I was pretty confused when I got started using github pages - did I need Ruby and Jekyll? How does the website come from the markdown files? So I made this easy and funny guide for newbies to get started with nothing but a browser and 10 lines of text. I spent days trying to get everything working (I was trying to use Jekyll locally and find themes, etc) and only later did I realize how utterly simple it could be. I made another website using the guide and going slow and it took me 11 minutes, including the time to do the screenshots.

I also made "GitHub Pages The Hard Way" ( https://jackd.ethertech.org/2025-07-04-github-pages-diy.html ), which goes into detail how the pages are made, the directory structure, and how you can override files to make it do anything you want, so long as it's HTML and CSS! Bazingo! It's about 10 pages and really in-depth, I modify the HTML and CSS that the site is built from and show you how to it. IMHO, it's worth it for this image alone: https://jackd.ethertech.org/images/ruby_bucket.png

Between the two files, I take the reader on a journey from complete novice to expert in an easy-to-follow way based on my experiences. I'm hoping this will save a lot of people a lot of time.