Hugo is one of the most popular open-source static site generators written in GO. With a focus on speed and flexibility. I will be using this so I can focus mostly on writing verses designing and maintaining a website from scratch. I tried Github's recommended jekyll, but found it did not suit my needs.

Install on Debian via apt:

sudo apt install hugo

Hugo packages can be installed in various methods to best suit you

Setup With GitHub Pages:

have hugo installed (see above section)

start a new hugo site via command:
    hugo new site USERNAME.github.io

get into files:
    cd USERNAME.github.io

initialize repo:
    git init

Find your theme you want, then go to its repository, typically they will have a "install", some sort of git clone URL . Run that command, ie.
    git submodule add https://github.com/clente/hugo-bearcub themes/hugo-bearcub

Add theme to the hugo toml config file:
    echo 'theme = "hugo-bearcub"' >> hugo.toml

Generate content:
    hugo new content content/blog/test.md

launch hugo locally to test:
    hugo server

Modify hugo.toml config for site via your hugo.toml in /root dir for initial configuration, recommend using example site config as a base for most themes.

Be sure to check your content directory for index files and setup for your web pages.

Push to your github when ready.

Resources:

• hugo: https://gohugo.io/
• hugo install: https://gohugo.io/installation/linux/
• hugo themes: https://themes.gohugo.io/themes
• hugo theme (bearcub): https://github.com/clente/hugo-bearcub?tab=readme-ov-file
• Hugo with Github Pages: https://gohugo.io/host-and-deploy/host-on-github-pages/
• Blog I found the most useful to follow along with: https://www.testingwithmarie.com/posts/20241126-create-a-static-blog-with-hugo/