52 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
52 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
+++
|
|
title = "Why I moved from Wordpress to Zola"
|
|
date = 2023-11-21
|
|
draft = true
|
|
[taxonomies]
|
|
tags= ["shortnotes"]
|
|
+++
|
|
|
|
I've used a few different site generators and blogging platforms over the years, including but not limited to:
|
|
- Wordpress
|
|
- Google Blogger
|
|
- Tumblr
|
|
- Pelican
|
|
- MediaWiki (yes, it counts)
|
|
- DokuWiki (it counts too!)
|
|
- Zola
|
|
|
|
It should go without saying that every system has its benefits and trade-offs.
|
|
This post about the *specific* trade-offs that made me switch from Wordpress to Zola.
|
|
|
|
My primary issue with Wordpress is the writing.
|
|
Gutenberg seems like it would be a very useful editor for a more traditional writer or someone who doesn't have an emphasis on technical content.
|
|
I couldn't figure out how to easily move from extended code blocks back to normal writing without using my mouse to add a new paragraph block.
|
|
(The classic editor doesn't fix this issue.)
|
|
With static site generator that rely on Markdown syntax for formatting (like Zola), it's as simple as adding a few backticks at the start and end.
|
|
I write enough code or `general monospace text` that this was a dealbreaker for me.
|
|
|
|
The second major issue was the difficulties I had in customizing the site.
|
|
This isn't an issue of Wordpress lacking customization - Wordpress themes are popular enough for entire businesses to be built upon the back of them.
|
|
Unfortunately, the graphical editor wasn't behaving for me (primarily not reliably changing link colors to those in my color scheme) and the code side is its own monster.
|
|
I don't want to become a web developer to get my theming working.
|
|
Zola's Tera templates only require a bit more than basic HTML and CSS.
|
|
|
|
Of course, there's downsides to moving to Zola.
|
|
The largest trade-off - and the reason that I waited so long to do so - is that there are extra steps to deploying the website.
|
|
Wordpress is as simple as "write the content and hit publish".
|
|
Zola requires you to have the Zola binary, compile the website, and push the content to the web server host.
|
|
You can simplify this by writing your content on the same host as the web server, but then you lose the ability to write and publish from anywhere.
|
|
In my case, it also means losing the ability to use graphical editors.
|
|
|
|
The solution to that trade-off was learning to install and use Jenkins.
|
|
For the unfamiliar: Jenkins is a CI/CD tool.
|
|
I can write my content on any host, push the "source code" to a git repo, and Jenkins will take care of the rest.
|
|
In theory, Jenkins will detect and push a new version of this site within 3 minutes of a new commit being pushed to the git repo.
|
|
So far this has worked fairly well.
|
|
|
|
The final question I can imagine someone may ask is "Lukas, Pelican is a static site generator as well. Why did you move to a different one?"
|
|
The answer is Rust.
|
|
Zola is written in it.
|
|
I'm learning it and want to use it more.
|
|
If I encounter a bug, I want to be able to fix it.
|