Deploying Hugo Sites

Once you’ve built your Hugo site, the next step is deployment. Hugo makes it easy to deploy to various platforms. Let’s explore some popular deployment options.

GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages is a great option for hosting Hugo sites:

1. Create a GitHub repository
2. Push your Hugo source code
3. Set up GitHub Actions for automated builds
4. Configure the repository settings for Pages

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy Hugo site to Pages
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: peaceiris/actions-hugo@v2
      - run: hugo --minify
      - uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3
        with:
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          publish_dir: ./public

Netlify

Netlify offers excellent performance and features:

• Automatic deployments from Git
• Custom domains and HTTPS
• Form handling and serverless functions
• Split testing and rollbacks

Other Options

• Vercel: Fast deployment with global CDN
• AWS S3 + CloudFront: Scalable and cost-effective
• GitLab Pages: Similar to GitHub Pages but on GitLab

Build Optimization

Before deploying, optimize your site:

# Minify HTML, CSS, and JS
hugo --minify

# Generate optimized images
hugo --gc --minify

# Check for broken links
hugo --printPathWarnings

Performance Tips

• Use a CDN for static assets
• Enable gzip compression
• Optimize images
• Minimize HTTP requests
• Use browser caching

Deploying Hugo sites is straightforward and there are many excellent hosting options available. Choose the platform that best fits your needs and workflow.