List Of Alternatives
In order to make this website more useful, this page is for listing alternatives to Lichen-Markdown. This is an open source project freely given and we don't care if you use it, we want you to find what's best for you.
Lichen (original)
The original Lichen is very similar to Lichen-Markdown, but it uses Gemtext as a markup language instead of Markdown, as well as some other small differences. Gemtext is a more restrictive markup language, which doesn't allow some of the possibilities in Markdown such as inline links. If you are going for the simplest possible website, or specifically want a website which can be served via Gemini, then the original Lichen is a good option.
Datenstrom Yellow
Datenstrom Yellow is also a simple flat-file CMS like Lichen-Markdown, and has a similar ethos, but is more feature-rich, has a plugin system, and some different design decisions. We appreciate the simplicity of the side-by-side real-time WYSIWYG editor in Lichen-Markdown, and the ability to modify the header and footer through the CMS without modifying the theme, but Datenstrom Yellow is also a solid choice. Lichen-Markdown can be extended beyond the structure of the CMS by writing raw HTML and/or PHP, but Datenstrom Yellow has more plugins that could help if your website may need more features in the future. Datenstrom Yellow also has more thorough documentation than Lichen-Markdown.
ProcessWire
ProcessWire is a heavier duty CMS, that has a database and goes further away from the flat-file permacomputing angle, but its also a beautiful and easily extensible open source project that could meet many different website-making needs.
Wordpress
Wordpress is the classic CMS. People love to hate, because it sometimes does feel like using a Moon Rover to make a website, but its also an amazing open source project that has helped millions of people make websites for years. Gratitude for Wordpress and its legacy. Wordpress is folk-software.
Gatsby
Gatsby is a static site generator that lets you build your website in React and spend more time doing webpack configuration, in case you weren't getting enough quality time with webpack. Probably overkill for many things, but its also amazing how much you can do with it.
To Research
Here are some tools which we are interested in, but haven't had the chance to check out yet:
Bludit, "Simple, Fast, Secure, Flat-File CMS"
Thoughtwrapper, "A Static Site Generator for Tinkerers"
Others
Above we've only included alternatives which are particularly relevant or which we have personally used. For more comprehensive lists of the many flat-file CMS, static-site generators and website building tools out there, here are some resources:
A Giant List Of Flat-File CMSes
A List Of Static Site Generators