Hugo, Astro, and 11ty. Maximum speed, total control, free hosting. The developer's path to blogging.
This guide assumes you're comfortable with a terminal, a code editor, and version control (git). If that sounds intimidating, check out our simpler platform guides instead.
Static site generators transform your markdown files into plain HTML. No database, no server-side code, no security vulnerabilities. Your blog is just files.
The result: your pages load in milliseconds, hosting is free (Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages all have generous free tiers), and your content lives in a git repo that you fully control.
The trade-off: there's no admin panel or visual editor. You write in markdown, build locally, and deploy via git push. For developers, this is a feature, not a bug.
Static HTML = no server processing. Your blog loads in under a second, every time.
Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare Pages all offer free hosting for static sites. You only pay for a domain.
Your content lives in git. Every post, every change, fully tracked and reversible.
From zero to published blog
Terminal
# macOS
brew install hugo
# Windows
choco install hugo-extended
# Linux
sudo apt install hugoTerminal
hugo new site my-blog
cd my-blogTerminal
git init
git submodule add https://github.com/theNewDynamic/gohugo-theme-ananke themes/ananke
echo "theme = 'ananke'" >> hugo.tomlPaperMod and Congo are also excellent minimal blog themes worth exploring.
Terminal
hugo new content posts/hello-world.mdEdit the generated file. Set draft: false in the frontmatter when you're ready to publish, then write your content in markdown below the frontmatter block.
Terminal
hugo server -D
# Visit http://localhost:1313Push your project to GitHub, then connect it to Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages.
Build command
hugoPublish directory
publicRSS: Built in
Hugo generates an RSS feed automatically at /index.xml. No configuration needed.
All three platforms offer free static site hosting with SSL, custom domains, and automatic deploys from git. Push to your repo and your blog updates in seconds.
Great developer experience, instant previews for pull requests, excellent for Astro and Next.js projects.
Pioneer of the JAMstack space, solid support for Hugo and 11ty, generous free tier with forms and functions.
Fastest global CDN, unlimited bandwidth on the free tier, built-in analytics and DDoS protection.
Domain
$10-15/year
Your .com or .blog address
Hosting
Free
Vercel / Netlify / Cloudflare Pages
Theme
Free
Most SSG themes are open source
Total
~$10-15/year
Just the domain name
Static site blogs are the cheapest way to run a professional blog. Your only recurring cost is the domain name.
Some people use a dedicated branch per post, others commit straight to main. Pick whatever keeps you writing.
Title, date, tags, description. Consistent frontmatter makes filtering and organizing easier as your blog grows.
Your readers will thank you. Our RSS guide covers the details for every platform.
Decap CMS (formerly Netlify CMS) or Tina give you a visual editor without giving up static hosting. Worth exploring if you want a friendlier writing experience.
Having 3-5 posts when you launch gives readers a reason to subscribe and come back.
Not ready for the command line? Ghost offers a similar focus on speed and clean design with a visual editor.