Hella Simple Eleventy + Tailwind CSS Starter is a minimal boilerplate for building static websites with the Eleventy static site generator and Tailwind CSS, using just two dependencies and two npm scripts.
What is Hella Simple Eleventy + Tailwind CSS Starter?
This starter kit pairs Eleventy, a static site generator that outputs plain HTML, with Tailwind CSS for utility-first styling. It takes Markdown files as content input and produces a static, deployment-ready website as output. The template runs on Node.js and is published as a public GitHub repository, with a live Netlify preview available at https://hella-simple-eleventy-tailwindcss.netlify.app/. Its repository metadata describes it as "Hella Simple Eleventy + Tailwind CSS Starter" and it currently has 28 stars.
Key Features
- Only two dependencies — The entire project installs with
npm iand adds just two packages, keeping the dependency footprint small andnpm installfast. - Two npm scripts —
npm run servestarts a development server at http://localhost:8080/, andnpm run buildgenerates the production static output. - Tailwind CSS pre-configured — Tailwind is integrated into the build pipeline, so you can write utility classes directly in your template and Markdown files.
- One Tailwind UI freebie included — The starter ships with a single free Tailwind UI interface component as a working example of how to incorporate Tailwind UI snippets into an Eleventy layout.
- Markdown-driven content — All page content is authored in Markdown, which Eleventy converts to HTML at build time, so no database or CMS is needed for simple sites.
- Public on GitHub — The repository is open to clone, and its 28-star rating indicates community interest in this lightweight setup.
Who is it for?
- Developers learning Eleventy — They can study the two-dependency setup to see how Eleventy and Tailwind work together without the complexity of larger starters.
- Web designers building static sites — They can clone the repo, swap Markdown content, and style everything with Tailwind utility classes.
- Makers shipping quick landing pages — They can extend the included Tailwind UI component into a one-page site and deploy the build output to any static host.
What can you do with it?
- Create a personal blog — Write posts as Markdown files and let Eleventy render them into a static blog styled with Tailwind.
- Build a portfolio — Replace the default content with project showcases and use Tailwind's utilities to lay out cards and grids.
- Prototype a marketing page — Start from the Tailwind UI freebie as a hero or call-to-action block, then deploy the result to Netlify.
How does it work?
Clone the repository, then run npm i to install dependencies. For development, run npm run serve and open http://localhost:8080/ in your browser; for production, run npm run build to generate the static site files.
FAQ
Do I need a CMS to use this starter?
No. The starter uses Markdown files as content, so Eleventy reads local Markdown and outputs HTML without a database or CMS.
Is this starter free?
Yes, it is a public GitHub repository, so you can clone and modify it freely.
What does "2 dependencies" refer to?
The project declares only two npm packages in its dependency list, which keeps the install size small and the build process simpler than most static site starters.
Can I replace the Tailwind UI component?
Yes, the included Tailwind UI freebie is just a starting point; you can remove it or swap in any other Tailwind-styled markup in your template files.
How do I get the site online?
Run npm run build to produce static files, then deploy them to any static host such as Netlify; the preview URL shows this exact starter already deployed to Netlify.
