Why Is GitHub Pages Not Showing My Site After Enabling It

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Why Is GitHub Pages Not Showing My Site After Enabling It?

You’ve followed the steps to enable GitHub Pages in your repository settings. Everything seems correct — you selected the right branch, hit save, and even received a link to your published site. But when you visit the URL, the page doesn't load or shows a 404 error. Why?

GitHub Pages setup may seem straightforward, but several subtle mistakes can silently break the deployment. This guide helps you identify and fix the most common reasons your GitHub Pages site isn’t working — especially after activating it through the repository settings.

What Are the Most Frequent Reasons GitHub Pages Doesn’t Show Your Site?

Let’s break down the most likely culprits, based on user experience and GitHub's own documentation:

  • The selected branch doesn’t contain the expected files
  • No index.html file exists in the root or specified folder
  • You’ve used unsupported Jekyll features or invalid front matter
  • There's a delay in deployment or GitHub Pages build failed silently
  • The project requires build tools like Webpack but only raw files were pushed
  • A custom domain is misconfigured or DNS hasn’t propagated

How Can You Confirm That Pages Was Enabled Correctly?

Start by returning to the repository's Settings → Pages section. GitHub will show a green banner at the top indicating that your site is published, along with a live URL. If this banner is missing or the URL leads to a 404, here’s what you should do next.

1. Check That You Selected the Correct Branch and Folder

Sometimes users mistakenly select the wrong combination. For example:

  • If your site files are in the docs folder but you chose /(root), nothing will load.
  • If your repository doesn’t have a branch named main or gh-pages, the Pages system won’t find your files.

Solution: Go to Settings → Pages → Source. Double-check the branch and folder match where your site lives.

2. Ensure an index.html File Is Present

GitHub Pages requires an index.html file in the root directory (or in the selected folder). Without this, the web server won’t know what to show at the homepage.

Solution: Add a valid index.html to the appropriate folder. Make sure it’s not named Index.html with a capital I — GitHub is case-sensitive.

3. Wait for Deployment or Trigger a New Commit

Sometimes GitHub takes up to 2–3 minutes to build and deploy your site. If you recently enabled Pages, it may still be in process.

Solution: Wait a few minutes, then refresh. If nothing shows up, push a small change (e.g., edit README.md) to re-trigger the deployment.

4. Inspect the Repository for Jekyll Errors

When using Jekyll, invalid YAML front matter or layout errors can cause the Pages build to silently fail.

Solution: Look for these common mistakes:

  • Unclosed tags in templates
  • Incorrect date formats in post filenames
  • Missing or broken theme references in _config.yml

To diagnose Jekyll-specific issues, try building the site locally using bundle exec jekyll serve and watch for error messages.

5. Add a .nojekyll File for Static Sites

If you’re not using Jekyll and your files include underscores (like _site or _media), GitHub may ignore them by default.

Solution: Create an empty file named .nojekyll in the root of your site directory. This tells GitHub to bypass Jekyll processing.

How Do You Handle Missing Branch or Folder During Setup?

When enabling GitHub Pages for the first time, you might not have created the correct branch yet. If the dropdown in the Pages settings doesn’t list the branch or folder you need, follow these steps:

1. Create the Necessary Branch

You can use GitHub’s web interface or Git to create the branch:

git checkout -b gh-pages
git push origin gh-pages

Then return to repository settings and choose the new branch as your source.

2. Add a Default HTML Page

To test if Pages works, add a simple index.html page:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head><title>Test Page</title></head>
  <body><h2>GitHub Pages is working!</h2></body>
</html>

Push it to the chosen branch, wait a minute, and reload your public URL.

What If GitHub Pages Still Doesn’t Work?

Here’s a final checklist to debug persistent issues:

  • Clear browser cache or try incognito mode
  • Check that the repository is public (private repos require Pro accounts for Pages)
  • Use the GitHub Actions log (if applicable) to check for build errors
  • Disable third-party blockers like uBlock or VPNs that may interfere with GitHub

Should You Use gh-pages Branch or /docs Folder?

Both options work, but they serve different workflows:

  • gh-pages branch: Better for projects where build output should be separated from source code.
  • /docs folder: Convenient for mono-repos or project documentation.

Choose whichever matches your workflow, then update Pages settings accordingly.

How Do You Confirm a Successful GitHub Pages Deployment?

Visit your GitHub Pages URL. If the site loads, great. If not, use GitHub's deployment status badge or visit the repository's “Actions” tab to inspect the latest build logs.

Also, visit https://github.com/username/repo/settings/pages to verify the selected branch and path.

What’s Next After Troubleshooting?

Once your site is live, focus on content and performance:

  • Set a custom domain if needed
  • Add robots.txt and sitemap for SEO
  • Use GitHub Actions to automate deployments from static site generators

GitHub Pages is reliable, but it requires careful configuration. Most problems stem from misaligned branches, missing files, or Jekyll misunderstandings — all fixable once you know where to look.

With the right setup and a few tweaks, your GitHub Pages site will be running smoothly and accessible to everyone, every time.