This is a Jekyll-powered personal website template that generates a static, AMP-validated blog and portfolio site deployable to GitHub Pages via GitHub Actions.
What is the Jekyll Personal Website template?
This template is a complete personal website built with Jekyll, a Ruby-based static site generator. It takes Markdown and HTML source files from the repository's main branch and produces a generated website on the gh-pages branch, which GitHub Pages serves publicly (the live site is at kyleniewiada.org). The project is maintained by Kyle Niewiada, and the repository includes a wiki that holds the latest documentation and setup information.
Key Features
- Mobile responsive — The layout is built with modern HTML5 and CSS3, so content reflows cleanly on phones, tablets, and desktops.
- AMP validated — Every page passes the Accelerated Mobile Pages validator from amp.dev, enabling faster mobile page loads.
- GitHub Actions ready — A pre-configured workflow (
github-pages.yml) automatically builds and deploys the site whenever changes are pushed tomain. - Basic testing — The repository includes a Rake test task invoked with
bundle exec rake test, giving you a simple baseline check before publishing. - Local development container — A VSCode dev container sets up the full Jekyll environment; after the container builds,
bundle exec rakeserves the site locally. - Wiki documentation — The repo wiki hosts the latest documentation, keeping usage instructions close to the source code.
Who is it for?
- Developers who want a ready-made personal blog or portfolio scaffold using Jekyll and GitHub Pages without starting from scratch.
- AMP advocates who need a site already configured to pass Accelerated Mobile Pages validation, saving time on manual markup changes.
- GitHub Actions users who want a working example of a static site CI/CD pipeline with a
maintogh-pagesdeployment flow.
What can you do with this template?
- Publish blog posts — Write posts in Markdown and commit them to the
mainbranch; GitHub Actions builds the site and deploys it to thegh-pagesbranch automatically. - Showcase personal projects — The site is designed for sharing project write-ups and personal content, as the author does on his own site.
- Test site changes locally — Use the bundled Rake tasks and the VSCode dev container to preview and verify changes without a global Jekyll installation.
How does it work?
The workflow follows a standard Jekyll static-site pipeline. Source files live on the main branch; on every push, a GitHub Actions workflow runs Jekyll to generate the static site, then pushes the output to the gh-pages branch, where GitHub Pages serves it. Locally, you open the repository in VSCode, which offers to reopen it in a dev container; inside the container, bundle exec rake builds and serves the site for local preview.
Pricing
The repository is publicly available on GitHub, so you can clone or fork it for your own use at no charge.
FAQ
Is this template free to use?
Yes, the source code is hosted publicly on GitHub, so you can clone, fork, and modify it for your own personal website without paying a license fee.
What do I need to run it locally?
You can use the included VSCode dev container, which sets up Ruby, Jekyll, and all dependencies automatically. Alternatively, you'd need Ruby and Jekyll installed on your machine to run bundle exec rake manually.
Does this template support GitHub Pages?
Yes, it includes a GitHub Actions workflow that builds the Jekyll site and deploys the output to the gh-pages branch, which GitHub Pages uses to serve the live site.
