Step-by-Step Guide to Running Jekyll Minimal Mistake Blog on Windows

Jekyll is a fantastic tool for building static websites, and the Minimal Mistakes theme offers a professional, clean design for blogs. This guide will walk you through the steps to build, run, and deploy your Jekyll blog on Windows and host it on GitHub Pages.

Step 1: Install Ruby and Development Kit

• Download and install Ruby+Devkit from RubyInstaller. During installation, ensure you select the option to add Ruby executables to your PATH.

• Configure Ruby and the Development Kit:

   ridk install
  

• Verify the installation:

   ruby --version
   gem --version
  

Step 2: Install Jekyll and Bundler

• Install Bundler, the Ruby dependency manager:

   gem install bundler
  

• Install Jekyll:

   gem install jekyll
  

• Confirm the installation:

   jekyll --version
  

Step 3: Create Your Blog with Minimal Mistakes Theme

• Clone the Minimal Mistakes starter repository:

   git clone https://github.com/mmistakes/minimal-mistakes.git my-blog
  

• Navigate to your blog directory:

   cd my-blog
  

• Install project dependencies:

   bundle install
  

• Serve the blog locally to preview it:

   bundle exec jekyll serve
  

• Open your browser and visit:

   http://localhost:4000
  

Step 4: Customize Your Blog

• Update Configuration:
  Edit _config.yml to personalize your blog’s title, description, author, and other settings.

• Add Posts:
  Add new blog posts in the _posts folder. Use the format:

   YYYY-MM-DD-post-title.md
  

*Customize Pages:
Create new pages (e.g., about.md) and link them in _config.yml.

Step 5: Deploy Your Blog to GitHub Pages

1. Initialize a Git repository in your project directory:

   git init
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial commit"
   

2. Create a new repository on GitHub and link it to your local project:

   git remote add origin <repository-url>
   git branch -M main
   git push -u origin main
   

3. Enable GitHub Pages:
   • Go to your GitHub repository’s Settings.
   • Under Pages, set the branch to main and the folder to / (root).
   • Save your changes.
4. Your blog will be live at:

   https://<username>.github.io/<repository-name>/
   

Build and deploy release for production

• Go to the root direcotry of the project. Ex. My-blog
• Open terminal and run command jekyll build site.url
• Go to the site directory. Ex. My-blog/site
• Copy the content of the site directory
• Go to the root directory of the repository on GitHub. Ex. mahedee.github.io
• Paste the content to the root directory
• Commit and push the changes to the repository on GitHub both my-blog and mahedee.github.io
• Now browse the site using: https://mahedee.github.io/

Troubleshooting

• Changing the Site URL for Production

  • You don’t need to manually change links when switching between development and production. Instead, set the “url” parameter in _config.yml.
  • This approach has two benefits:
    • When running jekyll serve, the site.url is set to http://localhost:4000.
    • When running jekyll build, the site.url is replaced with the domain name specified in _config.yml.
  • After building, deploy the contents of the _site directory to the root of your server where your domain points.

Conclusion

Deploying a Jekyll blog with the Minimal Mistakes theme on Windows is straightforward. With Ruby, Jekyll, and GitHub Pages, you can easily create, customize, and host a beautiful static website. Follow this guide to get your blog up and running today!