I no longer recommend using Gitlab Pages for Hugo sites.
Today I tried to update the SSL certificate for a Hugo site. Currently the only way to do this is by removing the domain and then adding it again.
Guess what? Gitlab has disabled custom domains with no prior notification.
Instead I was hit with this:
https://about.gitlab.com/2018/02/05/gitlab-pages-custom-domain-validation/
Bottom line is they disabled it until they release a fix around February the 22nd at the earliest.
This is beyond lame. So if you host with Gitlab Pages and have a custom domain with SSL that expires soon, you’re in for a really nasty surprise.
Right now I am looking for alternatives.
I have to set up a Github repo and read up on Netlify.
Tough luck. I’m busy as hell lately.
I think that I will not sleep tonight…
That has nothing to do with Netlify… it can source repos from GitHub, Gitlab, Bitbucket. So if you have a repo on Gitlab already, you don’t need to move.
You’ll be surprised to realize how simple (soooo much simpler than Gitlab Pages et al) Netlify setup is… you could be done with it in 1/2 hour, you never know (including custom domain setup… best if you move DNS management to Netlify).
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Ok. Thanks I’ll check it out later.
I’m impressed with how fast the site deployed on Netlify.
With an auto updating SSL (no more messing around with certbot ACME challenges).
So much love to Netlify for saving me from a potentially embarrassing situation. 
But now I got a bizarre problem with a script that is not loading like it used to on Gitlab Pages, since Netlify’s build file system is case sensitive. And I’ve got to fix that… 
agree, I think netlify is the one of the best solution for Hugo, but if you looking for another alternative then firebase would be a good choice
Gitlab Pages was not that bad for low traffic Hugo sites, when I first started using it.
But lately it’s been going downhill fast. And the attitude is very unprofessional. Who do they think they are? Shutting off a service and not sending a bloody email! I’ve used free services mostly but I’ve never encountered this sort of mess before.
Unreal.
And a big thanks to @kaushalmodi for mentioning Netlify. I was looking at everything else and forgot about them in my haste.
Incase you have plenty Hugo website in Gitlab Pages and dont have much time to migrate you may try to email them and ask them to renew the cert
That wouldn’t work. I couldn’t possibly email them the keys of the SSL certificate and ask them to enter it. That’s pretty bad security wise.
And they already have problems with custom domains hijacking. That’s why they shut down this service.
Yesterday I had to update another site with a custom domain on Gitlab Pages. The SSL cert was good.
Well… the deploy failed and the site became 404.
Looking at Gitlab’s staff standard replies on various channels the attitude is completely unprofessional and they are a very unreliable host for Hugo sites.
I think that they shouldn’t be on the Hugo Docs. Or at the very least there should be a warning before people opt for Gitlab Pages.
What do you think @bep or anyone else? I am willing to go out of my way and send a Pull Request to the Hugo Docs for this issue. Hugo users must be warned.
Also I could use some help with the wording. Maybe something like:
Please note: If you opt for hosting your Hugo site with Gitlab Pages please use caution. They are known to disable features and change settings that cause site outages without notifying users beforehand.
P.S. Note that I am not generalizing with the above. Last May Gitlab Pages changed their IP address -with inadequate user notification- and every custom domain broke again. Unfortunately there is a pattern here.
So I took this to Github over here:
https://github.com/gohugoio/hugoDocs/compare/master…onedrawingperday:patch-1
And I’m closing this thread. I did all I could to alert Hugo users. It’s up to others to accept, revise or reject the change in the Docs.
EDIT
Pull request: here