Recommended Hugo site directory structure for an academic website

site-structure.md

Hugo Academic Site Directory Structure

This document outlines the recommended directory structure for Prof. Suenaga's academic website built with Hugo.

ksuenaga.github.io/
├── archetypes/              # Templates for new content
│   ├── default.md
│   ├── publications.md
│   └── research.md
├── assets/                  # CSS, JS, and images that need processing
│   └── scss/
│       └── custom.scss      # Custom styles
├── config.toml              # Main Hugo configuration
├── content/                 # Site content
│   ├── _index.md            # English home page
│   ├── _index.ja.md         # Japanese home page
│   ├── publications/        # Research publications
│   │   ├── _index.md        # Publications landing page (English)
│   │   ├── _index.ja.md     # Publications landing page (Japanese)
│   │   └── papers/          # Individual publication entries
│   │       └── sample-publication.md
│   ├── research/            # Research projects
│   │   ├── _index.md
│   │   └── _index.ja.md
│   ├── teaching/            # Courses and teaching
│   │   ├── _index.md
│   │   └── _index.ja.md
│   └── contact/             # Contact information
│       ├── _index.md
│       └── _index.ja.md
├── data/                    # Data files used in templates
│   └── publications.yaml    # Optional: Additional publication metadata
├── layouts/                 # Custom layouts
│   ├── _default/
│   │   ├── baseof.html
│   │   ├── list.html
│   │   └── single.html
│   ├── partials/
│   │   ├── footer.html
│   │   ├── header.html
│   │   └── nav.html
│   ├── publications/
│   │   ├── list.html
│   │   └── single.html
│   └── shortcodes/
│       └── publication_cite.html
├── public/                  # Generated site (ignored by git)
├── resources/               # Cache directory (ignored by git)
├── static/                  # Static files that don't need processing
│   ├── css/
│   ├── images/
│   │   ├── profile.jpg
│   │   └── favicon.ico
│   ├── js/
│   └── pdfs/
│       └── cv.pdf
├── themes/                  # Site theme
│   └── academic/            # Your chosen theme
├── .gitignore
├── .nojekyll                # Prevents GitHub Pages from using Jekyll
├── netlify.toml             # Optional: Netlify deployment configuration
└── README.md

Explanation of Key Directories

content/

This is where all the actual content of the site lives. Each section of the site (publications, research, teaching, etc.) has its own directory with:

• _index.md - The English landing page for the section
• _index.ja.md - The Japanese landing page for the section
• Individual content files as needed

layouts/

Custom layouts that override or extend the theme's templates. This allows customization without modifying the theme directly.

static/

Static assets that don't need processing, like PDFs and images.

themes/

The chosen theme for the site. The 'academic' theme or another academic-focused theme is recommended.

Multilingual Support

The site supports both English and Japanese with:

• Primary language: English (default)
• Secondary language: Japanese (with .ja.md suffix)

Each content file should have both an English and Japanese version for proper multilingual support.

GitHub Actions Workflow

The GitHub Actions workflow is defined in .github/workflows/hugo.yml and handles:

1. Building the Hugo site
2. Deploying to GitHub Pages