There is a new tool that I’ve added to my blogging toolbox and it’s called Forestry.
It’s a pretty nifty idea - keep creating your site using Hugo or Jekyll static generators and keep it nice, fast and tidy and safe from PHP problems of Worpress and friends, but add another layer - a CMS.
This CMS is a very light one. It’s aware of the static generators, it can read your site’s existing structure without a hickup and you can connect it to your Git repository to integrated into your existing workflow. It’s really neat.
Here’s how I set it up:
- My blog is created using Hugo and stored in a GitLab repository
- That repository is connected to my Netlify account, so that every time new content is pushed to it - Netlify runs Hugo build and creates the static content.
- The same repository is connected to Forestry - so I can edit and manage my site visually, without manually adding Markdown files and managing posts. Every time I press publish - Forestry commits the code to GitLab, Netlify picks it up and the site is updated. It’s amazing!
I highly recommend this setup for anyone who’s looking to create a static-based site. It’s awesome.
Kudos to Forestry team, btw, their support is super responsive!