About
Cecil is a modern static site generator (SSG), written in PHP, known for its ease of use and its ability to turn Markdown files into complete, ultra-fast websites.
Cecil’s strengths:
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Optimal loading speed (zero overhead): unlike a traditional CMS (such as WordPress), Cecil generates static HTML files. Since no database is queried and no server-side script runs during a visit, pages load instantly, with performance scores (Lighthouse/Core Web Vitals) close to 100%.
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Modern and lightweight workflow: based on the Twig template engine, Cecil lets you build complex architectures (blogs, documentation, portfolios) while remaining extremely lightweight and secure by design (no vulnerabilities related to dynamic PHP on the final site).
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Smart asset management: Cecil processes and optimizes resources (CSS, JavaScript) to minimize the number of requests and the size of transferred files.
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Automatic image optimization: Cecil natively handles responsive images by automatically generating multiple sizes and modern formats such as WebP and AVIF. This drastically reduces page weight, with no manual work from the developer.
Cecil is designed for creators who want a website where performance is a technical priority, while keeping great design flexibility.
History
The first functional version of Cecil (then named PHPoole) was released in September 2013: a simple PHP 5.3 script powered by Twig and the Zend Framework Console component.
Authors
- Cecil is maintained by Arnaud Ligny, a web and e-commerce consultant
- The logo was designed by Cécile Ricordeau, an amazing creative director ❤️
License
- Cecil is free software, distributed under the terms of the EUPL-1.2 license
- The content of the cecil.app website is distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0