Me:

I have a personal tech blog that’s been using some old tools to build. Now I’d like to upgrade it to the state of the art, and ideally a better theme that supports dark/light theme switching. Currently, I’m using Hugo: v0.53 and the Susy CSS framework. Please advise.

Grok3:

Key Points

  • It seems likely that upgrading Hugo to version 0.145.0 is a good choice, as it’s actively maintained and popular for tech blogs.
  • Research suggests replacing the Susy CSS framework (which is deprecated) with Tailwind CSS, a modern framework supporting dark/light themes.
  • The evidence leans toward using Hugo themes like “Hugo Theme Tailwind” or “TailBliss,” which support dark/light switching and fit your needs.

……

I didn’t choose the Tailwind theme, but instead went for the PaperMod theme for its simplicity (no CSS framework).

Me:

I’d like to upgrade to the latest Hugo as my first step, but because the gap is huge, I don’t expect I could examine the release notes and find some smooth upgrading path. What should I do?

Grok3:

the most efficient approach is to treat this as a fresh start while preserving your content. Here’s a practical plan to upgrade Hugo smoothly, minimizing compatibility headaches:

  1. Install the Latest Hugo
  2. Back Up Your Existing Site
  3. Create a New Hugo Site
  4. Test with a Modern Theme Temporarily
  5. Migrate Configuration
  6. Address Content Compatibility
  7. Build and Verify
  8. Plan for Tailwind and New Theme

Step-by-Step Upgrade Plan

……

Interactively, the following issues are raised and resolved:

  • TOML config issues
    • make the site title visible
    • how to migrate the top sections/menu items
    • customize home page list
  • Theme customizations
    • copyright footer
    • author
    • “Fork me on GitHub” ribbon for project pages
  • Special formatters
    • Chroma syntax highligher with dark/light mode switch
    • MathJax
    • Conditional CSS/JS loading on code and math format
  • Styles
    • Web font & icon migration
    • Text font adjustments

After the upgrade, vanilla CSS has completed replaced the obsolete Susy framework.