What Do All These GitHub Terms Mean When Starting a Blog with Jekyll

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Why Do GitHub and Jekyll Sound So Complicated at First?

If you’re just starting your blogging journey with GitHub Pages and Jekyll, chances are you’ve already encountered words like “fork,” “repository,” “branch,” or “commit.” They might sound technical or intimidating—but they’re actually just fancy names for simple things you already understand.

How Can You Start Without Feeling Overwhelmed?

The trick is this: you don’t need to master everything at once. You only need to understand just enough to take the next small step. In this guide, we’ll decode the essential terms and explain them in simple, real-world language—so you can keep building your blog without fear or frustration.

What Is a Repository, Really?

A repository (or repo for short) is just a folder. Like the folders on your phone or laptop, it contains files. The only difference is that a repository lives online, inside your GitHub account.

Analogy:

Think of a repository like a Google Drive folder where all your blog’s pages, images, and settings are stored. When you update a file in that folder, GitHub will also update your blog if GitHub Pages is enabled.

What Is GitHub Pages, and Why Do You Need It?

GitHub Pages is a free service by GitHub that lets you turn any folder (repository) into a live website. You don’t need to pay for hosting, install anything, or even have a domain name. GitHub does all the heavy lifting in the background.

Here’s How It Works:

  • You create a folder on GitHub.
  • You put your website files in that folder.
  • You tell GitHub to turn that folder into a live website.

What Is Jekyll, and Why Is It Important?

Jekyll is a tool that takes your text files and turns them into a website. You don’t need to install Jekyll yourself, because GitHub already has Jekyll built-in. When you upload the right kind of files to your GitHub repository, GitHub will automatically use Jekyll to turn them into a blog.

In Simpler Terms:

You write articles in plain text (usually in Markdown), and Jekyll transforms them into a nice-looking blog page with menus, layouts, and themes like Mediumish.

What Does “Fork” Mean in GitHub?

Forking is GitHub’s way of letting you copy someone else’s project to your own account so you can customize it.

Why Fork Instead of Starting from Scratch?

  • You get a fully working blog without writing code.
  • You can make your own changes and edits without affecting the original version.
  • It’s faster, especially for beginners.

Imagine someone shared a ready-to-use blog template with you—forking is just clicking a button to save a copy to your GitHub account.

What Does “Branch” Mean, and Do You Need to Care?

A branch is like a separate version of your folder. The default one is called main or master. Most beginners don’t need to create new branches—they just work inside the main one.

Should You Create Branches?

Not at first. Just stick with the default branch. When you're more confident, you can explore creating branches to test layout or design changes safely.

What Is a Commit?

A commit is like saving a file with a note. Every time you change something—like editing a blog post or uploading an image—you “commit” your changes. This lets GitHub keep track of what you did and when.

How Do You Commit Changes Without Coding?

On GitHub's website, when you edit a file or upload something, you’ll see a field that says “Commit changes.” Just type a short message (like “updated blog post”) and click commit. That’s it.

What Is the `_config.yml` File?

_config.yml is a special file in Jekyll that controls your blog’s settings. You can use it to change your site’s title, author name, menu links, and more.

Think of It Like:

A control panel for your blog. But instead of buttons and sliders, it’s a text file with settings. You don’t have to understand everything—just start by editing the basics like your name, email, and site title.

What Are Markdown Files?

Markdown files are simple text files that use symbols to format content. For example, instead of using a button to make text bold, you use double asterisks like **this**. When Jekyll sees your Markdown file, it converts it into a web page.

Example:

---
title: "My First Post"
date: 2025-07-03
---

This is **bold text** and this is _italic text_.

That’s all you need to write a blog post. Jekyll takes care of the rest.

Why Don’t You Need to Install Anything?

Because GitHub runs Jekyll for you. Everything is done in the cloud, inside your browser. You don’t need to install Jekyll, Ruby, Git, or anything technical on your laptop.

Can You Blog Without Knowing HTML or CSS?

Absolutely. The Mediumish theme already includes HTML and CSS. All you need to do is add your own content in Markdown files. You can edit everything using GitHub’s web interface without writing any code.

Conclusion

GitHub and Jekyll might seem complex at first, but they’re built on simple concepts. A repository is just a folder. A commit is just saving your changes. Forking is copying someone else’s work. With these ideas in mind, you can confidently move forward and start building your blog—even if you’ve never written a single line of code before.

What You Should Remember as a Beginner

  • You don’t have to know everything on day one.
  • Focus only on what you need to launch your blog.
  • Don’t be afraid to experiment—GitHub lets you undo changes anytime.
  • Every tech term is just a label for something you already understand.

What’s Next?

In the next article, we’ll guide you through customizing the _config.yml file line by line, with plain English explanations for every setting—so your blog feels like your own.