Deployment to GitHub Pages and Azure

By bamr87

Deploy your Jekyll site to GitHub Pages, Azure Static Web Apps, or any static hosting provider — with custom domain configuration.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

• Share on Reddit
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Twitter

• ---

Edit on GitHub

Table of Contents

This guide covers Phase 12 of the Quick Start — deploying your Jekyll site to GitHub Pages, Azure, or any static hosting provider.

---

GitHub Pages (Free — Recommended for Starters)

GitHub Pages is the simplest way to host a Jekyll site. It’s free, automatic, and tightly integrated with your repository.

Setup Steps

1. Push your repo to GitHub
2. Go to Settings → Pages
3. Set source to GitHub Actions (recommended) or the gh-pages branch
4. Your site will be live at https://username.github.io/repo-name/

Custom Domain

To use your own domain:

Step 1 — Configure Jekyll:

# In _config.yml
url: "https://yourdomain.com"
baseurl: ""

Step 2 — Create CNAME file:

Create a CNAME file at the repo root containing your domain:

yourdomain.com

Step 3 — Configure DNS:

Add these records with your domain registrar:

Type	Name	Value
A	@	185.199.108.153
A	@	185.199.109.153
A	@	185.199.110.153
A	@	185.199.111.153
CNAME	www	username.github.io

Step 4 — Enable HTTPS:

In Settings → Pages, check Enforce HTTPS (available after DNS propagates).

---

Azure Static Web Apps

For more control, use Azure Static Web Apps with the IT-Journey deployment script:

./scripts/azure-jekyll-deploy.sh deploy \
  --app-name my-jekyll-site \
  --github-repo https://github.com/username/repo

Azure Configuration

Setting	Value
App location	/
API location	api/
Output location	_site/

The script handles:

• Azure resource creation
• GitHub Actions workflow generation
• Secret configuration
• Domain setup

Script Subcommands

# Full deployment
./scripts/azure-jekyll-deploy.sh deploy --app-name <name> --github-repo <url>

# Setup only (configure without deploying)
./scripts/azure-jekyll-deploy.sh setup

# Clean up resources
./scripts/azure-jekyll-deploy.sh cleanup --force

---

Manual Build + Any Host

Build the site and upload the output to any static hosting provider:

# Build the production site
JEKYLL_ENV=production bundle exec jekyll build

# The _site/ folder contains all static files
# Upload _site/ contents to your host

Compatible Hosts

Host	Method	Notes
Netlify	Git push or drag-and-drop	Auto-builds from repo
Vercel	Git push	Auto-builds from repo
Cloudflare Pages	Git push	Auto-builds from repo
AWS S3 + CloudFront	CLI upload	aws s3 sync _site/ s3://bucket/
Any web server	FTP/SCP upload	Upload _site/ contents to docroot

---

Environment-Specific Builds

Environment	Build Command	Config
Development	bundle exec jekyll serve --config _config.yml,_config_dev.yml	Local theme, drafts visible
Production	JEKYLL_ENV=production bundle exec jekyll build	Remote theme, minified, no drafts
Docker	docker-compose up -d	Uses both configs automatically

The JEKYLL_ENV variable controls environment-specific behavior:

{% if jekyll.environment == "production" %}
  {% include analytics.html %}
{% endif %}

---

Deployment Checklist

• Site builds without errors locally
• _config.yml has correct url and baseurl
• CNAME file present (for custom domains)
• DNS records configured and propagated
• HTTPS enforced
• All images optimized
• No draft posts published accidentally
• robots.txt and sitemap.xml generated

---

What’s Next

Next Step	Guide
Set up CI/CD for automated deployment	CI/CD & Automation
Optimize for SEO, performance, and accessibility	Optimization & Maintenance

IT-Journey Quests: GitHub Pages Basics · Azure Ascension · CI/CD Fundamentals

External Docs: GitHub Pages Docs · Azure Static Web Apps · Jekyll Deployment