Introduction

As a developer, having a portfolio website is crucial for showcasing skills, projects, and expertise. I wanted a fast, minimal, and easily maintainable site, so I chose Hugo with the PaperMod theme. Best of all, I leveraged free tools for deployment, analytics, and discussions. Here’s how I built my portfolio website, hosted on GitHub Pages with a Porkbun domain.

Hugo and PaperMod for a Minimalistic Look

Hugo is a blazing-fast static site generator, perfect for a developer portfolio. I picked the PaperMod theme because of its:

  • Clean and professional design.
  • Lightweight and fast performance.
  • Easy configuration for dark mode, search, and social links.

Free Hosting with GitHub Pages

I wanted a zero-cost, hassle-free hosting solution, and GitHub Pages was the perfect choice. Here’s what I did:

  1. Created a public GitHub repository.
  2. Configured a GitHub Actions workflow for automatic deployment.
  3. Set the gh-pages branch as the deployment source in GitHub Pages settings.

Now, every push to my main branch automatically updates my live website.

Free Analytics with Umami

Google Analytics is powerful, but I preferred something privacy-friendly and lightweight. Umami provides:

  • Self-hosted analytics with no third-party tracking.
  • Simple dashboard with essential metrics.
  • No cookies or GDPR concerns.

I set up Umami on a free hosting platform and integrated it with my site by adding the tracking script to head.html in Hugo’s layout.

Free Comments with Giscus

I wanted a distraction-free, GitHub-powered commenting system. Giscus was the perfect choice because:

  • It uses GitHub Discussions, so no extra accounts are needed.
  • It’s ad-free and requires no backend setup.
  • Users can comment with their GitHub accounts, keeping discussions relevant.

Setting it up was simple:

  1. Installed the Giscus GitHub app on my repository.
  2. Added the <script> to my site’s config.toml file.
  3. Enabled discussions in my GitHub repository settings.

Now, visitors can leave comments using GitHub, and I manage them just like regular issues.

Custom Domain with Porkbun

A great domain adds credibility to a portfolio. I registered mhassan.dev on Porkbun, and here’s why it was a great choice:

  • Affordable pricing compared to other registrars.
  • Free WHOIS privacy protection.
  • Easy DNS setup for GitHub Pages.
  • Automatic SSL without extra configuration.

After purchasing, I simply updated the CNAME record to point to GitHub Pages, and Porkbun handled the HTTPS setup seamlessly.

Final Thoughts

Building a portfolio website doesn’t have to be expensive. By using Hugo, GitHub Pages, Giscus, Umami, and Porkbun, I got a fast, professional, and cost-effective site with minimal effort. If you’re planning to build your own, these tools are a great starting point!

Check out my portfolio at right here dummy, you’re on it already :wink: