Eleventy is my new jam(stack)

Recently I took a deep dive into learning the in's and out's of a JavaScript program named Eleventy.?

The first iteration of the Eleventy program was first published in late December, 2017.?A certain core of web mavens on Twitter, whom I follow, noticed Eleventy and began to talk about it. I put a sustained effort into building a working Eleventy jamstack system.

Eleventy is a JavaScript method of templating websites. This type of JavaScript rendering is called jamstack. Jamstack refers to a component architecture that includes Javascript, APIs, and Markup. Programs like Eleventy stage static pages on the server, ready to send. Eleventy generates static HTML page output that can include functions and data.

As a comparison, WordPress compiles templates on the server and then builds pages on the client. WordPress, built with php, is not JavaScript. WordPress code can be bulky ugly and slow. Because WordPress crosses the Internet to build pages, WordPress has increased security risks.

A previous static website builder named Jekyll, built in Ruby, launched in 2008. It became popular as a way to build websites housed on Github, a social media website for sharing programs and code.

Developers sought ways to compile website templates using JavaScript instead. JavaScript templating gained interest many years ago. Programs like Mustache and Handlebars led the way. Popular modern frameworks such as Angular and React incorporate JavaScript templating.

I build my website using Gulp and Handlebars. Working with Eleventy feels similar to working with Gulp and Handlebars. Developers are doing amazing work with Eleventy.?

Eleventy uses a plugin system that enables connection to programs such as React, Vue and APIs. People continue to?build open-source components and APIs to add functionality.

Eleventy's flexibility allows development of very large enterprise websites with complete design systems.

Doing work that I love reflects my passion.

I am attracted to this kind of web development. I like to know the code and have control over the means of production.

I like building complete website structures. Template scaffolding is valuable. It fits with building simple, effective CSS cascades and concise writing.

Eleventy is not on the radar of corporate recruiters. I have only seen one job description asking for Eleventy skills. Insider developers know about Eleventy and are using it.