How to Create a Technical Blog Using Jekyll and GitHub Pages

Many technical writers are comfortable writing documentation but hesitate when it comes to creating and hosting a personal blog. Not because they lack the skills—but because the tooling feels unfamiliar and unnecessarily complex.

This post is written from the perspective of a technical writer who has gone through that hesitation and learned that blogging does not need a heavy platform, a CMS, or ongoing maintenance.

Using Jekyll and GitHub Pages, you can build a clean, fast, and maintainable blog using the same principles you already apply to documentation: structure, version control, and clarity.

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Why Jekyll and GitHub Pages?

Before jumping into steps, it’s important to understand why this combination works so well for technical writers.

  • Jekyll converts plain text (Markdown) into a static website
  • GitHub Pages hosts that website for free
  • No servers, databases, or dashboards to manage
  • Your content lives in version control

If you are comfortable with Git and Markdown, you already know most of what you need.

Example of a simple Jekyll blog homepage Example of a simple Jekyll blog homepage

Step 1: Install Prerequisites

You need three things on your local machine:

  • Ruby
  • Bundler
  • Jekyll

On macOS or Linux, Ruby is often preinstalled. On Windows, installing Ruby using RubyInstaller is recommended.

gem install bundler jekyll

Once installed, verify:

jekyll -v

Step 2: Create a New Jekyll Site

Create a new site using Jekyll’s default structure:

jekyll new my-blog
cd my-blog
bundle install

Start the local development server:

bundle exec jekyll serve

Open your browser and visit:

http://localhost:4000

Jekyll default site running locally Jekyll default site running locally

Step 3: Understand the Jekyll Structure

At first glance, the folder structure may feel unfamiliar. The important parts are:

  • _posts/ — where blog posts live
  • _config.yml — site configuration
  • _layouts/ — page layouts
  • index.md — homepage content

A typical blog post file looks like this:

_posts/2026-01-01-my-first-post.md

And begins with front matter:

---
title: "My First Post"
date: 2026-01-01
layout: post
---

Everything after that is just Markdown.

Step 4: Push the Blog to GitHub

Create a new GitHub repository named:

yourusername.github.io

This naming convention is important—it tells GitHub Pages to serve the site automatically.

Initialize Git and push:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial Jekyll blog"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/yourusername.github.io.git
git push -u origin main

GitHub repository with Jekyll files GitHub repository with Jekyll files

Step 5: Enable GitHub Pages

In the GitHub repository:

  1. Go to Settings → Pages
  2. Select Branch: main
  3. Select Folder: / (root)
  4. Save

Within a minute or two, your blog will be live at:

https://yourusername.github.io

Step 6 (Optional): Connect a Custom Domain

If you own a domain, you can point it to GitHub Pages.

At your domain registrar:

  • Add four A records pointing to GitHub Pages IPs
  • Add a CNAME record for www 
185.199.108.153
185.199.109.153
185.199.110.153
185.199.111.153

In your repository root, add a file named CNAME:

yourdomain.com

DNS configuration at domain registrar DNS configuration at domain registrar

What This Setup Gives You

  • A fast, static site
  • Full control over content and structure
  • No vendor lock-in
  • A writing workflow aligned with documentation practices

Most importantly, it removes friction. Writing becomes the primary task again.

Final Thoughts

Technical writers already understand structure, clarity, and audience. Blogging with Jekyll simply applies those skills to a different medium.

You don’t need a complex platform to publish thoughtful work. You need a system that stays out of the way.

Jekyll and GitHub Pages do exactly that.

DraftRefine

Clear thinking. Refined writing.