How to Generate HTML Pages with Hugo and Deploy Them

If you’re working with Hugo and want to turn your content into static HTML files ready for deployment, you’re in the right place! In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of generating static HTML pages and deploying them to the web.

Table of Contents

Step 1: Building Your Site to Generate HTML Files

Before you can deploy your site, you first need to build it and generate the static HTML files that Hugo uses for deployment.

1.1 Open PowerShell

Open PowerShell on your system if it’s not already open. To do so, press Win + X and select Windows PowerShell (Admin). Then, navigate to your Hugo project folder where you created the website. For example:

cd C:\Users\YourUsername\Hugo\mywebsite

(Replace YourUsername with your actual Windows username.)

1.2 Run the Hugo Build Command

In PowerShell, run the following command to generate the HTML files for your site:

hugo

Hugo will build the entire site and output all static files into a folder called public/.

Step 2: Locating the Generated HTML Files

After the build process completes, all your static HTML pages will be stored in the public/ folder. This folder contains the HTML files for every page of your website.

2.1 Finding the `public/` Folder

Navigate to the public/ folder inside your Hugo project directory. For example:

C:\Users\YourUsername\Hugo\mywebsite\public

2.2 Accessing Your Post’s HTML File

Inside the public/ folder, you’ll see HTML files corresponding to your content. For instance, if you have a post called my-first-post.md, its HTML version will be located at:

public/posts/my-first-post/index.html

Step 3: Previewing Your HTML Locally

Once the HTML files are generated, you can open them in your web browser to preview your site.

3.1 Open the HTML File Locally

Navigate to the public/ folder.
Inside the folder for your post (e.g., public/posts/my-first-post/), you’ll find the index.html file.
Double-click on the index.html file to open it in your default browser.

This will show the static HTML version of your post as it would appear on a live site.

Step 4: Deploying the HTML Pages

Once you have the HTML files, you’re ready to deploy your site! You can upload the contents of the public/ folder to any hosting provider or service.

4.1 Deploying to GitHub Pages

One of the easiest ways to deploy your Hugo site is by using GitHub Pages.

Follow this official Hugo GitHub Pages Deployment Guide to deploy your site.

4.2 Deploying to Netlify

Netlify is another great hosting option for Hugo sites. It offers continuous deployment and a very simple drag-and-drop method to deploy your static site.

To deploy with Netlify:

Go to Netlify.
Drag and drop the public/ folder into the Netlify dashboard to deploy your site instantly.

4.3 Deploying to Any Web Hosting

If you prefer to use traditional web hosting (like cPanel or FTP):

Log in to your hosting provider’s file manager (such as cPanel).
Upload the contents of the public/ folder to the root of your domain’s web directory.
Your site will be live at the domain URL!

Final Thoughts

Once your site is deployed, anyone can visit your website online. Whether you’re using GitHub Pages, Netlify, or any other web hosting provider, Hugo makes it simple to generate and deploy static sites.

Key Takeaways:

Build your site using hugo to generate HTML files in the public/ folder.
Preview your site by opening the index.html file locally in your browser.
Deploy the public/ folder to any hosting provider to take your site live.

With these steps, you now have a static website ready to share with the world. 🚀 If you have any questions about Hugo or the deployment process, feel free to ask!

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