For several years, I’ve owned the domain bradyanderson.tech. It originally started as a single static HTML page and has undergone a few upgrades since then. Each iteration made this site slightly better, but it has always been a bit too complex. That’s why I’m excited to relaunch this site with the help of a framework that’s brand-new to me: Hugo.
Why Hugo?
As a seasoned React developer, stepping away from the familiar was not easy. However, Hugo is a static site generator that bills itself as “the world’s fastest framework for building websites”. With such a claim, I knew I had to give Hugo a try. So what else did Hugo have to offer me?
Markdown
Hugo supports Markdown, a lightweight markup language that allows you to write content in plain text format, which is then easily converted into HTML. This simplicity is why I use Markdown exclusively for note-taking. It was natural to choose a framework that integrates seamlessly with my workflow.
Simplicity
The previous iteration of my site became a burden due to its complexity, making it challenging to add new content. Hugo simplifies this process with tooling that makes site customization and content addition straightforward. I’m already looking into features such as tags, search, and archives, which I never had the time to implement on my old site. With Hugo, these features should take minutes to set up.
Control
Maintaining control is important to me. Hugo and the PaperMod theme I selected both have permissive open-source licenses, ensuring I can make this site my own. Additionally, I’ve chosen AWS Amplify for hosting but appreciate the flexibility to switch platforms if my needs change later on. For anyone comfortable with command-line tools, Hugo is an excellent choice.
What’s next?
Like my old site, this is my technology blog. I still love all technology, both retro and modern, and can’t wait to share what I’ve been learning and working on. Stay tuned for more soon.
-Brady