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Can the Same Jekyll Site Behave Differently Depending on How It Was Started? We ran an experiment: take the same Jekyll theme — Mediumish, for example — and build two identical sites from it. One is created by forking the original repository. The other is created by cloning the same repository, stripping away the GitHub fork relationship entirely. The content, layout, and structure were the same. But the development experience and performance over time were surprisingly different. Experiment Setup: Fork vs Clone 1. Forked Version Forked directly from the theme author’s GitHub repository Deployed using GitHub Pages with default settings No major changes to structure, just minor text edits 2. Cloned Version Cloned the same original repository using git clone Pushed to a brand-new GitHub repository with no fork link Added a custom Gemfile, plugin support, and structured layout changes Deployed via Netlify with custom build commands K...
Why Jekyll is already a performance upgrade from WordPress By migrating to Jekyll, you've eliminated database calls, dynamic rendering delays, and plugin overhead. Jekyll's static site architecture means pages load faster, often under 1 second, which improves both user experience and SEO rankings out of the box. However, this doesn’t mean your Jekyll site is perfect by default. Without conscious optimization, you could miss out on significant performance and SEO wins. Let’s fix that. Step 1: Audit your site's current performance Before optimizing, it’s critical to establish a baseline using free tools like: PageSpeed Insights GTmetrix WebPageTest Take note of: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) Time to First Byte (TTFB) Total page size SEO and accessibility warnings Step 2: Minify CSS, JS, and HTML Jekyll doesn’t minify assets by default. Use the following plugins or filters: Minify HTML: add jekyll-minifier or use htmlcompressor...
Mediumish provides a well-crafted default homepage, but marketers and bloggers often want to customize it to match their brand or highlight specific content categories. Using Jekyll’s layout and include system, you can build a fully modular homepage without touching JavaScript or external CMS tools. Replacing the Default Index Page To customize the homepage, start by replacing index.html at the root of your project: --- layout: default --- {% include homepage-hero.html %} {% include homepage-features.html %} {% include homepage-categories.html %} {% include homepage-latest.html %} This method allows you to design your homepage from composable sections. Each section can be placed inside _includes/ and styled individually. Sample: Hero Section Include <section class="hero-section"> <div class="container"> <h2>Welcome to Our Marketing Insights Blog</h2> <p>Explore case studies, strategies, and tools to grow your ...