Python Project
Static Blog Generator
A static site generator takes Markdown files and produces plain HTML that any host can serve. Building one teaches parsing, templating, file-system traversal and the build-step mental model behind every modern framework — and unlike most learning projects, the output is a real website you can publish.
The brief
Read a directory of Markdown posts with YAML front matter, render each through a template, generate an index page and an RSS feed, and write everything to an output directory ready to deploy.
What it demonstrates
That you understand what a build step actually does, and can design a small pipeline with clear inputs and outputs.
What "done" looks like
Build all of these and the project is finished. Anything past that is in the stretch goals.
- Parse Markdown files with YAML front matter
- Render each post through a template
- Generate an index page sorted by date
- Produce an RSS or Atom feed
- Copy static assets through unchanged
- A single build command producing a deployable directory
How to build it
- 1
Define the front matter contract
Title, date, slug, tags, draft. Decide what is required and fail the build clearly when it is missing.
- 2
Parse Markdown to HTML
Use a Markdown library and keep the conversion in one place, so you can swap it later.
- 3
Set up templating
Jinja2 with a base layout and a post template. Escape by default — a post title with an angle bracket should not break the page.
- 4
Generate the index
Sort by date descending, exclude drafts, and paginate once there are enough posts to need it.
- 5
Build the feed
Emit valid RSS or Atom with correct dates and absolute URLs. Validate it — a broken feed fails silently in every reader.
- 6
Write the output
Clean the output directory, write HTML, copy assets. Make the build repeatable and side-effect free.
- 7
Deploy it
Point GitHub Pages or Netlify at the output. A generator whose site is not live has not finished.
Once it works
Only after the definition of done is met. Half-finished ambition reads worse than a small finished thing.
- Add tag pages and a search index
- Generate social preview images per post
- Make the build incremental so only changed posts are rebuilt
Frequently Asked Questions
Why build one when Hugo and Jekyll exist?
Because building one teaches you what they do. Every modern framework has a build step, and most developers treat it as magic. After writing your own you will debug Next.js or Astro builds with actual understanding rather than by changing config and hoping.
How big should it get?
Stop at Markdown, templates, an index and a feed. Themes, plugins and incremental builds are where side projects go to die — a small generator that publishes a real blog beats an ambitious one that never ships.
Where do I host the output?
GitHub Pages, Netlify or Cloudflare Pages, all free for a static site. Point the deploy at your output directory and you have a live URL, which makes the project reviewable in one click.