Introduction

Hugo is a fast and efficient static site generator that allows you to create beautiful, responsive websites with ease. It's perfect for personal blogs, portfolios, documentation sites, and more. In this blog series, we'll explore the fundamentals of creating static websites with Hugo.

Getting Started

1. Installing Hugo

Before you start building your website, you'll need to install Hugo. You can download the latest version from the official Hugo website: https://gohugo.io/

Once downloaded, follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

2. Creating a New Hugo Site

To create a new Hugo site, use the following command:

hugo new site my-website

Replace "my-website" with your desired site name.

3. Navigating the Site Structure

Hugo organizes your site content in a structured folder hierarchy. Here's a brief overview of the key folders:

• config.toml: Contains your site's configuration settings.
• content/: Stores all your website's content, such as blog posts, pages, and other assets.
• layouts/: Contains the templates for your site's pages and sections.
• static/: Holds static assets like images, CSS files, and JavaScript files.
• themes/: Contains any themes you use for your site. Hugo comes with a default theme, but you can install additional themes from the official Hugo themes website.

Building Your First Page

1. Creating a New Page

To create a new page, use the following command:

hugo new about/index.md

This will create a new page file named "index.md" in the "about" subfolder within the "content" directory.

2. Writing Your Content

Open the newly created "index.md" file and start writing your page content. Here's a basic example:

---
title: "About Me"
---

Welcome to my about page!

This is a simple paragraph about me and my website.

3. Building Your Site

After writing your content, build your site using the following command:

hugo

Hugo will generate the static HTML files for your site in the "public" folder.

4. Viewing Your Website

To view your website, open the "public" folder and open the "index.html" file in a web browser.

Adding Content

1. Creating a New Post

To create a new blog post, use the following command:

hugo new posts/my-first-post.md

2. Writing Your Post

Open the newly created "my-first-post.md" file and write your post content. You can use Markdown syntax to format your text.

3. Adding a Category

You can add categories to your posts using front matter. For example:

---
title: "My First Post"
date: 2023-10-26T10:00:00Z
categories: ["hugo", "static-sites"]
---

This is my first blog post.

4. Building and Viewing Your Site

Build your site and view the new post using the steps mentioned earlier.