My Journey with Hugo Framework: Why I Chose It Over WordPress

As a web designer with many years of experience using WordPress, I never thought I’d switch to a different CMS. However, after discovering Hugo Framework, I realized that there are many benefits to using a static site generator instead of a traditional CMS.

For those who are not familiar, Hugo Framework is an open-source static site generator that allows you to create fast, secure, and flexible websites. Unlike WordPress, which uses a database to store and retrieve content, Hugo generates static HTML pages that can be served directly to the user’s browser. This approach offers several advantages, including:

1. Speed: Since the pages are pre-generated, they can be served much faster than dynamic pages. This is especially true if you use a CDN like CloudFront, which caches your pages in edge locations for even faster delivery.
2. Security: Because there is no database to exploit, static sites are inherently more secure than dynamic sites. This is especially important for websites that handle sensitive information, such as e-commerce sites.
3. Simplicity: With Hugo, you don’t need to worry about managing a database, updating plugins, or dealing with security issues that can arise from using third-party software. When I decided to rebuild my website, I decided to take the plunge and use Hugo instead of WordPress. I chose to host the website on an S3 bucket behind a CloudFront distribution to take advantage of its fast delivery and security features. I also configured the website on AWS with CodeBuild and deploy to automate any changes I made on my GitHub repository. This made it incredibly easy to make changes and update the website without having to worry about manual deployments.

One thing I love about using Hugo is how easy it is to customize the design and layout of the website. With WordPress, I often found myself fighting with themes and plugins to achieve the look I wanted. With Hugo, I was able to create a custom design from scratch that perfectly matched my vision.

Another benefit of using Hugo is how easy it is to add new content to the website. Because everything is stored as plain text files, it’s easy to create new pages, blog posts, and other content without having to use a complicated CMS.

Overall, I’m extremely happy with my decision to use Hugo Framework for my website. It offers speed, security, simplicity, and flexibility that I never had with WordPress. If you’re considering rebuilding your website or starting a new project, I highly recommend giving Hugo a try. With its fast load times and powerful features, it’s the perfect choice for anyone who wants to create a modern and secure website.