+++
title = "Academic: the website designer for Hugo"
subtitle = "Create a beautifully simple website in under 10 minutes :rocket:"

date = 2016-04-20T00:00:00
lastmod = 2018-01-13T00:00:00
draft = false

# Authors. Comma separated list, e.g. `["Bob Smith", "David Jones"]`.
authors = []

tags = ["Academic"]
summary = "Create a beautifully simple website or blog in under 10 minutes."

# Featured image
# To use, add an image named `featured.jpg/png` to your project's folder. 
[image]
  # Caption (optional)
  caption = "Image credit: [**Unsplash**](https://unsplash.com/photos/CpkOjOcXdUY)"

  # Focal point (optional)
  # Options: Smart, Center, TopLeft, Top, TopRight, Left, Right, BottomLeft, Bottom, BottomRight
  focal_point = ""

[[gallery_item]]
album = "1"
image = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/master/images/theme-default.png"
caption = "Default"

[[gallery_item]]
album = "1"
image = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/master/images/theme-ocean.png"
caption = "Ocean"

[[gallery_item]]
album = "1"
image = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/master/images/theme-dark.png"
caption = "Dark"

[[gallery_item]]
album = "1"
image = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/master/images/theme-forest.png"
caption = "Default"

[[gallery_item]]
album = "1"
image = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/master/images/theme-coffee-playfair.png"
caption = "Coffee theme with Playfair font"

[[gallery_item]]
album = "1"
image = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/master/images/theme-1950s.png"
caption = "1950s"
+++

**Academic** makes it easy to create a beautiful website for free using Markdown. Customize anything on your site with widgets, themes, and language packs.

Follow our easy [step by step guide](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/install/) to learn how to build your own free website with Academic. [Check out the personal demo](https://themes.gohugo.io/theme/academic/) or the [business demo](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/) of what you'll get in less than 10 minutes.

- [View the documentation](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/)
- [Ask a question](http://discuss.gohugo.io/)
- [Request a feature or report a bug](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/issues)
- Updating? View the [Update Guide](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/update/) and [Release Notes](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/updates/)
- Support development of Academic:
  - [Donate a coffee](https://paypal.me/cushen)
  - [Decorate your laptop or journal with an Academic sticker](https://www.redbubble.com/people/neutreno/works/34387919-academic)
  - [Wear the T-shirt](https://academic.threadless.com/)

[![Screenshot](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/master/academic.png)](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/)

Key features:

- Easily manage various content including homepage, blog posts, publications, talks, and projects
- Extensible via **color themes** and **widgets/plugins**
- Write in [Markdown](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/writing-markdown-latex/) for easy formatting and code highlighting, with [LaTeX](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Mathematics) for mathematical expressions
- Social/academic network linking, [Google Analytics](https://analytics.google.com), and [Disqus](https://disqus.com) comments
- Responsive and mobile friendly
- Simple and refreshing one page design
- Multilingual and easy to customize

## Color Themes

Academic is available in different color themes and font themes.

{{< gallery >}}

## Install

You can choose from one of the following four methods to install:

* one-click install using your web browser (recommended)
* install on your computer using Git with the Command Prompt/Terminal app
* install on your computer by downloading the ZIP files
* install on your computer with RStudio

### Quick install using your web browser

1. [Install Academic with Netlify](https://app.netlify.com/start/deploy?repository=https://github.com/sourcethemes/academic-kickstart)
    * Netlify will provide you with a customizable URL to access your new site
2. On GitHub, go to your newly created `academic-kickstart` repository and edit `config.toml` to personalize your site. Shortly after saving the file, your site will automatically update
3. Read the [Quick Start Guide](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/) to learn how to add Markdown content. For inspiration, refer to the [Markdown content](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/tree/master/exampleSite) which powers the [Demo](https://themes.gohugo.io/theme/academic/)

### Install with Git

Prerequisites:

* [Download and install Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads)
* [Download and install Hugo](https://gohugo.io/getting-started/installing/#quick-install)

1. [Fork](https://github.com/sourcethemes/academic-kickstart#fork-destination-box) the *Academic Kickstart* repository and clone your fork with Git: 

        git clone https://github.com/sourcethemes/academic-kickstart.git My_Website
    
    *Note that if you forked Academic Kickstart, the above command should be edited to clone your fork, i.e. replace `sourcethemes` with your GitHub username.*

2. Initialize the theme:

        cd My_Website
        git submodule update --init --recursive

### Install with ZIP

1. [Download](https://github.com/sourcethemes/academic-kickstart/archive/master.zip) and extract *Academic Kickstart*
2. [Download](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/archive/master.zip) and extract the *Academic theme* to the `themes/academic/` folder from the above step

### Install with RStudio

[View the guide to installing Academic with RStudio](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/install/#install-with-rstudio)

## Quick start

1. If you installed on your computer, view your new website by running the following command:
      
        hugo server

    Now visit [localhost:1313](http://localhost:1313) and your new Academic powered website will appear. Otherwise, if using Netlify, they will provide you with your URL.
           
2. Read the [Quick Start Guide](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/) to learn how to add Markdown content, customize your site, and deploy it. For inspiration, refer to the [Markdown content](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/tree/master/exampleSite) which powers the [Demo](https://themes.gohugo.io/theme/academic/)

3. Build your site by running the `hugo` command. Then [host it for free using Github Pages](https://georgecushen.com/create-your-website-with-hugo/) or Netlify (refer to the first installation method). Alternatively, copy the generated `public/` directory (by FTP, Rsync, etc.) to your production web server (such as a university's hosting service).

## Updating

Feel free to *star* the project on [Github](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/) to help keep track of updates and check out the [release notes](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/updates) prior to updating your site.

Before updating the framework, it is recommended to make a backup of your entire website directory (or at least your `themes/academic` directory) and record your current version number.

By default, Academic is installed as a Git submodule which can be updated by running the following command:

```bash
git submodule update --remote --merge
```

[Check out the update guide](https://sourcethemes.com/academic/docs/update/) for full instructions and alternative methods.

## Feedback & Contributing

Please use the [issue tracker](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/issues) to let me know about any bugs or feature requests, or alternatively make a pull request.

For support, head over to the [Hugo discussion forum](http://discuss.gohugo.io).

## License

Copyright 2016-present [George Cushen](https://georgecushen.com).

Released under the [MIT](https://github.com/gcushen/hugo-academic/blob/master/LICENSE.md) license.
