How to Convert WordPress to Jekyll

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that powers millions of websites. It is a great platform for creating and managing websites, but it has its limitations. One of the biggest drawbacks of WordPress is that it can be slow and resource-intensive, especially for larger websites. This is where Jekyll comes in. Jekyll is a static site generator that can help you convert your WordPress website into a fast, lightweight, and secure static website. In this article, we will show you how to convert your WordPress website to Jekyll.

Step 1: Install Jekyll

The first step in converting your WordPress website to Jekyll is to install Jekyll on your local machine. Jekyll is a Ruby gem, so you will need to have Ruby installed on your machine. You can install Jekyll by running the following command in your terminal:

gem install jekyll

Step 2: Export Your WordPress Content

Once you have Jekyll installed, the next step is to export your WordPress content. You can do this by going to the WordPress admin dashboard and navigating to Tools > Export. From there, you can choose to export all of your content or just specific content types. Once you have exported your content, you will have an XML file that contains all of your posts, pages, and other content.

Step 3: Convert Your WordPress Content to Jekyll

The next step is to convert your WordPress content to Jekyll. There are a few different ways to do this, but one of the easiest ways is to use a tool called wordpress2jekyll. This is a Ruby gem that can convert your WordPress XML file into a Jekyll-friendly format. You can install wordpress2jekyll by running the following command in your terminal:

gem install wordpress2jekyll

Once you have wordpress2jekyll installed, you can use it to convert your WordPress content to Jekyll by running the following command in your terminal:

wordpress2jekyll /path/to/wordpress.xml /path/to/jekyll

This will create a new directory at /path/to/jekyll that contains all of your WordPress content in a Jekyll-friendly format.

Step 4: Customize Your Jekyll Site

Once you have converted your WordPress content to Jekyll, the next step is to customize your Jekyll site. You can do this by editing the _config.yml file in your Jekyll directory. This file contains all of the configuration settings for your Jekyll site, including the site title, description, and other settings. You can also customize the layout and design of your Jekyll site by editing the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files in your Jekyll directory.

Step 5: Build and Deploy Your Jekyll Site

The final step in converting your WordPress website to Jekyll is to build and deploy your Jekyll site. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

jekyll build

This will build your Jekyll site and create a _site directory that contains all of the static files for your site. You can then deploy your Jekyll site to a web server or hosting service of your choice.

Conclusion

Converting your WordPress website to Jekyll can help you create a fast, lightweight, and secure static website. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can convert your WordPress website to Jekyll and take advantage of the many benefits of static site generation.