Added site on alternatives to Material for MkDocs

Author: squidfunk

docs/alternatives.md

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+---
+template: overrides/main.html
+---
+
+# Alternatives
+
+There are tons of static site generators and themes out there and choosing the
+right one for your tech stack is a tough decision. If you're unsure if Material
+for MkDocs is the right solution for you, this section should help you evaluate
+alternative solutions.
+
+## Docusaurus
+
+[Docusaurus] by Facebook is a very popular documentation generator and a good
+choice if you or your company are already using [React] to build your site.
+It will generate a [single page application] which is fundamentally different
+from the site Material for MkDocs generates for you.
+
+__Advantages__
+
+- Very powerful, customizable and extendable
+- Provides many components that aid in technical writing
+- Large and rich ecosystem, backed by Facebook
+
+__Challenges__
+
+- High learning curve, JavaScript knowledge mandatory
+- JavaScript ecosystem is very volatile, rather high maintenance
+- More time necessary needed to get up and running
+
+While [Docusaurus] is one of the best choices when it comes to documentation
+sites that output a single page applications, there are many more solutions,
+including [Docz], [Gatsby], [Vuepress] and [Docsify] that approach
+this problem similarily.
+
+  [Docusaurus]: https://docusaurus.io/
+  [React]: https://reactjs.org/
+  [single page application]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-page_application
+  [Docz]: https://www.docz.site/
+  [Gatsby]: https://www.gatsbyjs.com/
+  [VuePress]: https://vuepress.vuejs.org/
+  [Docsify]: https://docsify.js.org/
+
+## Jekyll
+
+[Jekyll] is probably one of the most mature and widespread static site
+generators and is written in [Ruby]. It is not specifically geared towards
+technical project documentation and has many themes to choose from, which
+can be challenging.
+
+__Advantages__
+
+- Battle-tested, rich ecosystem, many themes to choose from
+- Brings great capabilities for blogging  (permalinks, tags, etc.)
+- Generates a SEO-friendly site, similar to Material for MkDocs
+
+__Challenges__
+
+- Not specifically geared towards technical project documentation
+- Limited Markdown capabilities, not as advanced as Python Markdown
+- More time necessary needed to get up and running
+
+  [Jekyll]: https://jekyllrb.com/
+  [Ruby]: https://www.ruby-lang.org/de/
+
+## Sphinx
+
+[Sphinx] is an alternative static site generator specifically greared towards
+generating reference documentation, offering powerful capabilities that are
+lacking in MkDocs. It uses [reStructured text], a format similar to Markdown,
+which some users find harder to use.
+
+__Advantages__
+
+- Very powerful, customizable and extendable
+- Generates reference documentation from [Python Docstrings]
+- Large and rich ecosystem, used by many Python projects
+
+__Challenges__
+
+- High learning curve, [reStructured text] syntax might be challenging
+- Search is less powerful than the one provided by MkDocs
+- More time necessary needed to get up and running
+
+[Sphinx Immaterial] is a great port of Material for MkDocs to Sphinx, as it
+follows the upstream repository closely. [Furo] is another great theme.
+Alternatively, [mkdocstrings] builds on top of Material for MkDocs to allow
+the generation of reference documentation.
+
+  [Sphinx]: https://www.sphinx-doc.org/
+  [reStructured text]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReStructuredText
+  [Python Docstrings]: https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0257/
+  [Sphinx Immaterial]: https://github.com/jbms/sphinx-immaterial
+  [Furo]: https://pradyunsg.me/furo/
+  [mkdocstrings]: https://github.com/mkdocstrings/mkdocstrings
+
+## GitBook
+
+[GitBook] offers a hosted documentation solution that generates a beautiful and
+functional site from Markdown files in your GitHub repository. However, it was
+once Open Source, but turned into a closed source solution some time ago.
+
+__Advantages__
+
+- Hosted solution, minimal technical knowledge required
+- Custom domains, authentication and other enterprise features
+- Great collaboration features for teams
+
+__Challenges__
+
+- Closed source, not free for proprietary projects
+- Limited Markdown capabilities, not as advanced as Python Markdown
+- Many Open Source projects moved away from GitBook
+
+Many users switched from [GitBook] to Material for MkDocs, as they want to keep
+control and ownership of their documentation, favoring an Open Source solution.
+
+  [GitBook]: https://www.gitbook.com/

mkdocs.yml

@@ -165,8 +165,9 @@ nav:
     - Installation: getting-started.md
     - Creating your site: creating-your-site.md
     - Publishing your site: publishing-your-site.md
-    - Browser support: browser-support.md
     - Customization: customization.md
+    - Browser support: browser-support.md
+    - Alternatives: alternatives.md
     - License: license.md
     - Changelog:
       - changelog/index.md