GitHub Pages for Hosting

GitHub Pages is a powerful hosting service that lets you publish websites directly from your GitHub repository. This guide will show you how to set up and deploy your website using GitHub Pages.

What You’ll Learn

Setting up GitHub Pages
Different types of sites
Custom domains
Build and deployment
Best practices

Implementation Steps

Basic Setup

# Create repository
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin https://github.com/username/repo.git
git push -u origin main

Initialize repository
Add your website files
Push to GitHub
Enable GitHub Pages

Project Structure

repository/
├── index.html
├── styles.css
├── script.js
└── _config.yml

Main HTML file
CSS styles
JavaScript files
Configuration

GitHub Pages Settings

# _config.yml
theme: jekyll-theme-minimal
title: My Website
description: My awesome website

Choose theme
Set site title
Configure options
Customize settings

Custom Domain

# Add custom domain
echo "mywebsite.com" > CNAME
git add CNAME
git commit -m "Add custom domain"
git push

Add CNAME file
Configure DNS
Enable HTTPS
Verify setup

Best Practices

Repository Setup
- Use descriptive name
- Add README file
- Include license
- Set up .gitignore
Content Organization
- Clear file structure
- Optimize assets
- Use relative paths
- Follow conventions
Performance
- Optimize images
- Minify resources
- Enable caching
- Use CDN
Security
- Enable HTTPS
- Secure custom domain
- Protect sensitive data
- Regular updates

Common Use Cases

Personal Portfolio

<!-- index.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>My Portfolio</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css" />
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Portfolio</h1>
    <!-- Add your content -->
  </body>
</html>

Project Documentation

# README.md

## Project Documentation

### Installation

```bash
npm install
```

Usage

npm start

Blog Site

# _config.yml
title: My Blog
description: Personal blog
baseurl: "/blog"

Landing Page

<!-- index.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Product Landing Page</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css" />
  </head>
  <body>
    <header>
      <h1>Welcome to Our Product</h1>
    </header>
    <!-- Add your content -->
  </body>
</html>

Advanced Usage

Jekyll Integration

# _config.yml
markdown: kramdown
plugins:
  - jekyll-feed
  - jekyll-seo-tag

Custom 404 Page

<!-- 404.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Page Not Found</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>404 - Page Not Found</h1>
    <p>Sorry, the page you're looking for doesn't exist.</p>
  </body>
</html>

GitHub Actions

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Deploy
        uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3

Custom Build Process

# package.json
{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "webpack",
    "deploy": "npm run build && gh-pages -d dist"
  }
}

Common Issues and Solutions

Build Failures

# Check build logs
# Fix build errors
# Update dependencies
# Verify configuration

Custom Domain Issues

# Verify DNS settings
# Check CNAME file
# Wait for propagation
# Clear cache

Content Not Updating

# Clear cache
# Force rebuild
# Check file paths
# Verify commits

Conclusion

GitHub Pages is a powerful hosting solution. Remember to:

Follow best practices
Optimize performance
Secure your site
Regular maintenance
Monitor analytics

Next Steps

After mastering GitHub Pages, you might want to:

Learn about Jekyll
Explore GitHub Actions
Study web optimization
Understand CDN usage

GitHub Pages for Hosting