Static sites enable a good time travel experience By Juha-Matti Santala — Aug 30th, 2025 --- Overview Juha-Matti reflects on the advantages of static site generators, especially Eleventy, for preserving and revisiting website states over time. This insight was inspired by a conversation about gamifying blogging and personal website maintenance and revisits Juha-Matti’s previous practice of awarding self-made blogging badges. --- Key Points Gamified Blogging Memories: Juha-Matti awarded himself badges for blogging achievements in the past but initially lacked screenshots of these on their site. Utilizing Static Site Generators for Time Travel: By leveraging Eleventy (a static site generator) alongside Git version control, Juha-Matti can revisit any past state of the website simply by checking out the commit in Git and serving the site locally. This capability offers a near-instant "time travel" experience into the website's history. Comparison to Dynamic Sites: Unlike sites relying on live databases (e.g., WordPress) or those that fetch posts dynamically without storing versions in Git, static sites combined with version control snapshots allow easy access to historical site versions. Commit Discipline Matters: Juha-Matti admits some past commits were not as diligent, as deployments were done manually without full version control automation—but overall, the workflow is effective. Scheduled Website Snapshots: Inspired by Alex Chan’s blog, a GitHub Action was set to take monthly snapshots of the front page to keep a permanent reference over time. Encouragement for Static Site Advantages: The article concludes that static site generators offer a major benefit for keeping a living history of a website’s design and content changes. --- Visuals The post includes a main cover image representing the topic. A screenshot shows the blog index from spring 2021 featuring custom badges like "self-hosting," "polyglot," and "20 weeks in a row." --- Categories The post is published under: blaugust-2025 blaugust eleventy --- Call to Action Juha-Matti invites readers to engage in deeper discussions: “If something above resonated with you, let's start a discussion about it! Email me at juhamattisantala at gmail dot com and share your thoughts.” --- Additional Information Juha-Matti's website features: Navigation to various sections such as Blog, Notes, Weeklies, Snacks, Codebase, Speaking, Software, and About Me. Links to RSS feed, search, and theme toggle. An extensive list of blog categories ranging from 3D Printing to Year in Review. Other recent and popular posts are visible for exploration. --- Footer Highlights The digital home of Juha-Matti Santala is built with Eleventy. The website layout is originally by HTML5 UP! Strong message: "Trans rights are human rights." --- This post showcases how static site generators combined with good version control enable an effective and enjoyable way to preserve and revisit the history of a personal website, contrasting positively against many dynamic or less versioned web publishing workflows.