The verdict: pick the generator by the job
Pick the generator by the job, not by popularity. Astro suits content and marketing sites that should ship almost no JavaScript, Hugo suits very large sites that must build quickly, Eleventy suits a blog you want full control over, and Next.js suits a site that mixes static pages with dynamic ones.
- Marketing site or blog with strong Core Web Vitals: Astro or Eleventy.
- Thousands of pages and a build that must finish fast: Hugo.
- Product site with both static and signed-in pages: Next.js.
- A non-developer who wants a desktop app and no terminal: Publii.
What a static site generator does
A static site generator turns markdown files and templates into plain HTML at build time. The web server then sends finished files, so there is no database query and no PHP run on each request.
That is the whole trick, and it explains both the benefit and the limit. Pages arrive fast and there is very little to attack, because there is no admin login on the live site. The other side: nothing is generated per visitor, so a personalised dashboard or a live stock count has to come from somewhere else.
The generators compared
Language, output mode and hosting fit separate the tools most teams actually choose.
| Generator | Language | Output | Best for | Hosting fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astro | JavaScript or TypeScript | Static with optional islands of interactivity | Content sites, marketing pages, portfolios | Any static host or cPanel account |
| Hugo | Go, templates in its own syntax | Static only | Large sites, documentation, many pages | Any static host or cPanel account |
| Eleventy | JavaScript or Node | Static only | Blogs, small sites, full control over markup | Any static host or cPanel account |
| Next.js | React, JavaScript or TypeScript | Static, server-rendered or incremental | Product sites with static and dynamic pages | Node host or a static export to any host |
| Jekyll | Ruby | Static only | A blog with a git-based publishing habit | Static host or cPanel account |
| Publii | Desktop app, no code | Static only | A non-developer publishing a small site | Uploads by FTP or to a static host |
Two more are worth naming for their own jobs: Docusaurus and VitePress for documentation sites, and Nuxt or SvelteKit when the team already writes Vue or Svelte. All of them produce the same thing at the end, a folder of HTML, CSS and images.
Where the built site is hosted
The build writes to a folder, usually called dist, public or _site. That folder is the website, and it can live in three places.
- A static host that serves it from a CDN, often with a free tier and a deploy on every git push.
- A shared cPanel account, where the folder's contents go into
public_html. - A VPS running nginx or Apache, when the build itself runs on the server or the site needs a small service.
For an Indian business, the shared account is often already paid for and already holds the domain and the email. Static site hosting covers the first route; shared hosting covers the second.
Deploy a generated site on cPanel
The deploy is a file upload. Build locally, then move the output folder.
- Run the build command, for example
npm run build, and open the output folder to confirm it containsindex.html. - Zip the contents of that folder, not the folder itself.
- In cPanel open File Manager, go to
public_html, upload the zip and choose Extract. - Add a
.htaccessfile inpublic_htmlwithErrorDocument 404 /404.htmlso a wrong link shows your page. - Turn on the free SSL certificate, then load the domain and one made-up URL.
You know it worked when the home page loads over https, an inner page opens, and a made-up URL returns your 404 page instead of a directory listing or a 500. If every page 404s, the files are one folder too deep: public_html/dist/index.html instead of public_html/index.html.
When a static site generator is the wrong tool
Four situations mean a dynamic stack, and no amount of build tooling fixes them.
- Pages must be personalised per visitor at request time.
- Inventory or prices change many times a day and must never be stale.
- Users publish the content, such as a forum or a marketplace.
- The site depends on logins, roles and a database-backed account area.
A hybrid framework can carry part of that load, and a small headless CMS or booking service can carry the rest. What does not work is rebuilding the whole site every time a visitor needs a page generated for them.
When to email support
Email support@webji.services when the extracted files land in the wrong folder, the 404 rule breaks a working site, or HTTPS does not cover the domain after the move. Include the generator, the output folder name and the exact error.
Email support is 24/7 in Hindi and English, with an average first reply under 60 minutes. The office phone is not a support line. A generated site needs no PHP and no database, so an entry shared plan at ₹300 a month before 18% GST is enough to serve it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best static site generator?
It depends on the job. Astro suits content and marketing sites that should ship almost no JavaScript, Hugo suits very large sites that must build quickly, Eleventy suits a blog you want full control over, and Next.js suits a site that mixes static pages with dynamic ones.
What is a static site generator?
A tool that turns markdown files and templates into plain HTML at build time. The server then sends finished files, so there is no database query and no PHP on each request.
Do I need a special host for a static site?
No. The build produces a folder of files, and any web host can serve them. Upload the folder to public_html on a shared cPanel plan, or push it to a static host that serves from a CDN.
Is Hugo faster than other generators?
Hugo has a reputation for very fast builds because it is written in Go. Whether that matters depends on your site size: a few hundred pages build quickly in most generators, and the difference shows on sites with thousands of pages.
Can I use WordPress content with a static generator?
You can export the content and rebuild it as markdown, which is a migration project rather than a switch. If non-technical editors must keep publishing, a static site usually needs a Git-based CMS in front of it.
Why does my static site show a 404 on every page?
The files are usually in a subfolder rather than the document root, or the host is looking for index.php. Check that index.html sits directly in public_html and that the domain points at that folder.