What Should You Do After Enabling GitHub Pages Successfully

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So you’ve just enabled GitHub Pages from your repository settings. Your site is live, the link works, and the homepage appears correctly. But now what?

Many users stop at this point — which is understandable. But if you want your GitHub Pages site to be sustainable, fast, discoverable, and easy to maintain, you need to follow a few best practices.

This guide explains the next steps after enabling GitHub Pages, so your site doesn’t just work — it thrives.

Why Post-Setup Steps Matter

Activating GitHub Pages is only the beginning. Without a good structure, your site could become hard to maintain, perform poorly, or fail to appear in search engine results. A good post-setup routine ensures:

  • Better performance and SEO
  • Cleaner project structure
  • Fewer errors and maintenance headaches
  • Scalability when your site grows in size or audience

How Should You Organize Your Files and Directories?

A well-structured repository keeps your content and configuration manageable. Here’s a recommended structure for a Jekyll-based or plain HTML GitHub Pages site:

/ (root)
│
├── index.html
├── about.html
├── contact.html
├── /assets
│   ├── /css
│   ├── /js
│   └── /images
├── /_includes       ← for Jekyll users
├── /_layouts        ← for Jekyll users
├── /_posts          ← for Jekyll blog content
├── /_data           ← for YAML/JSON data used in templates
├── _config.yml      ← for global site settings
├── .nojekyll        ← if not using Jekyll
└── robots.txt       ← optional, for SEO control

This separation helps you keep layout, content, and assets organized, especially when your site starts growing.

Should You Add a README and LICENSE File?

Yes. Even if the repository is only for hosting a website, having a README.md gives context to visitors. A LICENSE file clarifies content usage rights.

Example README for a GitHub Pages site:

# My Personal Website
This is the source for my personal site hosted on GitHub Pages. Built with Jekyll.

What Are Some Basic SEO Steps to Take?

By default, GitHub Pages sites don’t come optimized for search engines. Here’s how to fix that:

1. Add a robots.txt File

This file tells search engines whether they’re allowed to index your site. Example:

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Sitemap: https://your-domain.com/sitemap.xml

2. Add Metadata for Each Page

For each HTML file, include the following in the <head> section:

  • <title>Page Title</title>
  • <meta name="description" content="Brief summary of page">
  • <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

3. Create a Sitemap

If using Jekyll, install a sitemap plugin. For static HTML, create one manually and link to it in robots.txt.

4. Connect to Google Search Console

Add a verification meta tag to your homepage and submit your sitemap. This ensures your site gets indexed faster and gives access to performance analytics.

How Can You Add a Custom Domain?

If you want to use a domain like www.example.com instead of username.github.io:

  1. Buy a domain from a registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.)
  2. Add a CNAME file to your repository with the domain name
  3. Go to GitHub → Settings → Pages and enter the custom domain
  4. Update DNS records to point to GitHub’s Pages IPs

DNS propagation can take several hours, but once complete, your GitHub Pages site will be accessible via your custom domain.

What About Site Security and Permissions?

Even if GitHub Pages is only for static content, security matters:

  • Set your repository to private if the content shouldn’t be public
  • Use branch protection rules to prevent accidental overwrites
  • Enable 2FA on your GitHub account
  • Keep third-party integrations minimal

How Do You Maintain and Update Content Easily?

To keep your site up to date without stress:

  • Write in Markdown and convert to HTML or Jekyll posts
  • Use _includes for headers, footers, and navigation
  • Group related pages in subfolders (e.g., /guides, /portfolio)
  • Use semantic filenames: contact.html, privacy.html, etc.

Should You Use Analytics?

To understand your visitors and improve your content, consider integrating:

  • Plausible Analytics: Lightweight and privacy-friendly
  • Google Analytics: More detailed but privacy-sensitive
  • GoatCounter: Good for GitHub Pages use

Paste the tracking script into your site’s <head> or use a layout include.

What If You Want to Add a Blog Section?

GitHub Pages with Jekyll supports blog posts via _posts. To start a blog:

  • Create a _posts folder
  • Add Markdown files like 2025-07-05-my-first-post.md
  • Use front matter like layout: post and title

Jekyll will convert these into a blog feed automatically, especially if you use themes like Minima.

Final Checklist After Enabling GitHub Pages

Here’s a short checklist of post-setup best practices:

  • [ ] Confirm site loads on all devices
  • [ ] Set up custom domain and HTTPS
  • [ ] Add README and LICENSE
  • [ ] Include robots.txt and sitemap
  • [ ] Connect to Google Search Console
  • [ ] Create reusable layout components
  • [ ] Enable branch protection rules

Final Thoughts

Enabling GitHub Pages is just the first milestone. What you do afterward determines whether your site remains fast, functional, and discoverable. By organizing your project, improving SEO, enhancing security, and planning for updates, you transform your GitHub Pages project from a simple test page into a long-term digital asset.

Remember, successful static websites aren’t just published — they’re structured, maintained, and improved over time. Start early, build wisely, and your Pages site will serve you for years to come.