Why Do I Choose Hugo for My Personal Website and Blogging Platform?

The Journey Through Different Technologies

This domain has a long and winding history. Over the years, I’ve attached it to various website technologies: Astro, Gatsby, Jekyll, Django, Laravel, and Next.js. Each had its strengths, but none quite fit what I was looking for in a personal website and blogging platform.

Most recently, I was using Next.js to build my personal website. When I decided to add a blogging feature, I faced a dilemma. I already had a Laravel-based platform that I could use to build a CMS and serve an API to my Next.js frontend. Technically, this would work perfectly fine. But it felt like overkill—overengineered for what I actually needed.

The Next.js Dilemma

I knew I could configure MDX with Next.js and write blog content directly in my frontend. Many developers do this successfully. But here’s the thing: it felt like I was constantly building a website instead of writing content. The experience was cluttered with React components, configurations, and development concerns. Every time I wanted to write, I had to think like a developer first and a writer second.

I just didn’t like the user experience.

Discovering Hugo (Again)

I’ve been using Hugo for another blog site at blog.ruangdeveloper.com, and I’ve been very happy with it. The experience was so smooth that I realized: why not use the same technology for my personal website?

Hugo is a static site generator written in Go. It’s fast, secure, configurable, and easy to use. But more importantly, it lets me focus on what matters: writing content.

Why Hugo?

Simple Content Management

Hugo provides a straightforward way to manage content. I write in Markdown, organize files in folders, and Hugo handles the rest. No database, no API calls, no complex state management. Just files and folders.

Powerful Templating System

Hugo’s templating system gives me all the flexibility I need without the complexity of a full JavaScript framework. I can create layouts, partials, and customize everything while keeping the content separate from the presentation.

Shortcodes for Extended Functionality

When I need to add special functionality to my content, Hugo’s shortcodes provide a clean, reusable way to do it. No need to import React components or worry about hydration issues.

Built for Blogging

Hugo comes with everything a blog needs out of the box: taxonomies (categories and tags), pagination, RSS feeds, sitemaps, and more. I don’t have to build or configure these features—they just work.

Lightning Fast Builds

Hugo is incredibly fast. Building my entire site takes milliseconds, not seconds or minutes. This means I can iterate quickly and see changes instantly.

Easy Deployment

Static sites are trivial to deploy. No server configuration, no runtime dependencies, no security patches to worry about. Just upload the files to any static hosting service and you’re done.

Focus on Writing, Not Building

This is the most important reason. With Hugo, I can open a Markdown file, write my thoughts, and publish. I’m not distracted by component architecture, state management, or build configurations. It feels like writing a book, not developing a website.

Conclusion

After years of experimenting with different technologies, I’ve learned that the best tool isn’t always the most powerful or the most popular—it’s the one that fits your needs and gets out of your way.

For my personal website and blog, Hugo is that tool. It gives me the simplicity I need to focus on content while providing enough power and flexibility for customization. I’m not building a web application; I’m maintaining a personal space on the internet. And for that, Hugo is perfect.

If you’re in a similar situation—wanting to blog without the overhead of a full-stack application or the complexity of a JavaScript framework—give Hugo a try. You might find, like I did, that sometimes simpler is better.