A Better Project
This blog has recently undergone a transformation. I’ve moved it from a custom setup using Golang and HTMX to Hugo, a static site generator.
During this migration, I’m genuinely amazed by how fast and efficient Hugo is. It provides everything that I need, including a variety of plugins and themes. Reflecting on my previous version, I realize that I was basically making an attempt to reinvent the wheel. That experience make me question: with the vast ecosystem of libraries, frameworks and even AI tools, is it still worth it to build our own projects from scratch?
That said, I don’t think that my investment on my old project is a total waste of time (by the way, you can find the source code in here, please excuse for that mess of the code 😅). The main reason I chose to build it was to explore the capabilities of HTMX for implementing a normal website. Interestingly, my approach is quite similar with Hugo, we both use Front matter for metadata and markdown for rendering HTML.
Throughout the process of making things to works, I learnt a great deal about HTMX, how it redirected and partial rendering. I even used the same markdown parser goldmark which Hugo also relies on. It’s incredibly powerful, I highly recommend it. I was on the right track to build my own version of Hugo, but I can never achieve that level due to the shortage of time and man power.
One of the biggest drawbacks from my old project was hosting. The project was packaged into a Docker image and I couldn’t find any good platform with free tier to host it. I tried Railway, and while it worked great, the experience ended when the free trial expired.
In the end, it all comes down to choose the right tools for the right job. After explore everything that I wanted to try with HTMX, I reached too a point where I simple need a platform that allow me to write and host content - ideally without any cost. And that’s where Hugo shines. It’s powerful, easy to use and support a wide range of hosting options. I’m also planning to set up a Homelab of my own, which might become a long term solution for hosting. I will share about that soon.
The key takeaway for me is this: always feel free to build and experiment, even if it means reinventing the wheel. The challenges you face are also the same problem that the other people have already encountered. Through that process, you’ll gain valuable experience to add it to your personal toolkit. No effort is meaningless.