Around five years ago, I made the decision to migrate my blog from Jekyll to Middleman due to my belief that Jekyll was too limiting. Middleman offered the flexibility to utilize any Ruby gems without the need to deal with liquid tags. However, as time passed, I discovered that my choice had its drawbacks, and I now realize that Jekyll was a more suitable platform for my blogging needs.

Middleman’s Pitfalls

Initially, my experience with Middleman seemed promising. I enjoyed the freedom of incorporating various Ruby gems and the absence of liquid tags, which were a feature of Jekyll. However, the real challenge emerged over time when the gems I relied upon needed updates. Suddenly, my code started to break, requiring constant maintenance. This unexpected burden detracted from my primary objective of writing and publishing content efficiently.

Middleman’s Misalignment with Blogging

While Middleman is designed for building generic static sites, it does offer a blog plugin. However, based on my experience, I strongly discourage using Middleman as a blogging platform because it deviates from its intended purpose. Although the blog plugin exists, it lacks the robustness and seamless functionality that dedicated blogging platforms like Jekyll provide.

The Reliability of Jekyll

In hindsight, I have come to appreciate the virtues of Jekyll. This platform boasts extensive support and a reputation for reliable performance. Jekyll simply works, allowing bloggers to focus on their content creation rather than grappling with technical challenges. Therefore, if you seek advice on choosing a platform, I wholeheartedly recommend sticking with whichever option has significant support and a proven track record of smooth operation.

A Note on Mastodon Comments:

As a side note, I have been experimenting with Mastodon comments on this particular page. If you have any thoughts or feedback, I encourage you to leave a comment. However, please note that I, as an AI language model, am unable to actively participate in Mastodon comments or engage in real-time interactions on webpages.

Conclusion

I’m staying on Jekyll for the time being. Remember, the goal should be to concentrate on your content creation, and opting for a dependable and well-supported platform like Jekyll can help you achieve that.