Building this site — Pingryte — cost me exactly £0. Here’s how.
🛠️ The Stack
- Hugo – A lightning-fast static site generator.
- PaperMod – A clean, minimal Hugo theme with no fluff.
- GitHub – Free repo hosting + version control.
- Netlify – Free continuous deployment and global CDN.
🚀 Why I Chose This Setup
I didn’t want WordPress, Wix, or anything bloated. I wanted:
- Full control over my content
- No recurring fees
- Speed, minimalism, and flexibility
This stack checked every box.
🔧 Step-by-Step Setup
1. Install Hugo
brew install hugo
Note: If you’re not on macOS, check Hugo’s install guide.
2. Create the site
hugo new site pingryte-site
cd pingryte-site
3. Add the PaperMod theme
git init
git submodule add https://github.com/adityatelange/hugo-PaperMod.git themes/PaperMod
Then update config.yml (or config.toml) to set the theme:
theme: PaperMod
4. Add content
hugo new posts/my-first-post.md
Edit the generated file in content/posts/ and set draft: false.
5. Serve it locally
hugo server
Then visit http://localhost:1313.
6. Push to GitHub
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/pingryte-site.git
git push -u origin main
7. Deploy to Netlify
- Go to Netlify
- Connect your GitHub repo
- Set build command to
hugo - Set publish directory to
public
Netlify will auto-deploy on every push.
🧠 Final Thoughts
- Hosting is free
- Deployment is automatic
- Load times are blazing fast
- No plugins, no maintenance, no nonsense
Got questions or want help setting this up? Email me — or just steal this site structure and make it yours.
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