Thierry Gustin, creator of Éclair
Thierry Gustin, an SEO consultant since 2014 and AI trainer based in Madrid, created Éclair CMS for freelancers and small businesses. Here’s his story.
I’m Thierry Gustin, the creator of Éclair. I’m French, I’ve lived in Madrid since 2012, and I’ve worked in SEO since 2014: I help businesses get found on Google and, these days, get cited by AI as well. Éclair grew out of that work: giving everyone a fast, well-ranked, hassle-free website, without the plugins and maintenance people assume they can’t avoid.
The creator of Éclair
Thierry Gustin
SEO consultant, AI trainer and creator of Éclair
A Frenchman in Madrid who speaks French, Spanish and English. He builds simple tools that save freelancers and small businesses time.
Who is Thierry Gustin?
My career comes down to three things: SEO, artificial intelligence and teaching.
- SEO consultant since 2014: audits, content strategy, technical SEO and link building, with an ethical, transparent approach and no risky tactics. More than 150 projects supported to date, showcased on thierrygustin.com.
- Author of practical guides: with Éditions Olibook, I publish educational books, including guides to Claude and ChatGPT that have been translated into several languages.
- AI trainer: through GustinAI, I offer businesses in France and Spain training on how to use AI in their everyday work.
- Tool builder: Éclair, but also DelfOnline, a prep platform for the DELF, DALF and TCF French language exams.
Why did I create Éclair?
Because small businesses deserve better than a website held together by a pile of plugins. A business website or a blog doesn’t need a database, ten plugins and updates every week to be fast, well-ranked and secure.
So I brought together in a single tool what I’ve been recommending to my clients for years: pages that load in a few milliseconds, complete structured data, an SEO analysis that explains what to improve, and everything you need to be understood by answer engines like ChatGPT or Perplexity. All of it designed for shared hosting that costs a few euros a month. The reasoning behind this choice is laid out in the Éclair vs WordPress comparison.
How is Éclair developed?
I work alone, with artificial intelligence as my team: it helps me write, review and test the code, just as I teach my clients to do. This approach doesn’t replace rigor; it makes rigor possible at scale:
- 299 automated checks rerun with every release, including the attacks from the security review
- offensive security reviews: 17 vulnerabilities found and fixed before the first release, then a review dedicated to the AI assistant in version 1.2.0
- public code on GitHub that anyone can read, test and improve
- complete documentation in 7 languages, plus this website, built with Éclair itself
What are the project’s values?
| Value | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Simplicity | 4 questions to install, an editor you understand without any training |
| Lightness | 402 KB, no database, no cookies on the public site |
| Transparency | Open-source code under the MIT license, sourced figures, limitations stated openly |
| Respect | No visitor tracking, and the AI never publishes anything without you |
How can you contact me?
For a question about Éclair, feedback on your experience or an idea for an improvement, use the contact page: I read every message. You can also find me on LinkedIn and follow my other projects on GitHub.
And if Éclair is useful to you, you can support its development.
Questions about Éclair’s creator
Who created Éclair CMS?
Thierry Gustin, a Madrid-based Frenchman who has been an SEO consultant since 2014 and also works as an AI trainer. He develops and maintains Éclair, which is released for free under the MIT license.
Is Éclair a commercial project?
No. Éclair is free and open source, with no paid version. Its development is funded by its author’s time and by donations from the people who use it.
Does Thierry Gustin offer SEO consulting or AI training?
Yes, separately from Éclair: SEO consulting is presented on thierrygustin.com, and AI training for businesses on gustinai.com.
Can I contribute to the project?
Yes: report a bug, suggest an improvement or a translation on GitHub, or simply spread the word about Éclair. All the ways to help are on the Donate page.