Getting Started with Jekyll on GitHub Pages

Jekyll is a fantastic static site generator that’s perfect for blogs, documentation, and personal websites. The best part? GitHub Pages supports Jekyll natively, making deployment seamless.

Why Jekyll?

Jekyll offers several advantages for bloggers and developers:

  • Markdown support: Write posts in simple Markdown format
  • Version control: Your entire site is stored in Git
  • No database: Fast, secure static files
  • Customizable: Full control over design and functionality
  • Free hosting: GitHub Pages hosts Jekyll sites for free

Basic Structure

A typical Jekyll site has this structure:

your-site/
├── _config.yml          # Site configuration
├── _layouts/            # HTML templates
│   ├── default.html
│   └── post.html
├── _posts/              # Blog posts
│   └── YYYY-MM-DD-title.md
├── _includes/           # Reusable components
├── _sass/              # Sass stylesheets
├── assets/             # Images, CSS, JS
└── index.html          # Homepage

Writing Posts

Creating a new blog post is as simple as adding a Markdown file to the _posts directory. The filename must follow this pattern:

YYYY-MM-DD-title-of-post.md

Each post starts with YAML front matter:

---
layout: post
title: "Your Amazing Post Title"
date: 2025-08-20 12:00:00 +0000
author: "Your Name"
categories: [web-development, tutorial]
tags: [jekyll, markdown, blogging]
---

Useful Features

Code Highlighting

Jekyll supports syntax highlighting out of the box:

def fibonacci(n):
    if n <= 1:
        return n
    return fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)

print(fibonacci(10))

Math Expressions

You can include mathematical expressions using MathJax:

\[E = mc^2\]

Tables

Feature Jekyll WordPress
Speed ⚡ Fast 🐌 Slower
Security 🔒 Secure ⚠️ Vulnerable
Cost 💰 Free 💸 Expensive

Deployment

Deploying to GitHub Pages is automatic:

  1. Push your Jekyll site to a GitHub repository
  2. Enable GitHub Pages in repository settings
  3. Your site is live at https://username.github.io/repository-name

Tips for Success

  1. Keep it simple: Start with a basic theme and customize gradually
  2. Write regularly: Consistency is key for building an audience
  3. Optimize images: Compress images to keep your site fast
  4. Use meaningful URLs: Jekyll’s permalink feature helps with SEO
  5. Test locally: Use bundle exec jekyll serve to preview changes

Conclusion

Jekyll combined with GitHub Pages provides a powerful, free platform for blogging and content creation. It’s perfect for developers who want full control over their site while keeping things simple and maintainable.

Happy blogging! 🚀