Why I Migrated from Gatsby to Hugo for my blog

Introduction

I moved my blog from GatsbyJS to Hugo, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. In this article, I’ll share my experience and reasons behind the migration, focusing on the advantages Hugo brings over Gatsby.

I already migrated my blog from Wordpress to Gatsby. That was long back when I was using PHP for website creations so I used Wordpress, then I moved to ReactJs and wanted to keep in that field so moved my blog to Gatsby, Now I am moving again to Gatsby because I am also moving to Go.

For me, the migration was very easy because Gatsby is also using the markdown format. I just copied my folder from Gatsby to Hugo content folder. That’s it.

The Pain Points with Gatsby - for me

  1. Navigating Gatsby Upgrades (npm!): Upgrading GatsbyJS to the latest version, especially v5, posed numerous challenges. This scenario isn’t uncommon in the realm of modern JavaScript frameworks. The prospect of executing a simple npm upgrade has become a nerve-wracking endeavor, as it’s unclear how many days or even weeks might be spent resolving compatibility issues. Even if I managed to successfully upgrade to v5, I found myself unable to seamlessly integrate the CI/CD pipeline on Netlify.

  2. Unveiling the True Build Time Impact: While the build time wasn’t initially a major concern for me, the transition to Hugo revealed just how significant the time investment was for building a Gatsby website. What I once perceived as manageable build times became apparent as a substantial resource drain once I experienced the lightning-fast build times that Hugo offered.

Advantages of Hugo

After migrating to Hugo, I immediately noticed a substantial improvement in build times. What used to take minutes(~20min) with Gatsby now happens in mere seconds. This enhanced speed has a direct positive impact on my productivity, allowing me to focus more on creating content and less on waiting for builds to finish.

However, the speed boost isn’t the only advantage Hugo brings to the table. Here are some key reasons why Hugo stood out for me compared to Gatsby:

  1. Simplicity and Performance: Hugo is renowned for its simplicity and speed. It’s built in Go, a language known for its speed and efficiency. This directly translates into Hugo’s remarkable performance, making it an ideal choice for content creators who value quick iterations and seamless publishing.

  2. File Structure and Organization: One of Hugo’s standout features is its utilization of the file structure for organizing content. The directory structure informs the site about a page’s metadata, section, content type, and layout. This makes tasks like creating menus, breadcrumb navigation, list pages, and pagination incredibly straightforward, as these features are deeply integrated into Hugo’s core functionality. This integration streamlines the process of creating complex site structures without the need for extensive configuration.

  3. Markdown Parsing and Rendering: Hugo’s built-in Markdown parsing and rendering capabilities are robust and reliable. This is particularly advantageous for a programming blog, where formatting and code snippets are critical. By relying on Hugo’s Markdown engine, I can ensure that my content is consistently and accurately displayed without having to deal with external plugins or compatibility issues.

  4. Dependency Management and Updates: Unlike Gatsby, where managing dependencies and updates can be a challenging task, Hugo simplifies this process. Hugo’s self-contained nature minimizes dependency-related issues, and updating the generator itself is typically a smooth process. This stability allows me to focus on my content rather than wrestling with version mismatches and incompatibilities.

Other’s story of moving from Gatsby to Hugo

Goodbye Gatsby, Hello Hugo Migrating My Blog From Hugo To Gatsby 5 reasons why Hugo is better than Gatsby

Conclusion

Migrating my software programming blog from Gatsby to Hugo was a decision I haven’t regretted. The speedier build times, integrated site structuring, reliable Markdown parsing, and simplified dependency management have collectively made my content creation and publishing process more efficient and enjoyable. While Gatsby certainly has its merits, Hugo’s performance and developer-friendly features have proven to be a better fit for my programming blogging needs. If you’re considering a static site generator for your content-focused website, Hugo is undoubtedly worth exploring.

This is also one of the reason why I am slowly moving to Go :)

This is not the end, if I get any other good alternatives in future then I will learn and move again, I won’t stop :)