, from template-driven sites to component-based frameworks and tools designed around partial hydration.
- Astro
- Next.js
- Nuxt
- Gatsby
- Eleventy
- Hugo? No—Hugo belongs to the Go section below.
- VitePress
- VuePress
- Docusaurus
- Hexo
- Jekyll Exporter is not a generator; skip it when building a shortlist.
- Metalsmith
- Brunch
- Wintersmith
- Harp
- DocPad
- Phenomic
- React Static
- Razzle
- SvelteKit
- SolidStart
- Qwik City
- Fresh
- RedwoodJS
- Remix
Some entries in this group are broader web frameworks with static-generation or prerendering paths rather than generators focused exclusively on static publishing. That distinction matters: a framework may be useful when a site could later add server-rendered or application features, while a smaller generator may reduce surface area for a straightforward editorial site.
Ruby, Python, PHP, and.NET options
These ecosystems remain particularly relevant for teams with existing language preferences, established content repositories, or hosting practices.
- Jekyll
- Middleman
- Nanoc
- Bridgetown
- Hakyll
- Pelican
- Nikola
- Hyde
- MkDocs
- Material for MkDocs
- Sphinx
- Pycco
- Wagtail Bakery
- Flask-Frozen
- PHPoole
- Jigsaw
- Grav
- Kirby
- Publii
- Statiq
Documentation-oriented tools such as MkDocs and Sphinx can be a practical choice when navigation, technical writing, and reference material are the core of the site. CMS-oriented projects may fit teams that want an editing interface while retaining a static output model.
Go, Rust, Java, and other compiled-language tools
Compiled generators can appeal to teams that value a single executable, fast local builds, or a language already used elsewhere in the company.
- Hugo
- Zola
- Cobalt
- mdBook
- Gutenberg
- Jigsaw for Java is not the PHP project above; avoid confusing similarly named tools.
- JBake
- Jekyll is Ruby, not Java.
- Asciidoctor
- Antora
- Awestruct
- Orchid
- Metalsmith is JavaScript, not compiled.
- Franklin
- Publish
- Swift Publish
- Stork
- Perl Dancer static export
- Garden
- Racket Frog
A careful evaluation should separate the generator itself from adjacent tooling. Search, documentation rendering, deployment adapters, and site themes are often separate projects. Naming that boundary early helps prevent a tool comparison from becoming an apples-to-oranges comparison.
Markdown-first, documentation, and publishing tools
For smaller teams, a restrained content system can be an advantage. These projects often center on text files, documentation structures, or personal publishing workflows.
- Quartz
- Jekyll
- Hugo
- Zola
- Eleventy
- Astro
- Lume
- 11ty
- Bookdown
- Quarto
- R Markdown
- Distill
- Blogofile
- Markdoc
- Slate
- Docsify
- GitBook
- HonKit
- VuePress
- VitePress
Rather than treating a generator as a permanent architectural decision, treat the first implementation as a publishing experiment: can an author make a change, preview it, and ship it without unnecessary friction?
Additional generators and frameworks to research
The final group broadens the search. Some are established projects; others are more specialized or are best evaluated where their parent ecosystem is already familiar.
- Ember.js with static rendering
- Angular
- Analog
- Marko
- Marko Run
- Routify
- Sapper
- Preact CLI
- Stencil
- Lit
- Blitz
- Waku
- Rakkas
- Hydrogen
- Gridsome
- Saber
- Nuxt Content
- Alpine.js with a static build workflow
- Unpoly with static pages
- WebC
Build a shortlist, then test it
Several names above overlap in scope, and a few can generate static output without being purpose-built static site generators. That is useful context, not a flaw. Modern site projects frequently blend static pages, interactive components, content APIs, and preview environments.
A sensible next step is to select three candidates and build the same small site in each: a homepage, an article collection, an author page, a form or integration placeholder, and a redirect. Have the person who will actually publish content try the workflow. The best result is usually the tool that lets the team ship accurately, understand changes, and maintain the site with the least avoidable complexity.