Squido: A Beginner’s Guide to the HTML Website Generator

Creating a website from scratch can be a nightmare, especially for any absolute beginners.

That’s where Squido, an HTML website generator, comes in. Squido helps users create static websites quickly, without requiring any absolute coding knowledge.

Squido is a dead simple, open source static HTML website builder, which is built with nodejs. It can be hosted anywhere for a super fast website.

Whether you're a developer looking for a simple way to generate HTML pages or a beginner trying to build a website, Squido is fit for any requirements.

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• Website: https://squido.markmoffat.com/
• Github: https://github.com/mrvautin/squido
• Language : Javascript, nodejs
• License : MIT
• Templates : Mustache, Handlebars, Yaml, Markdown

In this blog, we’ll learn:

• What Squido is and how it works ?
• Key features of Squido
• Advantages and disadvantages of Squido

Installation

Install the squido cli module globally in order to build and manage your static site.

From github [Preferred for latest versions]

Using npm or yarn,

If you want to start from default blog setup then go through below steps,

Make your squido website directory with below command,

Get into the installed directory,

It’s a blank directory, now to setup a new squido website from defaults, enter below command,

In you want to start from scratch then,follow the below commands,

First make your squido directory by below command,

Get into the directory by below command,

If you want to start from a template. You can use below blog example of squido,

https://github.com/mrvautin/squido-blog-example

They provide a documentation website example as well you can check it out as well.

Please replace my-squido-website with your new website directory name.

Now, Run the below command to to build,clean, server and watch for any changes,

By this command you can visit your website on the go,

http://localhost:4965

• Clean => It removes everything in your /build directory.
• Serve => It starts a web server by which you can view your website.

You can see their demos by below links,

• Blog style: https://squido-blog.markmoffat.com
• Documentation style: https://squido-docs.markmoffat.com/getting-started/
• Traditional website: https://squido.markmoffat.com

Key Features of Squido

✔ No Coding Required: Perfect for beginners who don’t know HTML or CSS.

✔ Lightweight & Fast: Generates static HTML pages for fast performance and SEO benefits.

✔ Easy Deployment: Works with platforms like GitHub Pages, Vercel, and Netlify.

✔ Customizable Templates: Choose from pre-designed templates or create your own.

✔ SEO-Friendly: Clean HTML structure ensures better search engine rankings.

✔ No Database Required: Eliminates the need for databases, making websites more secure and efficient.

✔ Swagger API doc: It enables swagger (https://swagger.io/) and generates your super fast static API documentation.

✔ Markdown Supported: All the blog posts and pages are written in markdown format which is easy to learn and faster to write as well.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Squido

Advantages:

• Super Fast Performance: Squido generates pure HTML, there’s no need for database queries or server-side processing, which makes websites load quickly.
• Better Security: Static websites are less risky to attacks like SQL injection or wordpress malware.
• Easy to Maintain: Its easy to maintain as there is no need for constant updates, backups, or database management.
• Good for SEO: Google prefers fast-loading, static web pages, Aa squido-generated websites have an SEO advantage.

Disadvantages:

• Not for Dynamic Websites: Squido is great for static pages but not good for blogs with comments, user accounts, or any real-time updates.
• Limited Customization: Squido supports templates,but it may not be as flexible as full CMS platforms like most popular among cms one and only wordpress.
• No Built-in CMS: If you want a content management system [CMS like wordpress],then you’ll need a different solution.

Conclusion