Getting Started with Jekyll: A Comprehensive Guide

Getting Started with Jekyll: A Comprehensive Guide

by jukomol
jekyll tutorial static-site github-pages
6 min read

Learn how to get started with Jekyll, the powerful static site generator that powers GitHub Pages. This comprehensive guide covers installation, configuration, and best practices.

Jekyll is a fantastic static site generator that transforms your plain text files into beautiful, fast-loading websites. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to get started with Jekyll.

What is Jekyll?

Jekyll is a static site generator written in Ruby that takes your content written in Markdown, Liquid templates, HTML & CSS and generates a complete, static website ready to be served by any web server.

Key Benefits

  • Fast Performance: Static files load incredibly quickly
  • Security: No database means fewer attack vectors
  • Scalability: Can handle massive traffic with simple hosting
  • Version Control: Your entire site can be versioned with Git
  • GitHub Integration: Native support for GitHub Pages

Installation

Prerequisites

Before installing Jekyll, you’ll need:

  1. Ruby (version 2.5 or higher)
  2. RubyGems
  3. GCC and Make

Installing Jekyll

gem install bundler jekyll

Creating a New Site

jekyll new my-awesome-site
cd my-awesome-site
bundle exec jekyll serve

Directory Structure

A typical Jekyll site looks like this:

.
├── _config.yml
├── _drafts
├── _includes
├── _layouts
├── _posts
├── _data
├── _sass
├── assets
└── index.html

Key Directories Explained

  • _posts: Your dynamic content (blog posts)
  • _layouts: Templates that wrap around your content
  • _includes: Reusable snippets of code
  • _sass: Sass partials for your CSS
  • assets: Images, CSS, and JavaScript files

Configuration

The _config.yml file is the heart of your Jekyll site:

title: My Awesome Blog
description: A blog about web development
url: "https://username.github.io"
baseurl: ""

markdown: kramdown
highlighter: rouge
permalink: /:year/:month/:day/:title/

plugins:
  - jekyll-feed
  - jekyll-sitemap
  - jekyll-seo-tag

Creating Content

Writing Posts

Posts go in the _posts directory and follow this naming convention:

YEAR-MONTH-DAY-title.md

Example post:

---
layout: post
title: "My First Post"
date: 2024-09-08 10:00:00 -0000
categories: [blog, tutorial]
---

# Hello World

This is my first Jekyll post!

Front Matter

Front Matter is YAML between triple-dashed lines:

---
layout: post
title: "My Post Title"
date: 2024-09-08
author: "Your Name"
categories: [web-development, tutorial]
tags: [jekyll, static-sites]
---

Layouts and Templates

Layouts use the Liquid template language:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Getting Started with Jekyll: A Comprehensive Guide | P O L Y M A T H</title>
</head>
<body>
  <header>
    <h1>P O L Y M A T H</h1>
  </header>
  
  <main>
    
  </main>
  
  <footer>
    <p>&copy; 2025 {"name"=>"jukomol", "email"=>"jahiruddinkomol@gmail.com"}</p>
  </footer>
</body>
</html>

Advanced Features

Collections

Create custom content types:

collections:
  projects:
    output: true
    permalink: /:collection/:name/

Data Files

Store data in _data/ as YAML, JSON, or CSV:

# _data/team.yml
- name: "John Doe"
  role: "Developer"
  github: "johndoe"

Use in templates:

Deployment Options

GitHub Pages

  1. Push your Jekyll site to a GitHub repository
  2. Enable GitHub Pages in repository settings
  3. Your site will be available at username.github.io/repository

Manual Deployment

bundle exec jekyll build
# Upload _site/ contents to your web server

Automated Deployment

Use GitHub Actions for custom deployment workflows:

name: Build and Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
jobs:
  build-and-deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - uses: actions/setup-ruby@v1
      - run: bundle install
      - run: bundle exec jekyll build
      - uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3
        with:
          github_token: $
          publish_dir: ./_site

Best Practices

Performance Optimization

  1. Optimize Images: Use appropriate formats and sizes
  2. Minify CSS/JS: Use Jekyll plugins for minification
  3. Enable Compression: Configure your server for gzip
  4. Use CDNs: Serve static assets from CDNs

SEO Optimization

plugins:
  - jekyll-seo-tag
  - jekyll-sitemap
  - jekyll-feed

Content Organization

  • Use clear, descriptive URLs
  • Organize posts with categories and tags
  • Create an archive page
  • Implement site search

Common Issues and Solutions

Build Errors

# Clear cache and rebuild
bundle exec jekyll clean
bundle exec jekyll build

Liquid Syntax Errors

Always escape special characters:


{{ "This won't be processed as Liquid" }}

Plugin Issues

Ensure plugins are compatible with GitHub Pages:

plugins:
  - jekyll-feed      # ✅ Supported
  - jekyll-sitemap   # ✅ Supported
  - custom-plugin    # ❌ Not supported on GitHub Pages

Next Steps

Now that you have Jekyll basics down:

  1. Customize your theme or build from scratch
  2. Add interactive features with JavaScript
  3. Implement analytics and monitoring
  4. Set up automated testing for your builds
  5. Explore advanced plugins and integrations

Jekyll’s flexibility and GitHub Pages integration make it an excellent choice for developers who want control over their site while maintaining simplicity and performance.

Happy Jekyll-ing! 🚀

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