Goodbye Hugo, Hello Ghost – Why I Switched My Site (Again...)

There was a time when running a static site felt like the peak of efficiency. Markdown, Git, Hugo, a sprinkle of automation—it was the perfect mix of control and performance. And yet, every time I wanted to publish a new post, I found myself in the same old routine:

1. Write the post in Markdown.
2. Open a terminal and run hugo to generate the static site.
3. Rsync or SCP the newly baked HTML to my server.
4. Restart Nginx, just in case.
5. Realize I made a typo.
6. Repeat steps 1-4.

It was a workflow born out of love for the command line, but over time, it started feeling less like craftsmanship and more like toil. If I had an idea and wanted to get it online instantly? Not happening. If I wanted to update my site from a device that wasn’t running my exact development setup? Forget it. And don’t even get me started on setting up image uploads or managing content updates without another commit.

Ghost: The Polished Alternative

Enter Ghost. Not the "markdown, commit, deploy" Ghost, but the "modern, intuitive, and actually fun" Ghost. With Ghost, my workflow has become a thing of beauty:

1. Log into the admin panel.
2. Click “New Post.”
3. Write, format, and add images directly.
4. Click “Publish.”
5. It’s live. Instantly.

No compiling, no file transfers, no accidental Nginx misconfigurations. Just pure, immediate publishing.

Why I Switched

• No More Recompiling – No hugo command, no deployment scripts, no waiting. Just write and publish.
• Built-in Editor – Ghost’s editor is Markdown-friendly but also supports rich text, embeds, and images without weird front matter.
• Handles the Whole Stack – Instead of using Git for content management and Nginx for hosting, Ghost just does it all.
• Better for Growth – Subscriptions, newsletters, and user management are built-in, not duct-taped together.
• Live Previews – See your post exactly as it’ll appear before publishing. No more “commit, push, check, tweak, repeat.”

But… Don’t I Love the CLI?

Yes. I love the CLI. But just because I can write, build, and deploy via terminal doesn’t mean I should. Ghost gives me an elegant balance—I still run it on my own server with Nginx, but I no longer need to touch it every time I post.

This isn’t about abandoning control. It’s about focusing my energy where it matters: writing, creating, and sharing. If Hugo was a race car, Ghost is a self-driving Tesla. I still get to choose the destination—I just don’t have to manually shift gears anymore.

So, welcome to the new site. New ideas, new content, same nerd behind the keyboard—but now, with fewer deployment scripts and more time to write.