Do static websites feel, ummm . . . too static? They don’t have to. We can make them as dynamic as desired without losing the performance, maintainability, and scalability of static websites. Part 2 of Hugo in Action shows you how to make a static web page accept dynamic input, react to change, and remain as accessible and performant as before.
In chapter 9, we will use APIs from third-party service providers to accept user input, react to change, and provide control for the content author to build a custom form-based system without recoding the site for every form. We will also set up an API for our website, which we will pick up in chapter 10, to create a search engine. Also in chapter 10, we will use Hugo’s JavaScript integration features to react better to user input. We will see firsthand how Hugo enables us to tap into the vast JavaScript ecosystem when needed, while retaining the power and performance of the static site we have built so far. We will also see how Hugo can work in a hybrid website with a single-page application embedded at an endpoint.
In chapter 11, we will build custom APIs to extend Hugo and perform tasks that are not natively available in Hugo. We will embed LaTeX’s mathematical rendering system to provide full support for complex mathematical equations in a Hugo website, using an approach that retains phenomenal build and run-time performance.