Websites using Pelican

Okay, let s break down Pelican, the static site generator.

What is Pelican?

Pelican is a static site generator written in Python. It takes content written in reStructuredText or Markdown and generates static HTML files. This makes it ideal for blogs, portfolios, documentation sites, and other websites where content changes relatively infrequently.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Simplicity: Easy to learn and use, especially for those familiar with Python.
• Flexibility: Customizable with themes and plugins. You can tailor it to your specific needs.
• Performance: Static sites are inherently very fast. No server-side processing required to display pages.
• Security: Less vulnerable to attacks compared to dynamic websites because there s no database or server-side code to exploit.
• Markdown and reStructuredText Support: Uses popular markup languages for content creation.
• Extensibility: Supports plugins for features like:
  • Syntax highlighting (e.g., using Pygments)
  • Table of Contents generation
  • Social sharing buttons
  • Image galleries
• Theming: Offers a library of themes to style the output of your website, or you can create your own.
• SEO-Friendly: Static sites are generally favored by search engines. You have full control over your site s structure and metadata.
• Easy Deployment: The generated HTML files can be hosted on any web server (e.g., Apache, Nginx) or static hosting service (e.g., Netlify, GitHub Pages, AWS S3).
• Python-based: If you have knowledge in Python, customization can be made easier.

Revenue:

Pelican is free and open-source software. It does not generate revenue in the traditional sense. The development and maintenance are primarily driven by community contributions and donations. There might be companies that offer commercial services around Pelican (e.g., custom theme development, consulting, hosting), but these are separate from the core Pelican project itself.

Alternatives to Pelican:

Here s a breakdown of popular alternatives, categorized by language/technology and a quick comparison:

• Python-based:
  • Nikola: Similar to Pelican, also Python-based. Offers a slightly different plugin ecosystem and workflow. Good choice if you want an alternative within the Python world.
• JavaScript-based:
  • Gatsby: A React-based static site generator. More complex to set up than Pelican, but very powerful and flexible. Excellent for sites that require dynamic elements or integration with APIs. Requires JavaScript and React experience.
  • Next.js (with static site generation): A React framework that can be used for static site generation. Similar to Gatsby.
  • Hugo: Written in Go. Known for its speed. Has a large community and a good selection of themes. Can be somewhat more complex to configure than Pelican, but very performant.
  • Jekyll: Written in Ruby. One of the most established static site generators. Used by GitHub Pages. Easy to get started with.
  • Eleventy (11ty): A simpler JavaScript-based static site generator. More flexible than Jekyll but less opinionated than Gatsby. Works well with various templating languages.
• Other Languages:
  • Hugo: Written in Go, very fast.
  • Jekyll: Written in Ruby, very popular, and well-documented.
  • Hexo: Written in Node.js, popular in the JavaScript community.

Comparison Table:

| Feature | Pelican | Gatsby | Hugo | Jekyll | Eleventy (11ty) | | ---------------- | --------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | --------------- | | Language | Python | JavaScript/React | Go | Ruby | JavaScript | | Learning Curve | Easy | Steep | Medium | Easy | Medium | | Speed | Fast | Fast | Very Fast | Medium | Fast | | Flexibility | High | Very High | High | Medium | Very High | | Community | Good | Large | Large | Large | Growing | | Use Cases | Blogs, Docs | Complex Websites | Blogs, Docs | Blogs, Docs | Various | | Plugins/Themes | Good | Extensive | Extensive | Extensive | Good |

Choosing an Alternative:

• Ease of Use: Pelican, Jekyll, and Eleventy are generally considered easier to learn for beginners.
• Performance: Hugo is known for its speed.
• Flexibility: Gatsby and Eleventy offer the most flexibility for complex projects.
• Ecosystem: Gatsby, Hugo, and Jekyll have large communities and extensive ecosystems of themes and plugins.
• Your Existing Skills: If you already know Python, Pelican is a natural fit. If you know React, Gatsby or Next.js are good choices.

Pricing:

Pelican is completely free and open-source. You only need to pay for:

• Hosting: The cost of hosting your generated static files on a web server or static hosting service. This can range from free (e.g., GitHub Pages, Netlify free tier) to a few dollars a month (e.g., a basic VPS) to more expensive options for high-traffic sites.
• Domain Name (Optional): If you want a custom domain name (e.g., yourwebsite.com), you ll need to purchase one from a registrar.
• Theme/Plugin Development (Optional): If you need custom themes or plugins, you might pay a developer to create them.

Customer Care/Support:

Since Pelican is open-source, there is no dedicated customer care team in the traditional sense. Support is primarily provided through:

• Official Documentation: The Pelican website (getpelican.com) has comprehensive documentation.
• Community Forums and Mailing Lists: Users can ask questions and get help from other users and developers.
• GitHub Issues: Bug reports and feature requests can be submitted as issues on the Pelican GitHub repository.
• Stack Overflow: Pelican-related questions are often answered on Stack Overflow.
• IRC/Discord: Some open source projects will have an IRC or Discord channel you can connect to.

In Summary:

Pelican is a solid choice for creating static websites, especially if you re comfortable with Python and want a simple, fast, and customizable solution. The lack of official customer support is mitigated by its strong community and comprehensive documentation. Consider your specific needs and technical skills when choosing between Pelican and its alternatives.