Pros of Jekyll

• More comprehensive and feature-rich static site generator
• Larger community and ecosystem with extensive plugins and themes
• Official support from GitHub Pages

Cons of Jekyll

• Steeper learning curve for beginners
• More complex setup and configuration
• Slower build times for large sites

Code Comparison

Jekyll:

jekyll new my-awesome-site
cd my-awesome-site
bundle exec jekyll serve

Lanyon:

git clone https://github.com/poole/lanyon.git
cd lanyon
jekyll serve

Summary

Jekyll is a full-featured static site generator with a large ecosystem, while Lanyon is a minimalist Jekyll theme focused on simplicity. Jekyll offers more flexibility and customization options but requires more setup and learning. Lanyon provides a quick start with a clean, responsive design but has fewer built-in features.

Both projects use Jekyll under the hood, but Lanyon offers a pre-configured theme that's ready to use out of the box. Jekyll is better suited for larger, more complex sites, while Lanyon is ideal for simple blogs or personal websites that prioritize content over extensive functionality.

Pros of Minimal Mistakes

• More feature-rich with extensive customization options
• Actively maintained with frequent updates and improvements
• Comprehensive documentation and examples

Cons of Minimal Mistakes

• Steeper learning curve due to its complexity
• Potentially slower load times due to additional features

Code Comparison

Lanyon (_config.yml):

title:               'Lanyon'
tagline:             'A Jekyll theme'
description:         'A reserved <a href="https://jekyllrb.com" target="_blank">Jekyll</a> theme that places the utmost gravity on content with a hidden drawer.'
url:                 https://lanyon.getpoole.com
baseurl:             ''
paginate:            5

Minimal Mistakes (_config.yml):

title: "My Awesome Site"
name: "Your Name"
description: "An amazing website."
url: "https://mysite.com"
repository: "username/repo-name"
theme: minimal-mistakes-jekyll
minimal_mistakes_skin: "default"

Summary

Lanyon offers simplicity and a focus on content, making it ideal for beginners or those preferring a minimalist approach. Minimal Mistakes provides a more robust feature set and customization options, suitable for complex sites but requiring more setup time. Choose based on your project needs and technical expertise.

Pros of jekyll-now

• Simpler setup process, designed for beginners
• Includes social media integration out of the box
• Provides a more streamlined, minimalist design

Cons of jekyll-now

• Less customizable than Lanyon
• Fewer built-in features and layout options
• May require more manual customization for advanced users

Code Comparison

jekyll-now:

<div class="container">
  <div class="site-info">
    <h1 class="site-name"><a href="{{ site.baseurl }}/">{{ site.name }}</a></h1>
    <p class="site-description">{{ site.description }}</p>
  </div>
</div>

Lanyon:

<div class="container content">
  <header class="masthead">
    <h3 class="masthead-title">
      <a href="{{ site.baseurl }}/" title="Home">{{ site.title }}</a>
      <small>{{ site.tagline }}</small>
    </h3>
  </header>
</div>

Both repositories provide Jekyll themes for GitHub Pages, but they cater to different user needs. jekyll-now focuses on simplicity and ease of use, making it ideal for beginners or those who want a quick setup. Lanyon, on the other hand, offers more customization options and features, making it suitable for users who want more control over their site's appearance and functionality.

Pros of Beautiful-Jekyll

• More feature-rich out of the box, including social media integration and Google Analytics support
• Easier customization with built-in color themes and layout options
• Active development and community support

Cons of Beautiful-Jekyll

• Larger file size and potentially slower load times due to additional features
• Steeper learning curve for beginners due to more complex configuration options
• Less minimalist design, which may not suit all users' preferences

Code Comparison

Beautiful-Jekyll configuration:

title: My Website
author: John Doe
navbar-links:
  About Me: "aboutme"
  Resources:
    - Beautiful Jekyll: "https://beautifuljekyll.com"
    - Learn markdown: "https://www.markdowntutorial.com/"

Lanyon configuration:

title: Lanyon
tagline: 'A Jekyll theme'
description: 'A reserved <a href="https://jekyllrb.com" target="_blank">Jekyll</a> theme that places the utmost gravity on content with a hidden drawer.'
url: https://lanyon.getpoole.com

Beautiful-Jekyll offers more detailed configuration options out of the box, while Lanyon maintains a simpler, more minimalist approach to configuration.

Pros of Cayman

• More modern and visually appealing design with a prominent header
• Easier to customize with simple color scheme options
• Better out-of-the-box mobile responsiveness

Cons of Cayman

• Less flexibility in layout and structure compared to Lanyon
• Fewer built-in features and layout options
• Limited sidebar functionality

Code Comparison

Cayman (main.scss):

@import "normalize";
@import "rouge-github";
@import "variables";
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:400,700&display=swap');

@mixin large {
  @media screen and (min-width: #{$large-breakpoint}) {
    @content;
  }
}

Lanyon (_config.yml):

# Setup
title:               Lanyon
tagline:             'A Jekyll theme'
description:         'A reserved <a href="https://jekyllrb.com" target="_blank">Jekyll</a> theme that places the utmost gravity on content with a hidden drawer. Made by <a href="https://twitter.com/mdo" target="_blank">@mdo</a>.'
url:                 http://lanyon.getpoole.com
baseurl:             ''
paginate:            5

Both themes are designed for GitHub Pages and Jekyll, but they have different approaches. Cayman focuses on a clean, modern look with easy customization, while Lanyon offers more layout flexibility and features. The code snippets show that Cayman uses SCSS for styling, while Lanyon relies more on Jekyll's configuration file for setup.

Pros of academicpages.github.io

• Specifically designed for academic portfolios and CVs
• Includes pre-built sections for publications, talks, and teaching
• Offers easy customization for academic content

Cons of academicpages.github.io

• More complex setup compared to Lanyon's minimalist approach
• Less flexibility for non-academic use cases
• Steeper learning curve for users unfamiliar with Jekyll

Code Comparison

academicpages.github.io:

---
title: "Paper Title Number 1"
collection: publications
permalink: /publication/2009-10-01-paper-title-number-1
excerpt: 'This paper is about the number 1. The number 2 is left for future work.'
date: 2009-10-01
venue: 'Journal 1'
paperurl: 'http://academicpages.github.io/files/paper1.pdf'
citation: 'Your Name, You. (2009). &quot;Paper Title Number 1.&quot; <i>Journal 1</i>. 1(1).'
---

Lanyon:

---
layout: post
title: What's Jekyll?
---

<p class="message">
  Hey there! This page is included as an example. Feel free to customize it for your own use upon downloading. Carry on!
</p>

The code snippets highlight the difference in focus between the two themes. academicpages.github.io provides structured frontmatter for academic publications, while Lanyon offers a simpler blog-oriented structure.