Kross Hugo is a free, MIT-licensed personal portfolio theme for the Hugo static site generator that delivers a complete multi-page personal website with a modern, minimalist design.
What is Kross Hugo?
Kross Hugo is a personal portfolio theme created by Themefisher and developed by Gethugothemes for the Hugo static site generator. It accepts Markdown content and configuration files as input and outputs a fully static website with 8+ pre-designed pages: Home, About, Blog, Blog Single, Contact, Portfolio, Portfolio Single, and a 404 page. The theme requires Hugo version 0.64.0 or higher and can be deployed to any static host; Netlify settings are preconfigured in the repository. A live demo is available at demo.gethugothemes.com/kross, and the GitHub repository has 297 stars.
Key Features
- Pre-designed pages — 8+ templates covering Home, About, Blog, Blog Single, Contact, Portfolio, Portfolio Single, and 404.
- Google Analytics support — Built-in integration that lets you track visitor statistics by adding your tracking ID.
- Asset bundling with Hugo Pipes — CSS and JS files are automatically combined and minified using Hugo's built-in pipe system.
- Netlify deployment preset — Configuration files are included so you can deploy to Netlify with minimal setup.
- Contact form support — Visitors can send messages directly from the contact page without a backend server.
- GDPR consent banner — A built-in cookie consent notice helps with European privacy compliance.
- Google Map integration — A map component is available on the contact page to show your location.
- Social sharing meta tags — Open Graph and Twitter Card tags are included to improve how links appear on social media.
The theme is built with Bootstrap, jQuery, Themify Icons, Slick Slider, and Shuffle, and it uses Google Fonts. It also integrates with Sitepins, a Git-based headless CMS, so content can be edited visually without touching code.
Who is it for?
- Freelance designers — Use the portfolio grid and single pages to present projects and case studies to potential clients.
- Photographers and creatives — Showcase visual work with a clean gallery layout and a separate portfolio page for each project.
- Bloggers and writers — Publish articles using the blog and blog single templates, with Markdown as the content format.
- Small business owners — Launch a simple website with a contact form, Google Map, and about page without hiring a developer.
What can you do with Kross Hugo?
- Build a professional portfolio — Combine the home page, about page, and portfolio pages to present your work and background in one cohesive site.
- Start a blog — Write posts in Markdown and Hugo renders them into the blog list and blog single layouts automatically.
- Deploy quickly to a static host — Use the included Netlify settings for straightforward deployment; other static hosts work as well.
- Edit content without coding — Connect the Sitepins CMS to update text and images through a visual interface rather than editing files by hand.
How does Kross Hugo work?
Clone the repository from GitHub, then run three commands in the terminal: npm run project-setup, npm install, and npm run dev to start a local development server. Content is written in Markdown files placed in the content directory, and Hugo builds the static site that you can deploy to Netlify, GitHub Pages, or any similar host. The full documentation is available at docs.gethugothemes.com/kross.
Pricing
Kross Hugo is free and open source. The code is released under the MIT license, so it can be used for personal and commercial projects with no upfront cost.
FAQ
Is Kross Hugo free?
Yes, Kross Hugo is free to use. Its code is licensed under the MIT license, and you can use it for personal or commercial websites without paying a fee.
What Hugo version do I need?
Kross Hugo requires Hugo version 0.64.0 or higher. Older versions may not render the theme correctly, so updating Hugo is recommended.
Does Kross Hugo have a contact form?
Yes, the theme includes contact form support on the contact page. The README does not specify a backend integration, so you may need to wire it to a form service or your own endpoint.
Can I edit the content without writing code?
Yes, Kross Hugo integrates with Sitepins, a Git-based headless CMS. You can use the "Edit with Sitepins" button to clone the repository and edit content visually.
Is Kross Hugo optimized for speed?
The theme reports a Google PageSpeed desktop score of 91%. The visible optimizations include CSS and JS bundling via Hugo Pipes and preconfigured Netlify settings.
