Without a CMS
Let clients edit a Hugo site without a CMS
Connect the repository to Siteshare and invite your client. They change the pages in content/ by chatting or typing on the real site, and see each change in a draft before it goes live. A theme in themes/ works, and so do modules vendored with hugo mod vendor; Hugo Modules fetched at build time don't work yet.
- 01
Add the site
Install the Siteshare GitHub App on the repository and add the site, or run npx siteshare connect in its folder. Siteshare recognises it as Hugo and builds it once, the way your host would.
- 02
Check how it starts
Siteshare proposes how to start and build the site from your package manager and lockfile. Confirm it, or change it in admin.json.
- 03
Invite your client
They open their own site with /edit at the end of the address and change it by chatting, selecting or typing on the page. Anything above their level waits for your approval.
| Question | Hugo | Siteshare |
|---|---|---|
| Pages and posts | Markdown in content/ | Edited in place; a new post follows the ones next to it |
| Theme | themes/ or a vendored module | Changed when your client asks; above their level it waits for you |
| Images | static/ or page bundles | Replaced with a photo your client sends |
| Settings | hugo.toml, config files | Protected: a change there waits for you |
The Hugo version
Siteshare reads the Hugo version the site asks for, for example in netlify.toml, and runs that one in the preview.
Not yet
Hugo Modules that are fetched while building need Go in the preview, which isn’t there yet. Vendor them with hugo mod vendor, or keep the theme in themes/.
Questions
Can my client add a new post?
Yes, even at the default level, Text and images: a new item that follows the ones already there. The new Markdown file goes into the right section of content/, with front matter like the posts next to it.
What does it cost?
Free for one site. Then $9 a site a month, less as you grow: five sites cost $36 a month and twenty $126, with clients and builders unlimited and the assistant with fair use.
Hand it over. Get your evenings back.
Free for one site, forever. No card needed.