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Freelance Eleventy Developer

Looking for an experienced Eleventy developer to build a super-fast, affordable website? I've used Eleventy for lots of projects and can help you harness its full potential for your business.

Eleventy (11ty.dev) is my static site generator of choice for creating websites that load really quickly, rank well in search engines, and can be hosted on easy-to-use web hosts at a very low cost. As an experienced Eleventy developer I can help whether you're building a brand new site or updating an existing one.

How Chobble Can Help With Eleventy

Building New Eleventy Sites

I'll create a custom Eleventy site around your specific business needs.

Your site will have a fast, mobile friendly design with minimal CSS and JavaScript, making the most of modern browser features. It will have automatically optimised images (with my custom image placeholder script too).

Pretty RSS feeds encourage subscribers, sitemaps increase page discoverability, and built-in SEO features like canonical and meta tags will help your site perform well with search engines.

The sites have easy-to-update content using plain text files or a simple CMS. Default collections like pages, news posts, products and galleries are configured, ready for you to edit. Sites have secure contact forms with automatic bot protection. You'll get the full source code with clear documentation to explain how everything works.

Whether you're starting from a template like my Chobble Template or need something built from scratch, I'll deliver a website that's very easy to maintain and always loads quickly.

Click here to calculate the price of a new Eleventy website from Chobble

Adding Features to Existing Eleventy Sites

If you've already got an Eleventy site (awesome, nice choice!) then I can help improve it.

I can implement new layouts and collections to expand your site's capabilities. Your site could showcase products with fast image galleries and product showcases that load quickly. I could create custom shortcodes for special content blocks that make updating content easier. Need a blog? I can set up complete blog functionality with tags and categories for organizing your content. I can integrate third-party services like payment processors, booking systems, NPM packages, and more. Your site might benefit from improved performance and search engine visibility through technical optimisations. I can add interactive elements with vanilla JavaScript that enhance user experience without slowing down your site.

Whatever you need building, my changes will integrate seamlessly with your existing codebase while maintaining Eleventy's excellent performance.

Click here to contact me about upgrading your existing website

Converting CMS Sites to Eleventy

If you're stuck with an expensive, confusing, bulky or slow CMS website, I can help you migrate to Eleventy.

I can transform your WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or other sites into a tidy and minimalist Eleventy site. Your site will keep its existing design and content while improving performance. I'll set up simple editing tools that match your technical comfort level. You'll reduce or eliminate ongoing hosting costs by moving to more affordable static hosting options. Your site will keep all the features you love without the bloat you don't need.

A real example: I recently converted A&S Home Furnishings from an expensive, broken CMS to a streamlined Eleventy site. I used wget to archive the existing site, converted the pages to Markdown with pandoc, and implemented a fresh, responsive design with minimal CSS. The new site loads instantly, has a working contact form, and costs just £10/month to host.

Click here to calculate the price of an Eleventy site conversion

Switching From Another Generator to Eleventy

If you're using another static site generator like Jekyll or Hugo, it's probably pretty straightforward to switch to Eleventy. Since Eleventy is a very flexible generator you can store files in any location and it largely "just works". This makes switching from other SSGs to Eleventy is easier than the other way around.

I've converted a bunch of sites from Jekyll to Eleventy - some examples are Buttonkin and Vegan Prestwich. Jekyll is cool but I was frustrated at the slow pace of development, and extending it isn't as straightforward as writing JavaScript, so switching felt like the clear best long-term choice.

Contact me if you need help switching to Eleventy!

Why Eleventy?

I've used a bunch of static site generators and CMS platforms over my years nerding, and have settled on Eleventy for small business websites, for a few reasons:

JavaScript-based and beginner-friendly. Eleventy uses JavaScript, which is easier for beginners to understand than other programming languages. This means more autonomy over your website - if I get hit by a bus, you'll find it easier to maintain or modify your site yourself or find another developer.

NPM package management. Eleventy uses npm, a fast and reliable package manager that's easier to run than alternatives like Ruby gems, making development and maintenance simpler.

Highly extensible. I can build custom transforms, collections, or use different formats for layouts to perfectly match your business needs. This flexibility allows your site to grow with your business.

Perfect for most small businesses. Most small business websites are essentially glorified brochures that rarely change, which static site generators are perfect for. My Chobble Template even supports product listings and Stripe checkouts, for sites that don't need live stock tracking.

Flexible content management. You can store your content in Markdown, JSON, HTML, or it can even be automatically generated from an API - whatever works best for your business.

Future-proof technology. Eleventy outputs standard web code that will continue to work for decades, unlike proprietary platforms that might change prices, remove features, or disappear.

Affordable hosting options. Static sites can be hosted for free or very cheaply on services like Neocities, Bunny.net, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages.

Excellent SEO potential. Fast-loading, semantically structured pages rank better in search results.

My Eleventy Approach

I build Eleventy sites with a focus on quality and sustainability:

I create sites with semantic HTML that's accessible and SEO-friendly from the ground up. Your site will use minimal, efficient CSS for fast loading times even on slower connections. I implement progressive enhancement so your site works for everyone, regardless of their device or browser. You'll receive maintainable code you can understand and update without needing a computer science degree. Every project includes clear documentation of how everything works so you're never left wondering.

Each site I build comes with full source code access and guidance on how to maintain and update your site yourself if you choose to.

Prices for Eleventy Development

As with all of my services, I charge a flat hourly rate for Eleventy development with transparent estimates and regular updates. I've built a price calculator which you can use to get an immediate estimate for your Eleventy site build.

Learn Eleventy Yourself

Want to take control of your own Eleventy site? I offer technical training and tutoring to help you master Eleventy:

You'll understand the basics of Eleventy's template system and how it generates your site. I'll teach you to create and edit content using Markdown so you can update your site yourself. You'll learn how to add new pages and sections to expand your site as your business grows. We'll cover how to customize designs and layouts to match your evolving brand identity. You'll become confident in deploying updates to your hosting provider without needing technical support.

Training sessions can be conducted in person (if you're in Prestwich) or remotely, and are tailored to your current knowledge level and learning goals.

Let's Build Something Fast

Whether you're starting fresh or improving what you already have, I'll help you create and own a website that's fast, affordable, and built to last.

Get in touch with me today and let's talk about your Eleventy project!