Comments on Kliku Kliku

Cusdis Comments in Hugo: A Lightweight Solution Without Tracking

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

While looking through comment systems for static blogs, I decided to check out Cusdis. It promises a “low-friction” approach: a simple widget, no ads, and no heavy tracking in the background. Cusdis positions itself as a lightweight, privacy-friendly alternative to Disqus. It is an open-source project with a self-hosting option and a managed version at cusdis.com. You can find a detailed guide on how to self-host Cusdis in a separate post: Self-Hosting Cusdis on a VPS.

Self-hosting Cusdis Comments with Caddy on a VPS

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

When I was looking for a comment system, I quickly realized that most available solutions either track users, require heavy JavaScript, or simply cost money. Cusdis stands out from the crowd. It is lightweight, open-source, and built from the ground up with self-hosting in mind.

In this post, I show how to deploy Cusdis on any VPS using Docker and Caddy as a reverse proxy, with correctly configured CORS headers.

Giscus Comments in Hugo: Lightweight GitHub Discussions Integration

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

As part of my review of comment solutions for static blogs, I decided to test Giscus. It is an open-source tool that uses GitHub Discussions as its backend.

I was intrigued mainly by the promise of high performance and privacy. Below, I present an analysis of this solution, an implementation guide for Hugo, and the conclusions from my performance tests.

What exactly is Giscus?

Giscus is a widget that connects your website directly to the GitHub API. When a reader leaves a comment under a post, the system automatically creates a new discussion (or adds a reply) in the connected GitHub repository.

Disqus Comments in Hugo: Setup Guide and Performance Analysis

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Disqus is probably the first solution that comes to mind when we think about comments on static sites. It has been with us since 2007, supports millions of websites, and takes the burden of building a backend off our shoulders.

I decided to check what its integration with Hugo looks like in 2026, but mostly, what the real cost of this convenience is. I ran performance tests on this blog, and the results might surprise you.

Comment Systems Performance Test

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 12:09:04 +0100

This is a dedicated test post for measuring the performance impact of different comment systems on our Hugo site.

Testing Methodology

We’re comparing four popular comment systems:

Disqus - Popular third-party solution with cloud hosting
Giscus - GitHub Discussions-based, open source
Cusdis - Lightweight, privacy-focused solution
Remark42 - Self-hosted, privacy-focused with rich features

Performance Metrics

For each system, we measure:

Page Load Time - Total time to fully load the page
JavaScript Size - Amount of JS downloaded for comments
HTTP Requests - Number of network requests made
PageSpeed Score - Desktop and Mobile performance scores
Core Web Vitals - FCP (First Contentful Paint) and LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

Test Environment

Hugo Version: v0.152.2 extended
Theme: Terminal v4.2.3
Browser: Chrome/Brave (latest)
Network: Real-world conditions via PageSpeed Insights
Cache: Hard reload (Ctrl+Shift+R) for accurate measurements

Baseline Measurement

Before testing any comment system, we capture a baseline measurement of the page without comments to understand the base performance.