As you can tell from my last blog post I thoroughly enjoyed Next.js so you may be wondering why I decided to go with a different technology for my blog. I ultimately chose Hugo because it is second to none when it comes to static site generation, and I am all about picking the right tool for the job. This decision wasn’t made lightly, and I want to share my experience with Hugo and the reasoning behind this choice.

The Search for the Perfect Blog Platform

As someone who values simplicity and performance, I found myself increasingly frustrated with the complexity of modern web development stacks. While frameworks like Next.js offer impressive features, they often come with a level of complexity that feels unnecessary for a simple blog. I wanted something that would:

  • Generate static pages for optimal performance
  • Be easily built and hosted
  • Have a perfect lighthouse score
  • Support markdown for content creation
  • Have minimal dependencies
  • Be easy to maintain and update

Why Hugo?

Hugo stood out for several compelling reasons:

  • Blazing Fast: Hugo’s page load times are extremely fast, and so is the build process
  • Zero Dependencies: What are packages? Git clone the theme you want to use and you are done
  • Simple Content Management: Blog posts are simply markdown files in a content directory
  • Built-in Features: Archives, tags, and search out of the box
  • Flexible Templating: Powerful but straightforward template system

Getting Started with Hugo

Setting up Hugo was refreshingly simple:

# Install Hugo
brew install hugo

# Create a new site
hugo new site blog

# Add a theme
cd blog
git init
git submodule add https://github.com/adityatelange/hugo-PaperMod.git themes/PaperMod

The directory structure is clean and intuitive:

blog/
├── archetypes/
├── assets/
├── content/
├── layouts/
├── static/
├── themes/
└── config.toml

Content Creation

One of Hugo’s greatest strengths is its content management. Creating a new blog post is as simple as:

hugo new posts/hugo-for-my-blog.md

The front matter is straightforward, and PaperMod provides some nice additional options:

---
title: "Why I Chose Hugo for My Blog"
date: 2025-05-12
draft: false
categories: ["Tech"]
tags: ["software development", "programming", "hugo", "static site"]
---

Customization and Theming

PaperMod is simple and packed with features including:

  • Dark/Light mode toggle
  • Social media links
  • Search functionality
  • Archive pages
  • Responsive design

The theme is highly customizable through the hugo.yml file. Here is the config file for this site:

baseURL: "https://nobelsmith.com/"
title: "Nobel Smith"
theme: "PaperMod"
languageCode: "en-us"
defaultContentLanguage: "en"

# Enable emoji support
enableEmoji: true

# Enable Git info for last modified date
enableGitInfo: true

# Enable Search
outputs:
  home:
 - HTML
 - RSS
 - JSON # Required for search functionality

params:
  # Site description
  env: production
  description: "Nobel Smith's Personal Blog"
  author: "Nobel Smith"
  homeInfoParams:
    Title: "Welcome To My Blog!"
    Content: >


      I'm excited to share my thoughts and experiences with you on topics I'm passionate about

 - I am a Christian, full-stack developer, and an extremely average golfer

 - For professional inquiries, please visit my developer website [Nobel Codes](https://nobelcodes.com)

  # Site header/navigation
  defaultTheme: "auto"
  ShowReadingTime: true
  ShowShareButtons: true
  ShowPostNavLinks: true
  ShowBreadCrumbs: true
  ShowCodeCopyButtons: true

  # Social links
  socialIcons:
 - name: github
      title: My Github
      url: "https://github.com/nobelsmith"
 - name: Linkedin
      title: My Linkedin
      url: "https://www.linkedin.com/in/nobel-smith-74a57b1a3/"
 - name: youtube
      title: My Youtube
      url: "https://www.youtube.com/@nobelrl8235"
 - name: email
      title: My Email
      url: "mailto:nobel.hooks@gmail.com"

  editPost:
    URL: "https://github.com/nobelsmith/blog/tree/main/content"
    Text: "Suggest Changes" # edit text
    appendFilePath: true # to append file path to Edit link

menu:
  main:
 - identifier: "search"
      name: "Search"
      url: "/search/"
      weight: 10

 - identifier: "archives"
      name: "Archives"
      url: "/archives/"
      weight: 20

 - identifier: "posts"
      name: "All Posts"
      url: "/posts/"
      weight: 40

 - identifier: "tags"
      name: "Tags"
      url: "/tags/"
      weight: 70

taxonomies:
  category: "categories"
  tag: "tags"

Performance and Deployment

The performance benefits of Hugo are immediately apparent:

  • Build Time: My entire blog builds in under a second
  • Page Size: Static HTML means minimal JavaScript and CSS
  • SEO: Static HTML means Google knows exactly what is on my pages
  • Hosting: Can be deployed anywhere - GitHub Pages, Netlify, or any static hosting

The Challenges

While Hugo is excellent, it’s not without its challenges:

  • Learning Curve: If you don’t like markdown and just want to write HTML Hugo is not for you
  • Documentation: While good, some theme-specific features are not well documented
  • Community Size: Smaller than many other frontend frameworks
  • Dynamic Features: Producing dynamic content is extremely difficult

Is Hugo Right for You?

Hugo is perfect for:

  • Content-focused websites
  • Blogs and documentation
  • Projects where performance and SEO is crucial
  • Developers who prefer simplicity over complexity

It might not be ideal for:

  • Highly dynamic applications
  • Projects requiring complex client-side state
  • Teams heavily invested in JavaScript/React

Final Thoughts

I am glad that I chose Hugo for my Blog. Personally, I enjoy exploring new technologies, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Hugo makes good on all of its promises. It has reminded me that sometimes the best tool is the simplest one. While modern frameworks offer impressive features, Hugo’s focus on performance, content, and ease of maintainability is perfect for this use case.

The speed, simplicity, and reliability of Hugo have allowed me to focus on the hardest part of this whole project for me: actually creating and sharing content. In a world of increasingly complex web development, Hugo diamond in the rough.

Getting Started Tips

If you’re considering Hugo for your next project, here are some tips:

  1. Start with a Theme: Begin with an existing theme to understand Hugo’s structure (I used PaperMod, but there are many good ones out there)
  2. Learn the Basics: Understand content organization and front matter
  3. Use Shortcodes: Hugo’s shortcodes are powerful for reusable content
  4. Keep it Simple: Start with basic features and add complexity as needed

Remember, the best tool is the one that helps you achieve your goals with the least amount of friction. For my blog, Hugo has proven to be exactly that.