The Static Site Guide

This is a book about creating and publishing static websites using HTML, CSS, and the Hugo static site generator. It’s still a work in progress, but you can read the draft chapters here.

Cover of the Static Site Guide book

Table of Contents

  1. A Note From the Author
  2. Introduction
  3. Making Your First Web Page (Part 1: Getting Started)
  4. Publishing Your Web Page
  5. Building a Basic Static Website
  6. Styling Elements With CSS
  7. Creating a Static Website Using Hugo (Part 2: Hugo)
  8. Customizing Your Hugo Website
  9. Using a Custom Domain Name (Part 3: Going Live)
  10. Implementing Version Control
  11. Setting up Continuous Deployment
  12. Getting Traffic and Making Money
  13. Conclusion

Reviews

“By creating and publishing your own static site on a domain you own, you can reclaim ownership of your corner of the web. If you find that appealing but daunting, look no further than this book! Matt expertly guides you through the wilds of HTML, CSS, publishing, domain names, versioning, and everything else you need along the way.”
— Tom Preston-Werner, Co-founder of GitHub

“The clearest, easiest guide to making your first website. Helpful, current, and just the right balance of simple but covering all the important points. This is where I send first-timers for the best introduction.”
— Derek Sivers, Founder of CD Baby

“This book gives you a practical guide to getting a fully functioning static website online, all the way from writing your first line of HTML to installing analytics and monetization. If you want a guide for creating a timeless website from someone who has done it before, this book is the best place to start.”
— Eric Holscher, Co-founder of Read the Docs and Write the Docs

About the Author

Matt Cone is a technical writer at Fastly and the author of The Markdown Guide. He lives with his family in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Contributing

This is an open source project, and contributions are welcome. Feel free to open a pull request with changes.

License

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. Code is licensed under MIT.