Hosting Your Portfolio Website for Free Using GitHub Pages
Why pay for servers when you can host websites for free with GitHub Pages?
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Creating an online portfolio is a fantastic way to showcase your work, skills, and personal brand.
Fortunately, you don't need to be a web developer to get started, neither you need to spend money to host the server for your website.
GitHub Pages is a free and user-friendly platform that allows you to host your portfolio website directly from a GitHub repository.
Sounds exciting? In this tutorial, we’ll explore what GitHub Pages is, walk through creating a simple website and guide you on how to host it with your custom domain.
What are GitHub Pages?
GitHub Pages is a static site hosting service that takes files from a GitHub repository and serves them as a website. It's designed primarily for hosting personal, project, or organizational websites.
You can use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create your site. GitHub Pages supports custom domains, making it a flexible option for anyone looking to establish an online presence.
Key features of GitHub Pages
- Free Hosting: Host your website without incurring costs.
- Version Control: Leverage Git's version control features for your files.
- Custom Domains: Easily set up your own domain name.
- Jekyll Support: Utilize Jekyll, a static site generator, for more advanced setups.
Use a pre-designed template for your portfolio website
Okay, don’t judge me, I’m using a pre-built theme for this tutorial. But hey, it’s only because these themes are awesome and save a ton of time!
Of course, you can absolutely flex your creative muscles and design a jaw-dropping website from scratch if you want.
GitHub Pages works seamlessly with Jekyll, which offers an array of gorgeous themes to choose from.
Browse the Jekyll Themes directory
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And pick one that fits your taste:
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Fork or download the theme’s repository:
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yourname.github.io
or you can download it as a zip file and edit it locallyAnd start tweaking it to add your personality:
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Set up a GitHub repository
Create a GitHub Account: If you don’t have one, sign up at GitHub.
Create a new repository. Click on the “+” icon in the top-right corner and select “New repository.”
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Name your repository e.g., yourusername.github.io
and set it to public and click “Create repository.”
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Upload your website files
Go to your new repository and click on “Add file” > “Upload files.”
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Drag and drop your HTML files (and any additional files like CSS or images) that you downloaded with the theme and commit your changes.
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Enable GitHub Pages
In your repository, go to “Settings.” and Scroll down to the “Pages” section. Under “Source,” select the branch (main/ master) and click “Save.”
After a few moments, your website will be live at https://yourusername.github.io
.
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Set up a custom domain
If you have a custom domain, you can link it to your GitHub Pages site:
In your repository settings, under “Pages,” add your personal domain in the “Custom domain” section and save.
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Add a CNAME record pointing to yourusername.github.io
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If you are using an apex domain (like example.com
), add an A record pointing to GitHub's IP addresses:
185.199.108.153
185.199.109.153
185.199.110.153
185.199.111.153
Verify your custom domain
After DNS propagation (which can take up to 48 hours), your custom domain should direct to your GitHub Pages site.
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Conclusion
Hosting your portfolio website on GitHub Pages is a straightforward process that empowers you to showcase your skills and projects online.
With just a few steps, you can create and host a professional-looking site using HTML, customize it to fit your style, and even link it to a custom domain.
Start your journey today and present your work to the world with confidence! If you have any question, feel free to drop a comment below.
I'm definitely not a nerd, perhaps a geek who likes to tinker around with whatever tech I get my hands on. Figuring things out on my own gives me joy. BTW, I don't use Arch.