Lesson 18: Deploy to GitHub Pages

⏱ ~35 min Lesson 18 of 18 💚 Free

What You'll Learn

Understand Git and GitHub and why developers use version control
Initialize a repo, stage files, commit, and push to GitHub
Enable GitHub Pages and get a live URL for your portfolio
Understand the deployment workflow used by real web developers

Version Control with Git

Git is a version control system — software that tracks every change you make to a codebase over time. Think of it as an unlimited undo history that works across an entire project. GitHub is a hosting service where you store Git repositories online and collaborate with others.

Every web developer uses Git daily. Learning it now gives you a major advantage in college and on the job.

Core Git Concepts

Repository (repo) — A folder tracked by Git. Contains all your files plus the full change history in a hidden .git/ folder.

Commit — A snapshot of your files at a point in time. Like saving a named checkpoint in a video game.

Branch — A separate line of development. The default branch is called main. Branches let you experiment without breaking working code.

Push / Pull — Push uploads your commits to GitHub; Pull downloads changes from GitHub to your machine.

The Git Workflow

Every commit follows the same three-step cycle:

git add . — Stage all changed files (mark them to be included in the next commit)
git commit -m "Your message" — Create the snapshot with a description
git push — Upload the snapshot to GitHub

You repeat this cycle every time you finish a meaningful unit of work — a feature, a bug fix, or a section of a project.

GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages turns any repository into a free, live website. When you push an index.html to a repo named yourusername.github.io, GitHub automatically serves it at https://yourusername.github.io. For other repos you enable Pages in Settings and your site lives at https://yourusername.github.io/repo-name.

Your portfolio will be instantly accessible to employers, colleges, and collaborators worldwide — for free, forever.

Quick Check

1. What does git add . do?

Creates a new commit with a message

Stages all changed files to be included in the next commit

Uploads files to GitHub

Creates a new branch

2. Which repo name gives you a root GitHub Pages URL like https://alice.github.io?

portfolio

my-website

alice.github.io

github-pages

3. What is a Git commit?

A request to merge two branches

A folder that stores your HTML files

A saved snapshot of your project at a specific point in time

The command that uploads files to GitHub

4. After enabling GitHub Pages, how long does it typically take for your site to go live?

24–48 hours

Under a minute, usually within seconds

You must pay to activate it first

It requires a custom domain first