Rocket11ty is a starter template for building static blogs with Eleventy (11ty), combining a mobile-friendly design with PWA support, RSS, and NetlifyCMS integration.
What is Rocket11ty?
Rocket11ty is a pre-configured Eleventy starter template that turns Markdown posts into a static blog site with built-in SEO features. The template takes Markdown content as input and generates an HTML site with an RSS feed and sitemap, ready for deployment to Netlify or any CDN. The project is hosted on GitHub under the aboutDavid account and is based in part on the official 11ty base blog template.
Key Features
- Automatic caching — Static assets are automatically cached using a configuration credited to @khalby786, improving repeat-load performance for visitors.
- Progressive Web App (PWA) — The blog is installable as an app on supporting devices, also credited to @khalby786.
- Mobile-friendly design — The layout adapts to small screens out of the box, with no separate mobile theme.
- Light and dark theme toggle — Theming is provided by the Halfmoon CSS framework, letting users switch between light and dark appearance.
- Working contact form — A contact form that functions as-is on Netlify, and can be adapted to work with Pageclip when hosted elsewhere.
- Automatic SEO — Generates a sitemap and an RSS feed for better crawlability and content syndication.
- NetlifyCMS integration — A visual editor for publishing blog posts without writing code, available when the site is deployed on Netlify.
- JAMstack-ready output — The static site can be served from any CDN, unlike a server-based platform such as WordPress.
Who is it for?
Rocket11ty is aimed at anyone who wants a minimal, fast blog starter on the Eleventy stack. Developers who already use Eleventy can use it as a ready-made starting point instead of assembling basic features themselves. Bloggers who publish on Netlify can manage content through the included NetlifyCMS instead of editing files directly. Hobbyists who want a low-maintenance static blog can deploy it to any CDN and rely on the automatic RSS, sitemap, and PWA features.
What can you do with Rocket11ty?
- Personal bloggers: publish Markdown posts and get an auto-generated RSS feed and sitemap for better discoverability.
- Netlify users: deploy with the one-click Netlify button and manage posts through NetlifyCMS.
- Tinkerers: remix the project on Glitch to quickly experiment with the template without leaving the browser.
How does Rocket11ty work?
The README provides a "Deploy to Netlify" button that creates a new site from the repository directly in Netlify, and a "Remix on Glitch" button for browser-based editing. The template itself is an Eleventy project, so local development follows Eleventy's standard build process with Markdown content as the source for posts.
FAQ
Is Rocket11ty free?
Rocket11ty is publicly available on GitHub, and the project page lists no price or license, so you can use the template without paying. As with any open-source starter, you may want to review the repository for licensing details before commercial use.
Does Rocket11ty work without Netlify?
The static site itself can be hosted on any CDN. However, the contact form and NetlifyCMS integration are tied to Netlify's platform. The contact form can be adjusted to work with Pageclip for non-Netlify hosting, but NetlifyCMS will not be available.
What CSS framework does Rocket11ty use?
The template uses Halfmoon, a CSS framework that provides the light and dark theme toggle. This is the only styling framework mentioned in the project README.
What parts come from the Eleventy base blog template?
The blog system, sitemap, and RSS feed are derived from the official 11ty base blog template, as stated in the README, so those features share the same implementation as that upstream template.
