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Custom domain for GitHub pages

Posted:  |  Category:  Code on the Road   |  Tags:  Github

Let's get the website up! — Drama llama.

Configuration

  • Domain (example.com).
  • Subdomain (www.example.com).
  • HTTPS (Optional but strongly recommended).

At the end of the tutorial, you’ll have a set-up, where all requests to example.com will be redirected to https://www.example.com

Enable GitHub pages in GitHub settings

  • Go to the repository → Settings ⚙️ → Pages
  • Select Source; Choosing master/main branch will treat README.md as web index.html and choosing /docs will treat /docs/README.md as web index.html

Figure 1: Enable Gh Pages in GitHub Settings

  • Theme Choose → Choose theme; Choose one among the default themes or clone your favorite from: jamstackthemes.dev
  • Wait until GitHub publishes the website. Confirmation message: Your site is ready to be published at example.com

Specify custom domain in GitHub settings

  • Enter Custom domain: www.example.com

Figure 2: Set Custom Domain

  • Note (recommended to use www.example.com):
    • If the custom domain is example.com, then www.example.com will redirect to example.com
    • If the custom domain is www.example.com, then example.com will redirect to www.example.com.

Manage DNS

  • In the DNS provider’s console (GoDaddy in my case), create four A records and one CNAME.
    • In GoDaddy and a few other DNS providers, you will have to specify @ in the name (Leave in black in AWS Route 53).
  • IP addresses for four A records:
185.199.108.153
185.199.109.153
185.199.110.153
185.199.111.153

Note: These can change over time, refer to the documentation

  • Create a CNAME record to point www.example.com to <GITHUB-USERNAME>.github.io

Figure 3: Set A and CNAME Record(s)

Confirm DNS entries

Confirm CNAME and A records by running dig www.example.com +nostats +nocomments +nocmd; It should return the four 185.x.x.x IP addresses and one CNAME with <GITHUB-USERNAME>.github.io

Note: This can take between an hour and 3 hours for the DNS entries to resolve/propagate. To verify, on the browser: https://<GITHUB-USERNAME>.github.io redirects to http://www.example.com

Enable HTTPS

The Enable HTTPS checkbox is clickable if everything goes as expected.

Figure 4: Enable HTTPS

Note:

  • The checkbox takes time and is not clickable, and it can take as long as a day at times.
  • After you Enable HTTPS, once again, it can take between 1 hour to a day.

Github Support is amazing; in case it takes longer than expected, create a ticket: Github Support

That’s about it! 🚀

About Adesh Nalpet Adimurthy

Photo of Adesh Nalpet Adimurthy

Hey 👋 I'm a Software Engineer, a budding illustrator, and an open-source contributor. I work as a backend engineer at Extreme Networks, previously at Google OSS, PhonePe and ClearTax; here to share my experiences, tutorials, and projects.

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