Getting Started with Your Professional Website

This guide will help you get your website up and running quickly.

🚀 Quick Setup (5 minutes)

Step 1: Install Ruby and Bundler

On macOS:

# Ruby is pre-installed on macOS
# Just install Bundler
gem install bundler

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install ruby-full build-essential
gem install bundler

On Windows:

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Navigate to your website directory and run:

cd ~/github_site/anujpandey10.github.io
bundle install

This will install Jekyll and all required plugins.

Step 3: Start the Local Server

bundle exec jekyll serve

You should see output like:

Server address: http://127.0.0.1:4000/
Server running... press ctrl-c to stop.

Step 4: View Your Site

Open your browser and go to: http://localhost:4000

🎉 That’s it! Your site is now running locally.

✏️ Making Your First Edits

Update Your Personal Information

  1. Edit Contact Details - contact.md
    • Update email address
    • Update GitHub username
    • Update LinkedIn URL
  2. Edit Site Configuration - _config.yml
    • Update author information
    • Update social media links
    • Update description
  3. Customize About Page - about.md
    • Add your specific experience
    • Update education details
    • Personalize your story

Add a New Blog Post

  1. Create a new file in _posts/ directory: 
    touch _posts/2025-12-28-my-first-post.md
  2. Add front matter and content: 
    ---
layout: post
title: "My First Blog Post"
date: 2025-12-28
categories: [Data Science, AI]
author: Anuj Pandey
---

Your content here...
  3. Save and refresh your browser - the new post will appear!

🚢 Deploying to GitHub Pages

Prerequisites

  • A GitHub account
  • Git installed on your computer

Steps

  1. Create a GitHub Repository
    • Go to GitHub and create a new repository
    • Name it: [your-username].github.io
    • Example: anujpandey10.github.io
  2. Initialize Git (if not already done) 
    cd ~/github_site/anujpandey10.github.io
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit - Professional website"
  3. Connect to GitHub 
    git remote add origin https://github.com/[your-username]/[your-username].github.io.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main
  4. Enable GitHub Pages
    • Go to your repository on GitHub
    • Click “Settings”
    • Scroll to “Pages” section
    • Under “Source”, select “main” branch
    • Click “Save”
  5. Wait for Deployment
    • GitHub will build your site (takes 1-2 minutes)
    • You’ll receive an email when it’s ready
    • Visit: https://[your-username].github.io

🎨 Customization Tips

Change Colors

Edit assets/css/style.scss:

:root {
  --primary-color: #2c5aa0;    /* Change to your brand color */
  --secondary-color: #1a3a6b;   /* Darker shade */
  --accent-color: #4a90e2;      /* Highlight color */
}

Add Your Photo

  1. Create assets/images/ directory
  2. Add your photo: assets/images/profile.jpg
  3. Reference in your pages: 
    ![Your Name](assets/images/profile.jpg)

Customize Navigation

Edit _data/navigation.yml to change menu items.

Add Google Analytics

  1. Get your Google Analytics tracking ID
  2. Edit _config.yml: 
    google_analytics: UA-XXXXXXXXX-X

🔧 Common Commands

# Start local server
bundle exec jekyll serve

# Build site (creates _site/ folder)
bundle exec jekyll build

# Start server on different port
bundle exec jekyll serve --port 4001

# Start with draft posts visible
bundle exec jekyll serve --drafts

# Clean build artifacts
bundle exec jekyll clean

📝 Content Organization

Your Website/
├── Pages (root .md files)
│   ├── index.md         → Homepage
│   ├── about.md         → About page
│   ├── skills.md        → Skills page
│   ├── experience.md    → Experience page
│   ├── projects.md      → Projects page
│   ├── blog.md          → Blog landing
│   └── contact.md       → Contact page
│
├── Blog Posts (_posts/)
│   └── YYYY-MM-DD-title.md
│
├── Styling (assets/css/)
│   └── style.scss       → Custom CSS
│
└── Configuration
    └── _config.yml      → Site settings

🆘 Troubleshooting

Site not updating?

  1. Stop the server (Ctrl+C)
  2. Run bundle exec jekyll clean
  3. Start server again

Port already in use?

bundle exec jekyll serve --port 4001

Bundle install fails?

gem install bundler
bundle update

Changes not showing on GitHub Pages?

  • Wait 2-3 minutes after pushing
  • Check “Actions” tab for build status
  • Clear browser cache

📚 Learn More

🎯 Next Steps

  1. ✅ Get site running locally
  2. ✅ Update personal information
  3. ✅ Customize colors and styling
  4. ✅ Add your own projects
  5. ✅ Write your first blog post
  6. ✅ Deploy to GitHub Pages
  7. ✅ Share your new site!

Need Help? Check README.md or contact me with questions!