Build a Personal Blog with GitHub & Jekyll

How to Build a Blog using a GitHub Pages Site?

A hands-on, beginner-friendly guide for developers and students

Hello, all 👋

Ever wanted a place to share your projects or notes online without learning full-stack development?

Then You’re in the right place!

In this tutorial, we’ll create a clean, customizable blog using GitHub Pages and Jekyll for free.
No design skills, server setup, or backend knowledge required.

Let’s get started!!

---

What You’ll Need:

• A GitHub account
• A little Markdown knowledge (don’t worry, we’ll cover it)
• A Jekyll theme you like

---

1. Choose a Jekyll Theme

I’m guessing you already have a GitHub account — but if not, create one first 👉 GitHub

Done? Let’s get started.

Head over to the Jekyll Theme Gallery
Pick a theme that fits your vibe. Minimal, academic, colorful, retro… whatever.

In this tutorial, We’ll use the academicpages, which is great for portfolios, blogs, and even resumes.

---

2. Fork the Repository

Once you’ve chosen a theme:

• Click the Fork in the top-right corner of the theme repository.
• Rename the forked repo to match this format: yourusername.github.io

✅ This naming is important! It tells GitHub to publish your site automatically.
(I already have a blog, so I’ll create this one as a test!)

---

3. Configure _config.yml

In your new(forked) repository, find and open the _config.yml file.

Update the following lines:

url: "https://yourusername.github.io"
baseurl: ""

You can also edit your blog’s title, description, author, and social links here.

Take a moment to make it yours. Once you’re done, commit changes.

---

4. Enable GitHub Pages

Now let’s publish the site!

1. Go to your repo’s Settings tab.
2. Click Pages in the left sidebar.
3. Set the following options:
   • Source: Deploy from a branch
   • Branch: main or master
   • Folder: / (root)
4. Click Save

That’s it. GitHub will now build and publish your site.
Afer a few seconds, you’ll see a URL like: https://yourusername.github.io

---

5. Write Your First Post

Time to write your very first blog post.

1. In your repo, click Add file → Create new file
2. Name your file in the following format:
   _posts/YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

1. In the editor, copy and paste the following sample content:

---
title: "My First Post"
date: 2025-07-24
layout: post
---

Hello, world!

Write anything what you want!

1. Click Commit changes…

Your post should now appear on your blog homepage.

✅ Tip & Troubleshooting

Make sure your filename follows the correct format: _posts/YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

• It must start with a valid date.
• It must end with .md. Want images?
• Upload images into the /assets/img/ folder and use standard Markdown: ![Alt text](/assets/img/example.png)

---

DONE!

You’ve now created very first blog, powered by GitHub and Jekyll.

Was this guide helpful?
Leave a comment if you have questions,
Hit Like if it made your day!