After retiring from my career as a full-time network engineer, I began exploring new tech avenues as a hobby. A little over a year ago, I decided to take web development seriously. Little did I know, that decision would lead me on a path from frustration to freedom.
First Steps: A WordPress Nightmare
I’ll never forget my first frustrating encounter with WordPress. I was nearly brought to tears trying to figure out why I couldn’t just drag and drop elements as I pleased! Despite that rocky start, I persevered. I worked hard, learned the ropes, and eventually built my first patchwork-style website. WordPress, as a CMS, is truly amazing for what it enables.
But soon, I found myself in a familiar predicament—one I remembered from the days before I switched to Linux.
The Whack-a-Mole of Security
WordPress is incredibly popular—so popular that it powers nearly half of all websites on the internet. However, that popularity comes with a cost. It wasn’t long before I started seeing unsettling similarities between WordPress and Windows.
I felt like I was playing whack-a-mole with constant updates. Finding unpatched WordPress vulnerabilities seemed to be a favorite pastime for both script kiddies and seasoned hackers alike. The moment a new vulnerability was announced, it was a race: who would be faster, the people patching or the people hacking?
Heaven forbid you miss an update and wake up to find an image of male genitalia plastered across your homepage, all because a bored sixth grader in middle-of-nowhere Arkansas ran a half-baked exploit script to feel like a hacker.
Once again, I was living in fear. I made sure I had backups for my backups. The attack vectors were simply too many for a layperson like me to manage. A dedicated security team might stay on top of it, but a WordPress newbie is no match for even the most basic automated script.
The Answer Was Simplicity
Then, I found my answer: simplicity. Nothing can be hacked if there’s nothing to hack. The solution was a static site generator. After researching the options, I found that Hugo was the perfect fit for me.
Conquering the Hugo Learning Curve
Now, let’s be honest—the learning curve was steep. It took me about a week of eight-plus-hour days, filled with videos, documentation, and testing, just to wrap my head around the architecture. Thankfully, I was already familiar with Markdown, which Hugo uses for content, so understanding the actual writing didn’t take as long as I feared.
However, after having that glorious click moment—when the universe aligns and everything finally makes sense—it was off to the races! I’m still a novice, but I dedicate a few hours each day to learning more, and it has been incredibly rewarding.
The Reward: True Control
Nearly all the magic in Hugo happens at the command line, making it a very manual, _GUI-less_process. But on the flip side, this gives you unparalleled control and a deep understanding of your site’s structure. You begin to see the beauty in its design.
There are a plethora of WordPress tools that automate every process imaginable. So, if you’re not comfortable with the terminal, Hugo might feel intimidating. While a few “headless CMS” options exist to add a GUI, they can be obscure and often complicate the beautiful simplicity of the process.
We may have a while to go before Hugo has the vast ecosystem of WordPress management tools, but I’m in no rush. For the first time, I have a solid, start-to-finish process for posting new content.
Switching to a static site was the best decision I’ve made in my short web development journey. I look forward to picking up JavaScript and deepening my CSS skills, but for now, I’ll keep on keeping on with Hugo.
Soon, I’ll share the tips, tricks, and hard-won answers to Hugo related questions that took me weeks to find.
Happy coding