🚀 Complete Setup Guide for Your Jekyll Blog

🚀 Complete Setup Guide for Your Jekyll Blog

Your minimalist Jekyll blog is now ready! Follow this guide to get it running on GitHub Pages.

📋 What’s Been Set Up

✅ Minimalist Theme: “no-style-please” theme for clean, fast loading
✅ Chronological Posts: Homepage displays posts in reverse chronological order
✅ Tagging System: Full tagging functionality with dedicated tags page
✅ Comments Ready: Giscus integration for GitHub Discussions-based comments
✅ GitHub Pages Compatible: Configured for seamless GitHub Pages deployment
✅ Sample Content: 4 sample blog posts with various tags
✅ Responsive Design: Works perfectly on all devices

🛠️ Immediate Setup Steps

1. Update Personal Information

Edit _config.yml and update these fields:

title: Your Name
email: your-email@example.com
description: Your blog description
github_username: your-github-username
twitter_username: your-twitter-handle  # optional

2. Update About Page

Edit about.markdown and replace placeholder information with your details:

• GitHub username
• Email address
• Twitter handle
• Personal bio and interests

3. GitHub Repository Setup

1. Create a new GitHub repository (or use existing one)
2. Push your code:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial blog setup"
   git push origin main
   

4. Enable GitHub Pages

1. Go to your repository on GitHub
2. Click Settings → Pages
3. Under “Source”, select “Deploy from a branch”
4. Choose “main” branch
5. Click Save

Your blog will be available at: https://your-username.github.io/your-repo-name

5. Enable Comments (Optional but Recommended)

1. Enable Discussions in your GitHub repository:
   • Go to Settings → General
   • Scroll to “Features” section
   • Check “Discussions”
2. Configure Giscus:
   • Visit giscus.app
   • Enter your repository details
   • Copy the generated configuration
   • Update _config.yml:

   giscus:
     repo: "your-username/your-repo-name"
     repo_id: "R_kgDOxxxxxxx"  # from giscus.app
     category: "General"
     category_id: "DIC_kwDOxxxxxxx"  # from giscus.app
   

📝 Writing Your First Post

1. Create a new file in _posts/ with format: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

2. Add front matter:

   ---
   layout: post
   title: "Your Post Title"
   date: 2025-01-30 10:00:00 +0530
   tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
   ---
      
   Your post content here...
   

3. Write in Markdown - Jekyll supports full Markdown syntax

🎨 Customization Options

Adding New Pages

• Create .md files in root directory
• Add to navigation by updating header_pages in _config.yml

Styling

• Override theme styles in _sass/ directory
• Add custom CSS to layout files
• Modify existing layouts in _layouts/

Features

• Dark Mode: Automatic based on system preference
• Fast Loading: Minimal CSS and optimized assets
• SEO Friendly: Proper meta tags and structured data
• RSS Feed: Automatic feed generation at /feed.xml

🔧 Local Development

Prerequisites

• Ruby (2.7 or higher)
• Bundler gem

Setup

# Install dependencies
bundle install

# Start local server
bundle exec jekyll serve

# Visit your blog
open http://localhost:4000

Development Tips

• Changes auto-reload (except _config.yml)
• Drafts go in _drafts/ folder
• Use --drafts flag to preview drafts locally

📁 File Structure Overview

├── _config.yml              # Main configuration
├── _posts/                  # Blog posts
│   ├── 2025-01-15-my-coding-journey.md
│   ├── 2025-01-20-setting-up-development-environment.md
│   ├── 2025-01-25-understanding-git-basics.md
│   └── 2025-05-31-welcome-to-jekyll.markdown
├── _layouts/                # Custom layouts
│   ├── home.html           # Homepage layout
│   └── post.html           # Blog post layout
├── _includes/               # Reusable components
│   └── giscus_comments.html # Comments component
├── .github/workflows/       # GitHub Actions
│   └── jekyll.yml          # Auto-deployment
├── tags.md                  # Tags page
├── about.markdown           # About page
├── index.markdown           # Homepage
├── Gemfile                  # Ruby dependencies
└── README.md               # Documentation

🚀 Deployment

Automatic Deployment

• GitHub Actions workflow is configured
• Pushes to main branch trigger automatic deployment
• No manual intervention required

Manual Deployment

If you prefer manual deployment:

1. Disable GitHub Actions workflow
2. Use GitHub Pages source: “Deploy from a branch”
3. Push to main branch

🎯 Next Steps

1. Write your first post - Replace sample posts with your content
2. Customize the about page - Make it personal
3. Set up comments - Enable community engagement
4. Share your blog - Start building your audience
5. Regular posting - Consistency is key to growing readership

🆘 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Blog not loading on GitHub Pages:

• Check repository settings → Pages
• Ensure main branch is selected
• Wait 5-10 minutes for deployment

Comments not working:

• Verify Discussions are enabled
• Double-check Giscus configuration
• Ensure repository is public

Local development issues:

• Run bundle install after any Gemfile changes
• Restart server after _config.yml changes
• Check Ruby version compatibility

Getting Help

• Jekyll Documentation
• GitHub Pages Documentation
• Giscus Documentation

📈 Growing Your Blog

Content Strategy

• Write consistently (weekly/bi-weekly)
• Focus on your expertise areas
• Engage with your audience through comments
• Share posts on social media

SEO Tips

• Use descriptive titles
• Add relevant tags
• Write meta descriptions
• Include internal links

Community Building

• Respond to comments promptly
• Engage with other developers’ blogs
• Share valuable, actionable content
• Be authentic and personal

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Congratulations! 🎉 Your minimalist blog is ready to go. Start writing and sharing your knowledge with the world!

Need help? Feel free to open an issue in your repository or reach out to the community.