Kirby and other similar PHP based flat file CMS software is super easy to run. If I were to get back into making sites for people, I'd just use Kirby, Bulma/Tailwind, and Alpine.js.
It can run on shared hosts like Siteground, Lithium, Green Geeks, Hostgator, as well as VPS platforms like Digital Ocean. The admin interface for making new posts is great, separating it from static site generators. It uses a modified Markdown called Kirbytext which is additive. If you write pure Markdown you'll see it rendered as expected.
No database means no worrying about getting hacked (at least in terms of SQL injection).
If you don't want to build it yourself, there's themes for sale too, despite how niche Kirby is. My own blog is a Kirby theme I bought because I knew if I built it myself, I'd never finish.
I run a site on Grav, which appears to be very similar to Kirby but FOSS, with plenty of free themes and plugins (though the base installation is pretty complete). It's super easy to install compared to WordPress, and I've never had luck getting NodeJS-based software like Ghost to work and then stay working for a long time. For a personal blog it has all the features you would need, while being pretty simple.
But, software like Grav and presumably also Kirby are very much not easy to run for 'normal' people. They would need to secure hosting without getting overwhelmed with the technical details or all the upselling that providers try to do, then install the software which is 'easy' but not 'click this button and you're done' easy, and of course also deal with domains and DNS etc. A hosted solution - even if you have to pay for it - is the only practical solution for normal people.
That said, for the type of people that read HN I would highly recommend Grav. Installation is easy, it has a nice web-based interface for administration and writing posts, it is fast, and it is not the latest trendy static site generator. It is a boring PHP application that will probably keep working for 20 years with no changes required - but is still actively maintained and will be for the foreseeable future.
I agree it's not as easy as starting a wordpress.com site or even a self hosted Wordpress site if the host has a 1 click builder, but if a user can figure out basic PHP hosting, they can run Kirby (and presumably Grav).
Grav's advantage over Kirby is that it's totally FOSS, but I encountered Kirby first and have a more thorough understanding of how it works. The maintainers and community are also quite helpful as well as super lenient about unlicensed usage.
Is the entry to barrier to new trendy static site generators relatively higher? Or how does this approach differ from them? Having never tried options like hugo I've always wanted to know about them directly from people who've used those.
It can run on shared hosts like Siteground, Lithium, Green Geeks, Hostgator, as well as VPS platforms like Digital Ocean. The admin interface for making new posts is great, separating it from static site generators. It uses a modified Markdown called Kirbytext which is additive. If you write pure Markdown you'll see it rendered as expected.
No database means no worrying about getting hacked (at least in terms of SQL injection).
If you don't want to build it yourself, there's themes for sale too, despite how niche Kirby is. My own blog is a Kirby theme I bought because I knew if I built it myself, I'd never finish.