Metaphor is a simple blog theme for Jekyll that ships with Bootstrap, Sass, a parallax effect, and several prepared components.
What is Metaphor?
Metaphor is a Jekyll-based blog theme designed for publishing a static site quickly. It takes Markdown posts as input and, through the Jekyll build process, outputs a responsive HTML site. The theme is distributed as a Jekyll source repository (its metadata describes it as "metaphor jekyll src") and bundles front-end assets so you don't need to start from scratch. It is built around a simple, content-focused layout rather than a complex framework.
Key Features
- Bootstrap Included — includes the Bootstrap CSS framework, giving you a responsive grid and ready-made UI components.
- Sass made — styles are written in Sass, so you can edit variables and mixins and compile to CSS.
- Parallax Effect — adds a parallax scrolling effect to sections of the page for visual depth.
- Responsive — the layout adapts to mobile, tablet, and desktop screen sizes using Bootstrap's grid.
- Pinot Boilerplate — ships with the Pinot boilerplate starting point to structure the theme files.
- Pinot Buttons components — provides pre-styled button components from Pinot.
- Normalize.css — resets default browser styles for consistent cross-browser rendering.
- Modernizr — includes the Modernizr feature-detection library to handle browser capability differences.
Who is it for?
Metaphor suits bloggers who want a clean, no-frills Jekyll setup without assembling front-end assets themselves. It also works for developers who want a Bootstrap and Sass base they can customize, and for designers who want a starting point with parallax and ready button styles.
What can you do with it?
- Personal bloggers: publish Markdown posts on a responsive Jekyll site without writing layout code.
- Jekyll developers: customize the theme by editing Sass variables and compiling with the existing build setup.
- Prototyping: use the pre-built Bootstrap and Pinot button components to mock up a blog layout quickly.
Alternatives
- Minima — Jekyll's official default theme, which has a plainer design and no built-in parallax effect.
FAQ
Is Metaphor based on Jekyll?
Yes, Metaphor is a Jekyll blog theme. You write posts in Markdown and run Jekyll to generate a static site.
Does Metaphor include Bootstrap?
Yes, the theme lists Bootstrap as an included framework, so you get its grid and components out of the box.
Can I theme Metaphor with Sass?
Yes, the styles are written in Sass, and you can modify the Sass files and recompile to CSS with your Jekyll build.
What is Modernizr used for?
Modernizr is a JavaScript library that detects browser features; the theme includes it to help you serve fallbacks for older browsers.
