The title of this sentence is meant for oneself, not to advise others.
Today, I spent several hours on Hugo, but in the end, I didn't achieve anything. I couldn't get the correct answers and methods from ChatGPT, and asking Claude exceeded the free limit. I thought that by following the online tutorials and making step-by-step settings and modifications, I would be able to achieve the desired result. However, in the end, I don't know which file and code I modified, which caused the title of the article page to disappear. Rolling back the code didn't restore it, and I couldn't find the reason.
So I gave up and decided to continue using WordPress honestly and peacefully. Even if I see a tempting Hugo theme, I will control myself and focus on writing more content instead of tinkering with tools.
This is a brief record of the whole process, as a lesson for myself.
At first, I came across a static website hosting service called Bear Blog, which attracted me with its simple and elegant interface. Then I saw my friend Chen Yuxing's blog, which used the Astro static program and a theme similar to Bear Blog. However, I was not familiar with Astro, and coincidentally, there was a Hugo theme developed based on Bear Blog that better matched my minimalist aesthetic. After reading Ya Yu's "Elements of a Minimalist Blog," I couldn't resist the urge in my heart and spent a day tinkering with Hugo.
At first, things were going smoothly. I had used Hugo for a while before, so I had some familiarity with the basic operations. I used plugins to convert WordPress articles into Markdown format and made some modifications to the Bear Blog theme's styles according to my own taste. However, I encountered difficulties when setting up OpenGraph, and there were no detailed explanations or tutorials online, which led to the situation mentioned above.
Looking back at my current blog, theme, and Bear Blog, I realized that I was being a bit greedy. On one hand, I wanted the simplicity of Bear Blog, but on the other hand, I needed the various features available on WordPress. Han Yu suggested that I try using Hugo first and switch later once I'm familiar with it. At first, I thought the same way and tried to make modifications and conversions step by step. But in the end, I found that I was more accustomed to using WordPress, which I had been using for five years. Although I don't have the ability to develop themes and plugins, and I still need to search the internet for solutions when encountering problems, whenever I have the idea of writing a blog, my first reaction is to use WordPress.
Write more content, and tinker with tools less. From 2018 until now, I have often fallen into the trap of focusing too much on the appearance and neglecting the substance of the content. Most bloggers compare their websites to a small home and try their best to decorate it. When guests visit, they feel excited. While a gorgeous appearance is indeed one of the reasons to attract guests, it is the host of the home that keeps them staying. Dayu posted a tweet saying that the ratio of visitors to visits on his blog used to be 1:2, but recently it has become 1:2.6, which makes him happy. It seems that visitors are willing to stay a little longer. It's great when guests are willing to spend more time in your home and want to get to know you better.
Tinkering and writing are both pleasures of a blogger. Some people are good at writing, while others are good at tinkering. There is no distinction of superiority or inferiority. Everyone has their own way of playing and interests. As for me, I am still in the learning stage in both aspects. Based on today's experience, I tell myself to write more content and tinker with tools less.
Finally, I would like to share a quote I saw in the Wei Ye Xing channel:
"We can be more tolerant and not mock everything.
If someone likes taking notes, let them take notes. If someone likes tinkering with note-taking tools, let them tinker. The world won't become worse because there are more people tinkering with tools.
Blogging is the same. There's no need to mock someone for having few blog posts but frequently changing templates.
Just like reading, the world needs people who read and people who buy books but don't read them. The latter satisfies themselves and contributes to the market. Isn't that a good thing for them, for you, and for everyone?"