How can you detect if a website uses Hugo by looking at the source code?
Detecting whether a website uses Hugo can be done by examining the source code for specific markers that are unique to Hugo-generated sites.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it:
- Open the Page Source: Right-click on the webpage and select “View Page Source” or press
Ctrl+U
(Windows) orCmd+Option+U
(Mac) to open the page source code. - Check the Meta Generator Tag: Hugo often includes a meta tag in the head section of the page that indicates it’s a Hugo site. Look for:
<meta name="generator" content="Hugo X.X.X" >
(where X.X.X represents the version number).
- Look for Hugo-Specific Themes: Hugo sites frequently use themes that have specific folder structures. Search for assets using
Ctrl+F
(Windows) orCmd+F
(Mac), and look for directories such as:/themes/
: Theme-related assets are often stored here.
- Check for Hugo-Specific Shortcodes or Custom Tags: Hugo uses shortcodes to simplify HTML markup. Check the source code for any remnants of these shortcodes in comments or inline. For example:
{{< some_shortcode >}}
- Look for Static File References: Hugo serves static files from a
static
directory. In the page source, look for references to files with paths like:/assets/
,/img/
, or/css/
.
- Inspect the URL Structure: Hugo can produce clean URLs. Look for URL patterns that might indicate use of Hugo’s routing capabilities, such as:
- Pretty URLs without file extensions.
- Check for Sitemap and RSS Feed: Many Hugo sites generate a sitemap and an RSS feed by default. Search for links to these files:
/sitemap.xml
or/index.xml
.
- Look for Hugo’s Default Favicon: Hugo-generated sites may include the default Hugo favicon. Look for:
<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" />