Complete guide to migrating your Netlify CMS website to Jekyll. Leave Netlify CMS's officially deprecated behind and get native github pages integration. Free migration tool included.
You can migrate from Netlify CMS to Jekyll for free using LeaveWP. Enter your site URL, choose Jekyll as the destination, and download your content — posts, pages, and media — in minutes. No API keys, passwords, or CLI tools required. Difficulty: Medium. Estimated time: 20-40 minutes.
Git-based CMS for static site generators (now Decap CMS). Static site teams wanting a free, Git-backed editorial UI, but these limitations push teams toward modern alternatives.
Officially deprecated — succeeded by Decap CMS
This is the most common reason teams migrate away from Netlify CMS. Jekyll eliminates this issue entirely.
Limited to Git-based workflows (slow for large content volumes)
With Jekyll, native github pages integration — deploy by pushing to a repo.
No real-time collaboration or content scheduling
Modern architectures like Jekyll are designed to avoid this from the ground up.
Admin UI is basic compared to commercial headless CMS options
After migrating, you'll no longer need to worry about this — Jekyll takes a fundamentally different approach.
Ruby-based SSG that powers GitHub Pages. Built with Ruby (Liquid templates), it's developer blogs hosted on github pages with minimal setup.
Native GitHub Pages integration — deploy by pushing to a repo
Mature and battle-tested for blogs and documentation
Large library of themes and plugins
Simple mental model — content in Markdown, layouts in Liquid
Jekyll is open-source and free to use. You own your code and data with no vendor lock-in. Deploy to any host that supports Ruby, or use managed platforms like Vercel and Netlify for zero-config deployments.
Side-by-side comparison based on real platform characteristics
| Metric | Netlify CMS | Jekyll |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 |
| Performance | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 |
| Flexibility | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 |
| Cost | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 |
| Scalability | ⭐⭐ 2/5 | ⭐⭐ 2/5 |
| Ecosystem | ⭐⭐ 2/5 | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 |
| Language | JavaScript (Git-backed) | Ruby (Liquid templates) |
| Pricing | Free | Free (open-source) |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
Ratings are based on publicly available data, documentation, and community consensus as of 2026. Individual experience may vary.
A detailed breakdown of how your Netlify CMS content maps to Jekyll
What may need manual attention
Custom server-side logic, third-party integrations, and platform-specific plugins will need equivalent solutions in Jekyll. The core content (text, images, metadata) transfers cleanly.
Migrate your content in three simple steps
Enter your Netlify CMS site URL — LeaveWP connects automatically.
Select Jekyll as destination and choose content options.
Download your migrated content or preview it in your browser.
Migrating from Netlify CMS to Jekyll makes the most sense if you're experiencing officially deprecated — succeeded by decap cms or outgrowing Netlify CMS's architecture. Jekyll is best for developer blogs hosted on github pages with minimal setup.
You should migrate if: your Netlify CMS site is slow, your hosting costs are climbing, you need developer flexibility, or you want to adopt a modern JAMstack architecture.
You might want to stay if: your Netlify CMS site benefits from content lives in your git repository — no external database and you don't have Ruby developers on your team.
The migration itself is straightforward with LeaveWP — enter your Netlify CMS URL, select Jekyll, and download your content. The more important question is whether Jekyll's architecture fits your team's skills and your project's long-term needs.
Explore more migration paths from Netlify CMS or to Jekyll
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