---
type: reference, how-to
description: "The static site editor enables users to edit content on static websites without prior knowledge of the underlying templating language, site architecture or Git commands."
---

# Static Site Editor

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/28758) in GitLab 12.10.

Static Site Editor enables users to edit content on static websites without
prior knowledge of the underlying templating language, site architecture, or
Git commands. A contributor to your project can quickly edit a Markdown page
and submit the changes for review.

## Use cases

The Static Site Editors allows collaborators to submit changes to static site
files seamlessly. For example:

- Non-technical collaborators can easily edit a page directly from the browser; they don't need to know Git and the details of your project to be able to contribute.
- Recently hired team members can quickly edit content.
- Temporary collaborators can jump from project to project and quickly edit pages instead of having to clone or fork every single project they need to submit changes to.

## Requirements

- In order use the Static Site Editor feature, your project needs to be
pre-configured with the [Static Site Editor Middleman template](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/project-templates/static-site-editor-middleman).
- The editor needs to be logged into GitLab and needs to be a member of the
project (with Developer or higher permission levels).

## How it works

The Static Site Editor is in an early stage of development and only works for
Middleman sites for now. You have to use a specific site template to start
using it. The project template is configured to deploy a [Middleman](https://middlemanapp.com/)
static website with [GitLab Pages](../pages/index.md).

Once your website is up and running, you'll see a button **Edit this page** on
the bottom-left corner of its pages:

![Edit this page button](img/edit_this_page_button_v12_10.png)

When clicking it, GitLab will open up an editor window from which the content
can be directly edited. When you're ready, you can submit your changes in a
click of a button:

![Static Site Editor](img/static_site_editor_v12_10.png)

When an editor submits their changes, in the background, GitLab automatically
creates a new branch, commits their changes, and opens a merge request. The
editor will land directly on the merge request, and then they can assign it to
a colleague for review.

## Getting started

First, set up the project. Once done, you can use the Static Site Editor to
easily edit your content.

### Set up your project

1. To get started, create a new project from the
[Static Site Editor - Middleman](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/project-templates/static-site-editor-middleman)
template. You can either [fork it](../repository/forking_workflow.md#creating-a-fork)
or [create a new project from a template](../../../gitlab-basics/create-project.md#built-in-templates).
1. Edit the `data/config.yml` file adding your project's path.
1. Editing the file will trigger a CI/CD pipeline to deploy your project with GitLab Pages.
1. When the pipeline finishes, from your project's left-side menu, go to **Settings > Pages** to find the URL of your new website.
1. Visit your website and look at the bottom-left corner of the screen to see the new **Edit this page** button.

Anyone satisfying the [requirements](#requirements) will be able to edit the
content of the pages without prior knowledge of Git nor of your site's
codebase.

### Use the Static Site Editor to edit your content

For instance, suppose you are a recently hired technical writer at a large
company and a new feature has been added to the company product.

1. You are assigned the task of updating the documentation.
1. You visit a page and see content that needs to be edited.
1. Click the **Edit this page** button on the production site.
1. The file is opened in the Static Site Editor.
1. You edit the file right there and click **Submit changes**.
1. A new merge request is automatically created and you assign it to your colleague for review.

## Limitations

- Currently, the Static Site Editor only works for files ending in `.md`. For example, it will not work for a file `index.html.md.erb` while it works for `index.html.md`.
- The Static Site Editor still cannot be quickly added to existing Middleman sites. Follow this [epic](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/2784) for updates.