What is Look Scanned?

Look Scanned is a lightweight, browser-based application that simulates scanned PDF effects. It’s designed with privacy in mind, allowing developers, designers, and anyone else to add authentic scanning effects to PDFs without the need for physical hardware.

Why Hugo?

After evaluating several static site generators for the Look Scanned Blog, we chose Hugo for these compelling reasons:

  1. Blazing Fast - Built with Go, Hugo delivers incredible build speeds
  2. Developer Friendly - Simple configuration with an intuitive learning curve
  3. Rich Theme Ecosystem - Extensive collection of beautiful, customizable themes
  4. Vibrant Community - Active community support and comprehensive documentation
  5. First-class I18n - Built-in internationalization support

Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Installing Hugo

For macOS users (via Homebrew):

brew install hugo

For Windows users (via Chocolatey):

choco install hugo-extended

For Linux users, check the installation guide here.

Creating a New Site

Set up your Hugo site with these commands:

hugo new site lookscanned-blog
cd lookscanned-blog

Adding a Theme

Install the PaperMod theme as a git submodule:

git init
git submodule add https://github.com/adityatelange/hugo-PaperMod themes/PaperMod

Update your config.toml:

theme = "PaperMod"

Configuring Internationalization

Add multilingual support to your config.toml:

defaultContentLanguage = 'en'
defaultContentLanguageInSubdir = false

[params]
  displayFullLangName = true

[languages]
  [languages.en]
    languageCode = 'en'
    languageName = 'English'
    title = 'Look Scanned Blog'
  [languages.zh]
    languageName = '简体中文'
    title = 'Look Scanned 博客'
  [languages.zh-tw]
    languageCode = 'zh-TW'
    languageName = '繁體中文'
    title = 'Look Scanned 部落格'
  # Additional languages...

Creating Content

Create your first blog post:

hugo new posts/build-blog-using-hugo/index.en.md

Running the Development Server

Start the local development server:

hugo server -D

Visit http://localhost:1313 to preview your site.

Deployment Options

Deploy your Hugo site effortlessly using GitHub Actions:

  1. GitHub Pages

    • Create a GitHub repository
    • Push your Hugo site
    • Enable GitHub Pages in repository settings
    • Configure GitHub Actions for automated deployment

  2. Cloudflare Pages

    • Connect your GitHub repository
    • Set build command to hugo
    • Configure publish directory as public

Theme Customization

We’ve streamlined the user interface by removing the language switcher from the site header. You can find our modified theme files here.

Conclusion

Hugo provides an exceptional foundation for building a personal blog. Its combination of speed, flexibility, and comprehensive documentation makes it an excellent choice for developers at any skill level. As you become more familiar with Hugo, you’ll discover powerful features to create a truly unique blogging experience.

Resources