Free static site generator for small restaurants and cafes

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Role of JavaScript, HTML, and PDFs for menus

  • Strong camp arguing that basic restaurant info (menu, soups, hours) should be pure HTML/CSS, with no JS required.
  • Some want restaurants to just publish a printable PDF of the menu; others counter that PDFs are awkward on phones and for assistive tech, and HTML is a better fit for text + images.
  • A few note that PDFs are already produced for printing, so reusing them for the web is operationally simple, even if UX is worse.
  • Debate on “no one browses without JS” vs. the value of graceful degradation and resilience to JS/network failures, even for tiny (~2 kB) scripts.
  • Several point out the irony that avoiding trivial JS may just push users into heavier PDF viewers or bloated Wix‑style builders.

Accessibility and mobile experience

  • Critics of PDF highlight pinch‑zooming on mobile, poor screen‑reader support, and difficulty with translation tools, especially for neurodivergent users.
  • Others claim many WYSIWYG-built sites are even less accessible and far heavier than a PDF.
  • Some argue that browser built‑in translation works well on HTML menus but is clumsy or unreliable on PDFs.

Need for simple, cheap web presence

  • Frustration that many restaurants have no site, or sites that bury core info like opening hours and menus.
  • Complaints that Squarespace/Wix are too expensive for very small or side businesses; others say ~$20/month is reasonable for any real business.
  • Many non‑technical owners default to Facebook/Instagram or just Google Maps listings.

Static site generators, hosting, and tooling

  • Enthusiastic mentions of Astro, Tailwind, Jekyll, Netlify, Vercel, and various static CMS tools, often combined with LLMs to lower effort.
  • Counterpoint: anything involving Git, markdown, or CLIs is still too hard for most non‑programmers; what’s missing is a WordPress‑style editor that outputs static sites.

This project specifically

  • Praised for being lightweight and now having zero runtime JS.
  • Seen as essentially a specialized static theme; some question the need for custom Elixir tooling.
  • Feedback asks for clearer licensing, image rights, simpler repo layout, and easier customization for non‑developers (e.g., less confusing folders, tutorial videos).