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Why Layout Structure Matters in Jekyll In Jekyll, layouts define the skeleton of your pages. A smart layout structure can drastically reduce rendering time, especially on large projects. Rather than repeating code across templates, using nested layouts ensures consistency, modularity, and efficiency in rendering and maintenance. The Problem with Flat Layouts In many beginner Jekyll sites, a single layout contains all HTML: header, footer, navigation, and content. This approach can cause: Code duplication across multiple layouts Slower build performance due to repeated parsing Maintenance issues when structural changes are needed Nested layouts solve these by splitting layouts into reusable blocks and reducing the amount of work Liquid has to do per page. How Nested Layouts Work Nested layouts allow one layout to extend another using the layout attribute. This way, you can create a base layout, and other layouts can build upon it. Example: Creating a Base La...

The Cost of Repetition in Static Sites When building a Jekyll site, especially one that evolves over time, repetition can quickly become your enemy. Copying and pasting similar HTML structures across pages or layouts bloats your codebase, increases maintenance overhead, and negatively impacts build times. One change might require multiple edits, and that’s an opportunity for human error. Introducing Shared Blocks Shared blocks are reusable pieces of content—either HTML or Markdown—that serve the same purpose across multiple layouts, pages, or posts. By extracting them into dedicated includes, you dramatically reduce repetition while keeping your templates clean and modular. Common Repetitive Patterns to Refactor 1. Call to Action Buttons Instead of copying the same CTA code snippet across every post or section, move it to a shared include: <div class="cta-banner"> <p>Enjoying the content?</p> <a href="/subscribe/" class=...

Understanding Partials in Jekyll Partials are modular chunks of HTML used in Jekyll to simplify layout structure and promote code reuse. Defined inside the _includes directory, partials can be inserted anywhere in layouts, pages, or posts using the {% include %} tag. By building your site using partials, you can significantly reduce redundancy, improve rendering performance, and make future changes much easier to manage. Why Partials Matter for Performance When Jekyll processes your site, it compiles every layout, include, and content page into final HTML. Repeating similar HTML structures in multiple templates leads to unnecessary parsing and rendering. Reusable partials solve this by consolidating those structures in one place. Creating Your First Partial Let’s start with something simple: the site’s navigation bar. Step 1: Create an Include File <nav> <ul> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href...

Why Use Data Files in 404 Pages Most 404 pages are static by nature. But in a Jekyll-powered site, especially when hosted on GitHub Pages, you can bring in dynamic elements without JavaScript or server-side scripting by using data files. With _data folder support, you can design a maintainable, content-rich 404 page that auto-updates based on centralized content references. Benefits of Data-Driven 404 Pages Centralized Control: Update 404 page links and content by editing a single data file. Reusability: Use the same data across multiple layouts (footer, sidebar, 404). Scalability: Easily expand recommended content, categories, or resources over time. Setting Up Your Data Files Jekyll allows you to create files in the _data folder in formats like .yml , .json , or .csv . For a 404 page, YAML is preferred for simplicity. Example: _data/404.yml featured: - title: "Start Here Guide" url: "/getting-started/" - title: "Most Popular...

Understanding Jekyll Performance Optimization Performance is not just about load time. In Jekyll, performance also refers to build speed, file manageability, and how efficiently content is reused across pages. Leveraging includes and layout reuse is a foundational technique that improves development efficiency and site scalability. What Are HTML Includes in Jekyll Jekyll includes are reusable chunks of HTML code stored in the _includes directory. They allow you to modularize your templates and reuse content across multiple layouts or pages. Benefits of Using Includes Reduces Duplication: Shared sections like headers, footers, and ads are maintained in one place. Improves Maintainability: Changes in one include file update all references site-wide. Better Build Speed: Modular code often compiles more predictably and quickly. How to Create and Use Includes Create a file inside _includes , for example, cta-box.html . Then call it in any layout or page using: {...