Hydra

Hydra is a Jekyll marketing site template created by CloudCannon, the Cloud CMS for Jekyll, for building brand and product websites; it is now marked as a legacy template no longer maintained. It turns a _config.yml file, content collections for posts and staff, and data files for navigation and footer into a static HTML site with a blog, contact form, and pre-built pages. The template runs on Jekyll 3.3.1 (with support for newer versions) and is optimized for editing in CloudCannon; a live demo is available at proud-alligator.cloudvent.net.

What is Hydra?

Hydra is a Jekyll-based marketing site template produced by CloudCannon. It provides pre-built pages, pre-styled components, a blog with pagination, post category pages, Disqus comments, a staff and author system, a configurable footer and navigation, an RSS/Atom feed, SEO tags, and Google Analytics. Inputs are site and author settings in _config.yml, posts from a Posts collection, staff members from a Staff collection, and navigation/footer structures from data files; the output is a static, deployable Jekyll site. The repository reports 459 stars on GitHub and lists topics jekyll, jekyll-template, and jekyll-theme.

Key Features

• Contact form — Preconfigured to work with CloudCannon and send email to the company address; the implementation can be swapped for FormSpree or another provider.
• Blog with pagination — Includes a blog collection with paginated post listings and dedicated post category pages.
• Staff and author system — A Staff collection links to a Staff Author field on posts, so author information is reused across the whole site instead of being duplicated.
• Configurable footer and navigation — Both are exposed as data files in the Data section, giving clients a simple editing surface without touching HTML.
• RSS/Atom feed — Generates an RSS/Atom feed for blog subscribers automatically.
• SEO tags — Outputs SEO meta tags on each page out of the box.
• Google Analytics — Accepts a Google Analytics key in _config.yml to track site traffic.
• Pre-built pages and components — Ships with ready-made page layouts and styled components, so you do not need to define a separate CSS framework.

Who is it for?

• Small businesses and brands — Want to publish a professional marketing site with a blog and contact form without designing from scratch.
• Jekyll developers — Need a starter site that follows Jekyll conventions and can be extended for client projects.
• CloudCannon users — Want to hand content editing to clients through collections and data files, since the template is explicitly optimized for editing in CloudCannon.

What can you do with Hydra?

• Brand managers — Set up a marketing site with company details, staff bios, and a blog to promote products and share advice.
• Agencies — Deploy a static Jekyll site to CloudCannon or any Jekyll host and use data files to give clients control over navigation and footer.
• Content teams — Publish blog posts with author attribution, category pages, Disqus comments, and an RSS feed for subscribers.

How does Hydra work?

1. Add your site and author details in _config.yml.
2. Add your Google Analytics and Disqus keys to _config.yml.
3. Get a workflow going with CloudCannon or run bundle exec jekyll serve locally, using Bundler to manage Jekyll versions.
4. Edit posts, staff, navigation, and footer through CloudCannon collections and data files.

FAQ

Is Hydra still maintained?

No, the template is explicitly marked as a legacy template and is no longer maintained. It was built with Jekyll 3.3.1 but should support newer versions as well.

Does Hydra have a contact form?

Yes, Hydra includes a contact form preconfigured to work with CloudCannon. It sends email to the address listed in company details, and the setup can be changed to another provider like FormSpree.

Can I use Hydra with any static host?

Hydra is a standard Jekyll template, so it can be built and hosted anywhere Jekyll runs. It also includes a Deploy to CloudCannon button that connects the GitHub repository directly to CloudCannon.

How do I add comments to blog posts?

Hydra supports Disqus comments for posts. Add your Disqus shortname key in _config.yml, and comment threads will appear on post pages.