avel is a runtime-JavaScript-free Zola theme inspired by Hiroshi Abe's famously lightweight official homepage. It cares about one thing before everything else: pages should appear immediately.
It is built around a few simple ideas.
- No runtime JavaScript
- No external resources by default
- Inline CSS, so the browser does not wait for a separate stylesheet
- Theme knobs live in
config.toml, so you do not need to edit HTML or CSS
Why lightness matters
Light pages load quickly, break less often, and age better. They also avoid tracking scripts and are less dependent on CDNs or third-party services.
Hiroshi Abe's homepage has stayed online for years because it is simple. avel borrows that attitude and turns it into a reusable Zola theme.