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Written by: Geoffrey Callaghan

GitHub Pages Tutorial

Github Pages Tutorial

GitHub Pages is a fantastic way to host your personal website, blog, or project documentation directly from a GitHub repository. Here’s a basic tutorial to get you started:

  1. Create a GitHub Repository:

    • Log in to your GitHub account and click on the ”+” sign in the top right corner.
    • Select “New repository”.
    • Give your repository a name. This name will be part of your website’s URL (e.g., username.github.io).
    • Choose whether your repository will be public or private.
    • Click on “Create repository”.

  2. Set up your Repository:

    • Once your repository is created, you’ll need to add your website files. For a basic setup, you’ll want an index.html file as the main page.
    • You can create files directly on GitHub or push your local files to the repository.

  3. Enable GitHub Pages:

    • Go to your repository on GitHub.
    • Click on the “Settings” tab.
    • Scroll down to the “GitHub Pages” section.
    • Under “Source”, select the branch where your website files reside. Typically, this is the main or master branch.
    • Click “Save”.

  4. Access your Website:

    • Once GitHub Pages is enabled, GitHub will give you a URL where your site is published (usually username.github.io).
    • It may take a few moments for your site to become available.

  5. Custom Domain (Optional):

    • If you have a custom domain, you can configure GitHub Pages to use it.
    • In your repository’s settings, under the “Custom domain” section, add your domain name.
    • Update your domain’s DNS settings to point to GitHub’s servers. GitHub provides detailed instructions for this step.

  6. Editing your Website:

    • You can continue to edit your website by pushing changes to your GitHub repository.
    • GitHub Pages will automatically update your site whenever you push changes to the repository.

  7. Themes (Optional):

    • If you want to use a Jekyll theme, you can do so by adding a _config.yml file to your repository.
    • GitHub Pages supports Jekyll, a static site generator, which allows you to use themes and templates for your site.

That’s it! You now have a website hosted on GitHub Pages. From here, you can continue to refine and expand your site by adding new pages, blog posts, or project documentation. GitHub Pages offers a simple yet powerful platform for hosting your web content.