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The Jekyll-Bootstrap framework is the codebase that provides structure and helpers for a standard blog. Users clone the framework and build their blog on top. The framework can be deployed to GitHub Pages out-of-the-box and provides:
Comprehensive documentation is provided separately at http://jekyllbootstrap.com
The project originally started from the documentation. That is to say I had just intended to write blog posts about how I customized my jekyll blog. After much writing and organizing I realized it would be helpful to create a framework that outlined and adopted my strategies. This blog is running on Jekyll-Bootstrap!
I want to make it very easy for developers to blog about technical topics. I envision a blogging platform that adopts the same philosophy as Markdown in that it encourages writing above all else.
As a developer I want to formulate ideas and lessons without thinking about formatting HTML/CSS/Jasascript or how to highlight code, make a photo-gallery, or table-of-contents.
After 4+ years of head-down GID programming I finally realize being a good programmer is only half the battle - The other half is being a good human.
In order to establish more human connections I set out to start blogging. Jekyll seemed like the most likely platform I’d actually use, so like any good programmer I spent hours hacking the source, bending the gem to my will and spawning masterful plugins har-har-har!
After patting myself on the back I realized none of my hacks would ever be of any use because they are fundamentally incompatible with the author’s (GitHub) main objectives; static website hosting through GitHub Pages.
Hacking a forked version of a project and bending it to your will is easy. Working within the constraints of a widely adopted system is much harder …and much more human.
Jekyll-Bootstrap is for you my beloved humans! <3
I don’t want to get all teary-eyed here but learning that my work is and always will be for the people is something I’ve only recently truly understood. Code doesn’t matter, tools don’t matter, that clever-plugin-that’s-so-clever-nobody-can-use doesn’t matter. Ultimately only people matter. Jekyll-Bootstrap is arguably the most impactful project I’ve made. It’s also the one that contains the least amount of code.
Communication skills are necessary for all parts of life. Any person with skills will inevitably be called upon to impart said skills and knowledge onto other people. This is a very fulfilling but also very hard responsibility.
I finally understand why people love the freemium model. It just feels so good to give things away! I won’t claim I know anything about business just yet so don’t quote me on that.
The thing I learned with Jekyll-Bootstrap is how much better it is to solve a problem that has an existing user-base. It was so trivial for me to add my link to the Jekyll documentation and instantly start gaining traction. Of course you can’t spam your way into a market. Jekyll-Bootstrap took many days to build and addresses a genuine pain point.
If only I could go around solving pain points all day and give them away for free … hmmm!
Hello! I'm a 26 year old, degree-less, self-learned software developer from SoCal, USA. I believe software and information should be Open and Free.
The purpose of this website is to share code, knowldedge, and happiness. Credit to Derek Siver's who wrote an excellent post on the benefits of sharing.
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plusjade@gmail.com
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