Back to static files
This site has been through a database-backed blog engine, two static site generators and one regrettable experiment with a single-page app. It is now a folder of HTML files that I edit by hand.
What I gave up: tags, search, comments, and the feeling of having a system. What I got back: pages that load in one round trip, nothing to update, and no build step between having a thought and publishing it.
What I kept
A stylesheet of about forty lines, a feed, and a sitemap. The feed is the only part I generate, with a script short enough to read in one screen.
If the site ever grows past a few dozen pages I will probably regret this and reach for a generator again. That seems like a good problem to have later.