---
title: "Optimizing Hugo Performance: Speed Up Your Site"
date: 2023-07-23
author: "Sarah Chen"
description: "Learn advanced techniques to optimize your Hugo site for better performance, faster load times, and improved user experience."
categories: ["Performance"]
tags: ["hugo", "optimization", "performance", "seo"]
featured_image: "/images/blog/blog-4.jpg"
---

{{< toc >}}

## Introduction

Performance is crucial for user experience and SEO. In this guide, we'll explore various techniques to optimize your Hugo site for maximum performance.

## Asset Optimization

### Image Optimization

Images often contribute the most to page weight. Here's how to optimize them:

{{< code html "layouts/shortcodes/optimized-image.html" >}}
{{ $image := .Page.Resources.GetMatch (printf "%s" (.Get "src")) }}
{{ $options := dict "targetWidth" 800 "quality" 85 }}
{{ $processed := $image.Process "resize 800x webp q85" }}
<img src="{{ $processed.RelPermalink }}" 
     alt="{{ .Get "alt" }}"
     loading="lazy"
     class="rounded-lg shadow-lg">
{{< /code >}}

### CSS and JavaScript

Minimize your asset footprint:
- Minify CSS and JavaScript
- Bundle assets appropriately
- Remove unused code

## Caching Strategies

1. **Browser Caching**
   - Set appropriate cache headers
   - Use versioned assets
   - Implement service workers

2. **Hugo Caching**
   - Use `.Scratch` for expensive operations
   - Cache partial results
   - Implement memoization

## Content Delivery

### CDN Setup

{{< code toml "config.toml" >}}
[params.cdn]
  enable = true
  provider = "cloudfront"
  domain = "cdn.example.com"
{{< /code >}}

### Edge Computing

Leverage edge computing for faster content delivery:
- Deploy to multiple regions
- Use edge functions when needed
- Implement geo-routing

## Performance Monitoring

### Key Metrics

1. **Core Web Vitals**
   - Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
   - First Input Delay (FID)
   - Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

2. **Additional Metrics**
   - Time to First Byte (TTFB)
   - First Contentful Paint (FCP)
   - Total Blocking Time (TBT)

## Advanced Optimization Techniques

### Resource Hints

{{< code html "layouts/partials/head.html" >}}
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preload" href="/fonts/main.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>
{{< /code >}}

### Critical CSS

Inline critical styles for faster rendering:

{{< code html "layouts/partials/critical-css.html" >}}
<style>
  /* Critical CSS here */
  .hero { /* ... */ }
  .nav { /* ... */ }
</style>
{{< /code >}}

## SEO Optimization

1. **Structured Data**
2. **XML Sitemaps**
3. **Meta Tags**

## Conclusion

Optimizing your Hugo site is an ongoing process. Regular monitoring and adjustments ensure your site maintains peak performance.

## Resources

- [Hugo Performance Documentation](https://gohugo.io/documentation/)
- [Web.dev Performance Guide](https://web.dev/performance/)
- [PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/)