Halve is a Jekyll port of the vangeltzo.com personal site, built by Taylan Tatli as a stylish two-column theme for static blogs and portfolios. It runs on Jekyll, the Ruby-based static site generator, and includes integrations for jQuery, Magnific Popup, and FitVids.JS. The theme is distributed as a GitHub repository with a live demo hosted on GitHub Pages.
What is Halve?
Halve is a two-column Jekyll theme ported from the vangeltzo.com website by Vangelis Tzortzis and maintained by Taylan Tatli. It takes Jekyll site content—written in Markdown with YAML front matter—and generates a static HTML site with a sidebar layout. The theme's dependencies are jQuery, Magnific Popup for lightbox galleries, and FitVids.JS for responsive embedded videos. The repository includes sample posts and code examples credited to Michael Rose, along with images from Unsplash and Lorem Pixel. A dedicated installation guide is available, and a live version is hosted at taylantatli.github.io/Halve.
What makes Halve stand out?
- Two-column layout — A main content area plus sidebar, matching the vangeltzo.com design.
- Jekyll-based static generation — Converts Markdown posts and pages into fast, database-free HTML.
- Magnific Popup integration — Enables responsive lightbox popups for images and galleries.
- FitVids.JS integration — Automatically resizes embedded videos to fit the column width.
- jQuery dependency — Bundles jQuery for DOM manipulation and plugin support.
- Sample posts and code examples — Pre-built content from Michael Rose to help you get started.
- Live demo — Try the theme at taylantatli.github.io/Halve before installing.
Who should use Halve?
- Personal bloggers — Publish Markdown posts and generate a clean, two-column static blog.
- Photographers — Use the Magnific Popup lightbox to present image galleries in a portfolio.
- Developers — Extend the theme with Jekyll's templating system and host the site on GitHub Pages.
- Designers — Use the theme as a starting point for a minimal, content-focused portfolio.
What can you do with Halve?
- Personal bloggers: Write posts in Markdown and have them built into a static site with a two-column layout.
- Photographers: Showcase images with Magnific Popup lightbox galleries.
- Video content creators: Embed YouTube or Vimeo videos that scale responsively with FitVids.JS.
Alternatives
Other Jekyll themes include Minimal Mistakes, a popular theme by Michael Rose, and Jekyll Now, a simple theme for GitHub Pages.
FAQ
Is Halve free?
The Halve repository is publicly available on GitHub and can be viewed and downloaded at no cost. The README does not mention any licensing or payment requirements.
Does Halve require Jekyll?
Yes, Halve is a Jekyll theme and requires a Jekyll environment to build the static site. You can use GitHub Pages, which supports Jekyll natively, or install Jekyll locally with Ruby.
Is Halve still developed?
The maintainer states in the README that there will be no updates until a new laptop is purchased. This indicates that development is currently paused.
Where can I see Halve in action?
A live version of Halve is hosted at taylantatli.github.io/Halve on GitHub Pages.
Who made Halve?
Halve is a Jekyll port of the vangeltzo.com website, with original work by Vangelis Tzortzis. The port is maintained by Taylan Tatli, who credits Michael Rose for sample posts and code examples.
