I was exploring Zola Static Site Generators. And trying to compare with the other SSGs - available & popular.
Especially Hugo (very popular & widely used).
I liked Zola more than Hugo.
Key reasons behind my decision:
I found Zola to have a more straightforward approach to customizing themes compared to Hugo.
Hugo was a bit of a struggle to customize to the desired site appearance.
Zola gave a more intuitive simpler system - easier to quickly customize the site without extensive learning curve.
Zola has Tera template engine.
I liked its simplicity and ease of use.
Performance-wise I had found both Zola and Hugo to offer high performance - Zola being Rust-based while Hugo being Go-based.
Although I did not resort to a big load test or large-scale project.
This is where Zola won for me !
Zola is designed with a minimalist philosophy - reduces complexity and confusion.
Makes it easier to start.
With all due respect, in contrast, I felt Hugo's extensive feature set to be overwhelming sometimes - with lots of choices.
I personally work better with lesser options to choose from - helps mind to stay focussed !
Zola's documentation appeared to me to be clearer and more comprehensive - may be due to the minimalistic approach.
Overall I like both Zola & Hugo.
But to start something quick & prompt, I would choose Zola for sure !