Why I Opted For Hugo For My New Website

I want to shed some light on why I chose Hugo for the new website here and the reasons behind my decision to transition to this robust static site generator. I have been putting off Hugo as I wanted to get better at writing my own CSS from scratch. Now that I have given it a try, I cannot believe I waited so long! 🤦

What is Hugo? #

First let me explain what Hugo is. Hugo describes itself like so, “The world’s fastest framework for building websites.” It is one of the most popular open-source static site generators. With its amazing speed and flexibility, Hugo makes building websites fun again.

Choosing Hugo: The Initial Reasons #

When it came to selecting a platform for my website, I delved into various options. Here’s why Hugo stood out:

Speed and Performance #

Hugo’s 🌩️ lightning-fast processing speed was the first thing that caught my eye. As a content creator and someone deeply entrenched in the tech world, having a website that loads swiftly was non-negotiable. Hugo’s ability to generate static pages at an incredible speed aligned perfectly with my requirements.

This is also true for the speed at which you can pick it up. There are many incredible themes available with amazing documentation. That can not only assist you in customizing your site to your liking, but teach you how to use Hugo itself. The community behind this project will blow your mind.

Simplicity and Ease of Use #

The simplicity of Hugo’s setup and workflow resonated with me. Its minimalistic approach made it easy to get started without drowning in excessive configuration. Its straightforward templating system and familiar Markdown content structure were a breath of fresh air.

If you want to make something really beautiful, but don’t want to spend all your time trying to be a half decent designer, then you have to give Hugo a try.

Flexibility and Extensibility #

Hugo’s flexibility in terms of themes and its extensible architecture has allowed me to personalize my website without constraints. Its robust theming capabilities meant I could craft a unique look and feel for my content, keeping it in line with my branding and style.

All with little to no effort, as my theme came with many options for very quick changes to accent color, layouts, and much more. I can always add custom css on top to really set myself apart as well.

Community and Support #

Being part of a vibrant community of developers and users who actively contribute to Hugo’s growth and improvement was a really big factor in my decision. The brilliant Hugo documentation and the communities well made themes and their great documentation made learning an enjoyable experience.

Transitioning to Hugo: The Motivations #

Now, why was I considering the switch?

Evolving Needs and Features #

As my content and web development endeavors have evolved, I find myself seeking more dynamic features for my website. While Hugo excelled in speed and simplicity, I’m now exploring functionalities that necessitate a more dynamic approach to content management.

That’s a fancy way of saying that I very much want to push out content not just over on YouTube, but here as well. For doing this kind of content I don’t want to have to do a bunch of HTML all the time. That just makes writing up something, especially that looks as nice as this, take forever. Thanks to Hugo I can not only get out content faster, but also have something I know looks great to build off!

Enhanced Content Management #

The need for a more intuitive content management system has arisen as I eluded to above. Hugo’s Markdown-based approach is fantastic for straightforward content creation. I’m happy to have found a system that allows for more interactive and collaborative content management. Even though here this is just for me to post, with Hugo having a site with multiple authors is a breeze!

Experimentation and Growth #

As a tech enthusiast, the allure of experimenting with different platforms and technologies is always present. Exploring new tools and methodologies in web development is part of my journey, and I’m eager to delve into different frameworks and CMS options to further expand my skill set as time goes on too.

User Experience and Accessibility #

Improving the user experience and ensuring accessibility for a wider audience are paramount. Hugo delivered on speed and performance, and on massively improving the overall look of my site. I firmly believe Hugo is perfect for most of us out there looking to have a platform to speak that we can really call our own.

It will enable you to build a website that people will actually want to look at without having to become an advanced web developer. Hugo also makes the formatting of writing your content much easier to manage and streamlines a lot of the process for making an incredible blog. I hope you will reach out and share what you make or have made with this incredible piece of software.

Wrapping It Up #

Hugo has been an incredible companion for my website journey, offering speed, simplicity, and flexibility. Stay tuned as I venture into new horizons of web development and continue to share my experiences in the world of free and open source software!