3 minute read

This post covers why I chose Jekyll to build my site—and why building with intention matters. You can build just for now, just for fun, or for the future you’re proud of. Hopefully this offers a little clarity and a lot of encouragement along the way.

When I started building DataInsideData.com, I wasn’t just picking a tool to publish blog posts.

I was choosing how I wanted the site to operate in production.

That distinction matters.

Jekyll isn’t just a static site generator — it’s a static-first operational model that fits naturally with DevOps/DevSecOps and GitOps thinking.

Let me walk you through why.

🌱 What “No Database” Really Means in Jekyll

At its core, Jekyll builds your entire website ahead of time.

Instead of generating pages on every request, Jekyll outputs plain files:

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Images

Once built, those files are what get deployed.

In practice, that means

  • 😮 No database
  • 😁 No backend runtime
  • 👏 No server-side request processing

Traditional CMS (WordPress, Drupal)

Request → Server → Database → Backend Logic → HTML → User
  • Content lives in a database
  • Pages are assembled on every request
  • Requires patching, monitoring, backups, and scaling

Jekyll

Build time → Static files → User
  • Content lives in Markdown files
  • Pages are generated once at build time
  • Hosting becomes dramatically simpler

💡 Mental model
Jekyll trades runtime complexity for build-time clarity.

❓Why This Matters (Especially for DevOps)

This design choice unlocks several benefits that matter a lot in production environments.

⚡Speed

Static files load instantly.
There are no database queries and no server-side logic slowing things down.

🔐 Security

  • No database → no SQL injection
  • No admin panel → fewer attack vectors
  • No backend → dramatically reduced surface area

🧩 Simplicity

Your “database” becomes:

  • Markdown files
  • YAML front matter
  • Folder structure

That’s it.

🔁 Version Control

Your entire site lives in Git:

  • Branches
  • Pull requests
  • Code review
  • Rollbacks

This fits perfectly with GitHub-based workflows.

💸 Cost

Static hosting is often free or near-zero cost:

  • GitHub Pages
  • Netlify
  • Cloudflare Pages
  • S3 + CDN

For a business or solo founder, that’s huge.

🧱 How Jekyll Organizes Content (Without the Chaos)

Jekyll gives you structure without forcing a CMS UI.

Here’s a simplified view of how content is organized:

.
├── _posts/
│   └── 2026-01-20-why-jekyll.md
├── _pages/
│   ├── about.md
│   ├── contact.md
│   └── privacy.md
├── _projects/
│   └── ci-preview-setup.md
├── _layouts/
├── _includes/
└── assets/

📝 Posts (_posts/)

Best for:

  • Blog articles
  • Tutorials
  • Build notes
  • Thought leadership

Named like:

YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

📦 Pages

Good for standalone pages like:

  • About
  • Contact
  • Legal pages
  • Landing pages
  • etc.

🗂️ Collections

Collections are where Jekyll really shines.

They let you create custom content types, such as:

  • Case studies
  • Labs
  • Datasets
  • Documentation

Defined once in _config.yml:

collections:
  projects:
    output: true
  case_studies:
    output: true

This gives you Content Management System (CMS)-like power without a CMS.

🛠️ From Content to Production (Build Flow)

Here’s the lifecycle at a high level:

Markdown + Templates
        ↓
   Jekyll Build
        ↓
     _site/
        ↓
   GitHub Pages / Content Delivery Network (CDN)

The _site/ folder is the final artifact.

Once it’s built:

  • Nothing mutates
  • Nothing executes
  • Nothing queries a database

That’s what gets deployed.

🚀 Why This Fits DevOps (and GitOps) Thinking

Jekyll naturally encourages:

  • Immutable infrastructure
  • Build once, deploy everywhere
  • No mutable runtime state
  • Predictable, testable builds
  • CI/CD-first workflows

In other words:

🎯 Key insight
You’re not just building a website — you’re building a pipeline.

This is exactly how modern infrastructure is designed.

🌟 The Big Picture

Jekyll gives you:

  • The structure of a CMS
  • The security of static files
  • The discipline of DevOps
  • The flexibility of code

For DataInsideData.com, it’s the foundation of a professional, scalable, and production-ready platform — without unnecessary complexity.

Data Inside Data™. Tech Hands, a Science Mind, and a Heart for Community™.

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