Much-Worse is a Jekyll theme for creating multi-page websites with an optional blog, built to run in a subdirectory such as a university or company domain. It is a derivative of Steve Miller's NGVM theme, released under the MIT License, and is available on GitHub with 48 stars.
What is the Much-Worse Jekyll theme?
Much-Worse is a Jekyll theme that takes plain-text content (Markdown and HTML) and generates a static multi-page website with or without a blog. Unlike most Jekyll themes, which assume a custom domain at the root, Much-Worse is designed to work correctly when the site lives at a path like https://university.edu/department/people/your-name. The theme was made by modifying Steve Miller's NGVM theme and favors large serif fonts, minimal coloring, and restrained styling.
Key Features
- Subdirectory hosting — the site works when deployed at a subpath of an existing domain, which is common for university and company personal pages.
- Multi-page structure — build a full website with separate pages plus a blog section if you want one, rather than being limited to a single-page layout.
- Blog support — a built-in blog framework for publishing posts in a Jekyll site.
- Analytics integration — supports Statcounter for site visitor tracking.
- Comment provider support — works with major comment providers for blog posts.
- Derivative theme — based on Steve Miller's NGVM theme, so it inherits its structure with typographic and layout changes.
- MIT License — free to use, modify, and redistribute with attribution.
Who is it for?
- University researchers and faculty — host a lab or personal page under a department subdirectory while keeping a publication blog.
- Company employees — create a personal site on a corporate domain without needing a separate custom domain.
- Jekyll users who prefer minimal design — get a site with large serif type and few visual distractions.
What can you do with the Much-Worse theme?
- Academics: publish a multi-page profile with a blog listing papers and talks, all hosted under
university.edu/department/people/. - Students: create a project portfolio site in a subdirectory of a campus server.
- Developers: fork the theme on GitHub and submit pull requests for better responsive performance or cleaner HTML/CSS, as suggested by the author.
FAQ
Is the Much-Worse theme free?
Yes, the theme is released under the MIT License, so you can use, modify, and share it freely, including for commercial projects, as long as the copyright notice is preserved.
Can I use the Much-Worse theme without a custom domain?
Yes. The theme is specifically designed to be hosted in a subdirectory of an existing university or company domain, for example http://university.edu/department/people/your-website.
Does the theme support comments and analytics?
Yes. The theme includes support for Statcounter analytics and major comment providers for blog posts, according to the project description.
