From Discourse and Hugo to Our Own Platform

IT Bible now runs on a custom platform built for our community. It replaces the two tools we were using previously: Discourse for the forum and Hugo for the blog. This post covers what changed, why we made the move, and where we plan to take it.

Why move off Discourse and Hugo

Discourse and Hugo are both excellent at their jobs. Discourse is a mature forum platform, and Hugo is a fast static site generator that is hard to beat for publishing content. Neither was a problem in itself.

The issue is what happens when you want a site that is more than a forum plus a blog. We wanted tools, labs, projects, recognition and live interaction to live alongside the content, sharing the same accounts, the same design and the same data. Running separate systems and stitching them together makes that harder with every feature you add. Owning the platform lets us build those pieces as first-class parts of the site instead of bolt-ons.

What we've built

Network and lab planning tools

We've added custom tools for planning networks and home labs. The goal is to help you think through a design before you buy hardware or start cabling, and to keep that planning work inside the community where you can discuss it with others.

Our own labs engine

The labs engine is built in-house, and it is the part we are most excited to grow. It gives us a foundation for hands-on, guided lab content, and because we control it, we can shape it around what IT professionals and home-lab builders actually want to practice. Expect it to expand over time.

Project listings

Projects now have a dedicated home on the site. Whether you are documenting a home-lab build or sharing something you made, project listings give your work a proper place to live, rather than getting buried in a long forum thread.

Live chat with Prompt

The site now has live chat, and it includes our own AI agent, Prompt. Chat makes the community feel more immediate, and Prompt is there as part of the conversation. As with any AI assistant, treat its answers as a starting point and verify anything critical before you apply it to a production system or your lab.

Awards and badges

Our awards and badges are part of the platform itself. They recognize contributions and milestones in the community, and having them built into the same system as everything else means they can connect to the things you do on the site.

What's next

This is a starting point rather than a finish line. The labs engine, the planning tools and project listings are all areas we plan to expand, and Prompt and the badge system will keep evolving alongside the community.

If something is missing, broken or could work better, tell us. The reason to own the platform is to shape it around the people who use it, and your feedback is how we do that.