How I Set Up My Jekyll Blog

Why I Chose Jekyll + GitHub Pages

When I decided to add a blog to my portfolio, I wanted something free, and easy to manage. Jekyll + GitHub Pages turned out to be the perfect combo because:

• It works directly with GitHub, meaning no extra hosting setup.
• I can write my blogs in Markdown, keeping things simple.
• It’s fully customizable to match my portfolio design.
• I was able to skip the process of installation of different things.

Steps I Followed to Set Up My Jekyll Blog

1. Created a New Repository

I created a new GitHub repository named blogs to store all my blog content.

2. Enabled GitHub Pages

I went to Settings → Pages, set the branch to deploy, and GitHub Pages (which plays a major role) was activated.

3. Added Jekyll Setup

Instead of running Jekyll locally, I used GitHub’s built-in Jekyll processing by:

1. Adding a _config.yml file to configure the site.
2. Creating a .md file, naming it by following the pattern YYYY-MM-DD-title-of-your-post.md.
3. Setting up a _posts folder to store my blog posts.

4. Wrote My First Blog in Markdown

Jekyll uses Markdown files for posts, so I created a .md file in _posts/ following this format:

_posts/2025-02-04-my-first-blog.md

Inside the file, I wrote:

---
title: "My First Blog Post"
date: 2025-02-04
author: "Tanushree Shaw"
---

# My First Blog Post

This is my first blog post using Jekyll and GitHub Pages! 

5. Customized the Blog to Match My Portfolio

• Edited _config.yml to match my portfolio’s theme.
• Updated the layout and styles to ensure consistency.
• Verified the changes by checking the GitHub Pages live link.

Challenges I Faced

• Figuring Out Which method should I follow: There are other methos that involve proper installations of some things, but for a new start Jekyll + GitHub Pages seemed the best choice.
• Figuring Out GitHub Actions: Jekyll on GitHub needs proper file structuring.
• Matching My Portfolio Design: Adjusting styles took some trial and error.

What’s Next?

Complete color customization to match my portfolio, so it blends well with my portfolio-site. Write more blog posts on tech topics and my journey. Improve SEO to help my blog rank better.

That’s how I set up my Jekyll blog directly from GitHub! If you’re doing the same, just experiment and tweak things as you go.

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